Veg Out: A Stress-Free Guide to Creating Your First Vegetable Garden

by Heather Rodino

Beginner vegetable gardeners won’t end up in the weeds with this accessible guide.

Watching delicate seedlings sprout from the ground and plucking cute cherry tomatoes at the peak of ripeness—if this is your idea of living the dream, you’ll want this friendly guide. Gardening expert Heather Rodino teaches the basics of growing your own vegetables, such as how to choose the right plants for a climate and guarding the crop from hungry critters. Included are 30 profiles of beginner-friendly vegetables and herbs with detailed instructions on where to grow, when to harvest, as well as their sunlight, watering, and soil needs. With helpful tips and photographs of important concepts, Veg Out is the perfect companion for any budding vegetable gardener.  
 

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 4, 2023

About the author

Heather Rodino is a freelance editor and writer. She lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice basic vegetable gardening book. I’m not sure what sets it apart from thousands of others and it’s not as thorough as I’d like or as eco-friendly. It goes into the very basics of starting a vegetable garden, some info about ways to kill garden pests (which I don’t do as they also kill pollinators and a good ecosystem keeps them minimal and supports the nature that relies on our yards) and then basic information about growing a variety of veggies like spinach, tomatoes, dill and borage. She did not include some of my favorites like artichokes and also barely covered what to do about weeds. There are full page stock photos for every vegetable. I don’t necessarily agree with her planting advice, like she tells you to plant potatoes in rows and doesn’t mention containers. Also, she lives in a warmer climate and says some plants are perennial that are not where I live, such as lavender.

All in all it’s well laid out with lots of photos and good general info.

I read a temporary digital arc of this book via NetGalley.

[Jaimie | _thenerdyhobbit_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I move into a house, I want to start a veggie/fruit/herb garden. My plan is to read up on them as much as possible before I actually move.

This book was perfect for what I needed it for. It talks about pretty much everything I had questions about. Is this the best book? I'm not sure as it's really the first one I have actually read talking about starting a garden BUT it was perfect for me to start out and I can see it being perfect for other beginners.

It talks about all the basics, what it actually takes to start and maintain your garden, but then it dives into MANY different things you can plant and everything about them and what they need.

This is definitely a helpful book and one I will refer back to!

Thanks to Netgalley and Union Square & Co for an ARC. All opinions are mine and mine alone. :)

[McKenzie Westrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right from the introduction I loved both the reminder that a vegetable garden is meant to be eaten, as well as not getting hung up on the all or nothing illusion of perfection. My first attempt at a garden was a flop last year, so I’m so glad to have the encouragement. I also loved reading no matter how many books, classes, YouTube you can get ahold of, the biggest learning tool is experience. I also learned that raised beds need more watering since it dries out faster. A note to come back to in the heat of summer. I loved the breakdown of the plants, growing and having it consolidated in one book vs. having to look at each seed packet for common plants to plant, too. Can’t wait to continue to come back to this book, rich with just what I need to start year 2 garden in the coming weeks.

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veg Out is the perfect gardening book for newbies who want an edible garden (or a patio pot or two) but have never read another gardening book. It is clearly laid out with plenty of photos. The steps to proceed are easy to follow. There is an extensive section with details on common plants. Overall, a great resource for individuals newly interesting in growing their own food. 4 stars!

Thanks to Union Square & Co. and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

[Jennifer Hazen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a gardener at heart, but, so far, that hasn't translated to my yard. Every year, I plant vegetables and every year, I fail miserably. Veg Out gave me a good baseline of knowledge. The photos make the instructions easy to follow. As I also live in a warm climate, I can utilize a lot of the advice in the book. I'd like more information on troubleshooting problems like weeds, etc.

[Debbie Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the simplicity of this book. It also has several veggies and herbs that I’m already growing with simple instructions as to how much to water, sunlight etc. Simple yet helpful

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/xbIUicyMBGU

Enjoy!

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good info. Wanted to get ready to enlarge my container garden on my apartment balcony.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty useful if you just want to sit down, get off Google and read something and get some ideas for your garden. Not very location-specific.