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GrowVeg: The Beginner's Guide to Easy Vegetable Gardening
For anyone who has ever wanted to tend a little piece of ground but wasn’t sure where to begin, GrowVeg offers simple recipes for gardening projects that are both attainable and beautiful. Benedict Vanheems, editor of the popular website GrowVeg.com, guides aspiring green thumbs to success from the start, no matter what size gardening space you have. Get recommendations for veggie varieties for your first edible garden, plant a miniature orchard, and grow an edible archway, or keep your efforts contained by cultivating a rustic crate of herbs on a sunny balcony, a crop of carrots in a basket, or nutritious and delicious sprouts in a jar on the kitchen counter. The beginner-friendly instructions and step-by-step photography detail more than 30 approachable, small-scale gardening projects that will inspire and empower you to get growing!
- GenresGardeningNonfiction
240 pages, Hardcover
Published March 2, 2021
9 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 3, 2020
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book via netgalley!
Due to covid, I started gardening this year for the first time. Disclaimer I read a lot about gardening due to that. I was a bit skeptical whether this book would capture my interest or just be another typical how to garden guide. I was very pleasantly surprised, this book is great!! It’s a book about gardening simply aka how to garden in a simple way but in a beautiful and creative way! I can’t wait to plant a mix salad basket and perhaps even try my hands on a carrot and radish basket! Simple, easy tricks on how and when to plant, but filled with pics results that look like you are an expert gardener!
Due to covid, I started gardening this year for the first time. Disclaimer I read a lot about gardening due to that. I was a bit skeptical whether this book would capture my interest or just be another typical how to garden guide. I was very pleasantly surprised, this book is great!! It’s a book about gardening simply aka how to garden in a simple way but in a beautiful and creative way! I can’t wait to plant a mix salad basket and perhaps even try my hands on a carrot and radish basket! Simple, easy tricks on how and when to plant, but filled with pics results that look like you are an expert gardener!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2020
This is a fantastic gardening book with everything that beginners need to know but also lots to please seasoned gardeners. It's full of fantastic photos and has projects, detailed information on how to grow all different crops, and lots more. One small note-- he says you can use any container to grow veggies as long as you can put dirt in it. Plant roots will pull up nutrients from the soil but can also draw out any toxins that are in your container or its coating. Watch out for things like lead-based finishes, non-foodsafe plastics, tires, etc.
All in all this was a fun and helpful read that has me already impatient for spring.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.
All in all this was a fun and helpful read that has me already impatient for spring.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.
February 10, 2025
Very fun little beginner’s guide to growing vegetables. It’s definitely not groundbreaking, but it was fun to read and I found some new projects to try out.
April 12, 2021
My Rating: 4 Seeds
A decent book on starting seeds/plants/gardens.
A decent book on starting seeds/plants/gardens.
November 4, 2020
Great guide for beginners, with some useful information and cool project ideas for non-beginners as well.
October 17, 2020
To be published on my blog at release: Nonstop Reader.
GrowVeg! is a comprehensive and fun tutorial primer aimed at new gardeners written by Benedict Vanheems. Due out 2nd March 2021 from Storey, it's 200 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
Given the state of the world, the themes of food security, healthy outdoor activity, mental health, healthy eating, exercise, and mindful productive lives seem more critically important than in any other time in recent memory. We can't travel, many of us can only recently go outside into our own gardens, so there's a boom in new gardeners.
This is a superlative first gardening book. It's laid out logically, it's written in good accessible layman language, it's not overly complex or full of impenetrable overwhelming information for the average reader. The chapters are arranged in a nice progression, from the very basics of why garden, to how to get started, container gardening, starting slow and building on successes to build confidence and learning, through what and how to choose varieties for different purposes. The author presents lots of options for gardening from containers to beds so that (pretty much) anyone can succeed with gardening.
After the introductory chapter, the following chapters expand on the initial info by adding proven varieties for production and taste, planning and gardening in small spaces, emphasizing and utilizing nature to support pollinators and indigenous plants. There are also chapters on indoor gardening, and focus drawing features for outdoor gardens (including a really good tutorial on making and using straw bale gardens). It includes some lovely photography, both of the plants covered and some garden shots in situ. I liked that the bulk of the book is arranged around short achievable tutorials for a myriad of gardening tasks and presentations.
