GrowVeg

by Benedict Vanheems

[annieb123]

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.