Very very well done. Five stars. There's a lot of info here for more advanced gardeners as well as beginners.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
GrowVeg! is a comprehensive and fun tutorial primer aimed at new gardeners written by Benedict Vanheems. Due out 2nd March 2021 from Storey, it's 200 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
Given the state of the world, the themes of food security, healthy outdoor activity, mental health, healthy eating, exercise, and mindful productive lives seem more critically important than in any other time in recent memory. We can't travel, many of us can only recently go outside into our own gardens, so there's a boom in new gardeners.
This is a superlative first gardening book. It's laid out logically, it's written in good accessible layman language, it's not overly complex or full of impenetrable overwhelming information for the average reader. The chapters are arranged in a nice progression, from the very basics of why garden, to how to get started, container gardening, starting slow and building on successes to build confidence and learning, through what and how to choose varieties for different purposes. The author presents lots of options for gardening from containers to beds so that (pretty much) anyone can succeed with gardening.
After the introductory chapter, the following chapters expand on the initial info by adding proven varieties for production and taste, planning and gardening in small spaces, emphasizing and utilizing nature to support pollinators and indigenous plants. There are also chapters on indoor gardening, and focus drawing features for outdoor gardens (including a really good tutorial on making and using straw bale gardens). It includes some lovely photography, both of the plants covered and some garden shots in situ. I liked that the bulk of the book is arranged around short achievable tutorials for a myriad of gardening tasks and presentations.
Very very well done. Five stars. There's a lot of info here for more advanced gardeners as well as beginners.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
September 29, 2020
Wow! This was an amazing read! The clear and simple instructions together with stunning pictures made me wish it was spring all the time so that I could plant all the time. What I really enjoyed in this book is how it has pretty much everything in it a small-scale home gardener needs to know.
There are the easy plants anyone can grow, more advanced and needy ones, but also plants growing in pots and raised beds, and how to make your own bug hotel. Very good information for anyone overwhelmed with it all, because there are so many possibilities and challenges, but with this guide it will be easier.
I have already laid plans for myself what to do, and thanks to this book I also realize a few things I’ve done wrong and hopefully next time around I can grow some planes I haven’t succeeded with before. Even if you’re a seasoned gardener I think you’ll get something out of this book, at least some new ideas, but for a beginner or struggling gardener this is a must-read!
There are the easy plants anyone can grow, more advanced and needy ones, but also plants growing in pots and raised beds, and how to make your own bug hotel. Very good information for anyone overwhelmed with it all, because there are so many possibilities and challenges, but with this guide it will be easier.
I have already laid plans for myself what to do, and thanks to this book I also realize a few things I’ve done wrong and hopefully next time around I can grow some planes I haven’t succeeded with before. Even if you’re a seasoned gardener I think you’ll get something out of this book, at least some new ideas, but for a beginner or struggling gardener this is a must-read!
November 4, 2020
This book will be treasured by beginners! It contains so many wonderful ideas for starting a garden. From what you should grow (including Ben’s top 10 favorites) to where (in a pot, basket, raised bed or even a trash can!). The photography is beautiful. The directions are clear and straight-forward. Even the seasoned garden might find herself inspired to try beets, Swiss chard and cucamelons – wink, wink!
The book includes a variety of gardening projects. Again, the directions are clear and supported by beautiful photography. Projects include fields of wildflowers, how to build a bug hotel, how to cultivate worms, growing in hay bales, and growing vertically. But my favorite project idea is how to create your own liquid fertilizer! Very interesting!
I received a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. A blog of this review appears at: https://patch405.com/2020/11/03/book-...
The book includes a variety of gardening projects. Again, the directions are clear and supported by beautiful photography. Projects include fields of wildflowers, how to build a bug hotel, how to cultivate worms, growing in hay bales, and growing vertically. But my favorite project idea is how to create your own liquid fertilizer! Very interesting!
I received a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. A blog of this review appears at: https://patch405.com/2020/11/03/book-...
February 16, 2021
You know when you are looking for a beginner gardening book and seriously everything you find is advanced enough that you get frustrated and get up? I have definitely been there, but this book is not it. It truly is for beginners! Vanheems really simplifies gardening from growing seeds indoors in the spring to transplanting them in the garden and exactly out to do so. He also shows the reader how to build garden boxes. While these really appeal to me, he also shows a variety of other ways to plant gardens with detailed how tos, so their is something for everyone! Best of all, there are pictures for everything in a step by step manner. He includes his favorites to grow and how to do so with many tips and tricks along the way. I have read a ton of gardening books, but this one is definitely my favorite and definitely a stand out in how comprehensive it is and the number of clear steps and pictures.
September 23, 2021
GrowVeg is a solid book for beginner gardeners. Filled with ideas for creating your own garden space, whatever the size of your space or materials you have on hand, there is something for everyone in this book.
The author gives the fundamental basics that should have the reader growing their own fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers in no time!
I especially appreciated all of the tips that show it doesn't need to be costly, and how to get the most bang for your buck. Gardening is so good for our health and environment, it's good to see someone highlighting that this is something accessible to everyone.
The author gives the fundamental basics that should have the reader growing their own fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers in no time!
I especially appreciated all of the tips that show it doesn't need to be costly, and how to get the most bang for your buck. Gardening is so good for our health and environment, it's good to see someone highlighting that this is something accessible to everyone.
October 7, 2020
GrowVeg is a really neat beginners' guide to growing vegetables. It covers both where to grow (the ground, raised beds, pots, bags, etc.), and what to start with - with notes on what likes to be in the sun, in shade, in warmer or cooler climate.
Most of the included vegetables are also quite popular, so it's easy to imagine how you'll eat them once they grow, while some sound more exotic than a lychee - cucamelon, for example.
All around interesting book with a lot of useful information, presented with a lot of pictures and clear instructions.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.*
Most of the included vegetables are also quite popular, so it's easy to imagine how you'll eat them once they grow, while some sound more exotic than a lychee - cucamelon, for example.
All around interesting book with a lot of useful information, presented with a lot of pictures and clear instructions.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.*
January 28, 2021
I received an eARC courtesy of Storey Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Finally, a veggie gardening book that makes me feel like I can do it myself! Growing a huge patch sounds daunting so seeing options for salad and carrot baskets seems quite doable. Now I just need a print copy so I can start marking it up and making notes in the margins.
For Libraries: The simplistic approach will be of huge appeal to new gardeners. Both accessible and informative, I'm not certain I've seen a book that covers this array of topics with such a degree of ease.
Finally, a veggie gardening book that makes me feel like I can do it myself! Growing a huge patch sounds daunting so seeing options for salad and carrot baskets seems quite doable. Now I just need a print copy so I can start marking it up and making notes in the margins.
For Libraries: The simplistic approach will be of huge appeal to new gardeners. Both accessible and informative, I'm not certain I've seen a book that covers this array of topics with such a degree of ease.
May 5, 2021
Accessible, inspiring book for beginning gardeners, full of beautiful photographs, intelligible instructions, and useful tips. I especially appreciated the range of clever, and attractive, options for smaller spaces and the recycled container suggestions. Definitely a book I will recommend to those of us who have been interested in vegetable gardening, but lacking confidence and/or know-how.
October 12, 2023
This was a fun, informative, and novice friendly encyclopedia-esc guide to growing your own food! It really got me excited about the possibilities, and provided many unconventional/ upcycling planting ideas, and gave me confidence to keep researching and taking steps towards building my vegetable and herb garden empire.
June 30, 2023
This is a solid introduction to vegetable gardening, and a great intro to the GrowVeg YouTube channel. But, if you spent a lot of time watching their videos, there isn't much new in the book. Still, a nice, easy read.
December 8, 2020
There are a few helpful tips and a lot of open ended statements about when and where to plant. Lots of love shown for gardening in every page.
March 5, 2021
Great tips for newbies and experts alike. The pictures are excellent and the descriptions/projects are easy to understand. I can't wait for warmer weather to get things started in my garden.
December 14, 2022
useful.
April 5, 2025
Wonderful resource!
June 6, 2025
This is a must have for my bookshelves! It was so good, with great information, and easily understood. So many easy pointers!
Read
January 11, 2026Fantastic and easy-to-follow instructions, tips, and a perfect guide for the novice gardener.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews