The fact that it’s possible to grow food in a tiny patch of yard or a basic window box is nothing short of a miracle to me. I grew up in a household that gardened religiously and throughout my childhood, there was always something delicious growing within steps of the house.
These days, my one frustration with my life as a high rise dweller is the fact that I have no place to combine seeds, soil, water and light to create my own edible miracle.
Despite my complete absence of garden space, I still love thinking about vegetable gardens. Each spring, I pick up a new gardening book or two and imagine what I would plant if I had a plot.
This year, my new favorite gardening book is a little volume called Homesweet Homegrown: How to Grow, Make and Store Food, No Matter Where You Live
What’s so nice about this little book is that fact that’s both comprehensive and comprehendible. So often, gardening books contain a heck of a lot of more information than is possible to digest. This one is easy to swallow and so, so useful to boot.
As you can see from the above photo of the table of contents, the book will walk you through the entire gardening process, from those first initial steps all the way through to what to do with your harvest. If I wasn’t already a gardening convert (at least, theoretically), I’d be entirely convinced by the first section in which she breaks down the cost of home grown food as compared to grocery store or farmers market produce. The difference is staggering.
Towards the back of the book, there’s a nice little section that hits the basics of canning (as well as freezing, fermenting, dehydrating and other storage methods). While it doesn’t go into the deep minutia of canning, for someone who’s generally familiar with the process but needs a little refresher, this chapter is absolutely perfect.
I also love the instructions Robyn included entitled “How to Pickle Everything.” It’s an excellent reminder that pickling isn’t some mysterious thing. It’s really just the combination of vinegar, spices and fresh produce. There’s really no need to make yourself crazy over it.
This is the best handbook I’ve seen for home gardeners who want to have all the basic information they need right at their fingertips. It makes me itch to get my fingers into the dirt. Hopefully someday!
Thanks to author Robyn Jasko, I have two prize packs (each contain a book and a seed pack) to give away to Food in Jars readers. Here’s what to do:
- To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post and tell me what you’re growing this summer. If you don’t have a garden, share what you wish you were growing.
- Comments will close at 11:59 pm eastern time on Sunday, June 3, 2012. Winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) and will be posted to the blog on Monday, June 4, 2012.
- Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian readers.
- One entry/comment per person, please.
Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book. The giveaway packs were also received at no cost to me. My opinions do remain entirely my own.
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tomatoes, beans, quinoa, herbs, cukes, kale, lettuce, collards, onion, chard, annual flowers, perennials
I’m going to plant herbs in a strawberry pot, so I’ll always have fresh herbs to cook with. (If I don’t kill them.)
What a wonderful book! Can’t wait to see it! We turned our backyard into a garden 3 years ago and plant TOMATOES, corn, peppers, cukes, onions, lettuce, carrots, radishes, strawberries, raspberries, apples, potatoes, pumpkins, melons, zuch and butternut, peas, beans, cabbage… to name a few.
We’re growing a lot of stuff. My favorites this year are potatoes, grapes, saffron, almost all the herbs and spices we use that can possibly grow in our region, onions and garlic.
What a cool book -I’ve got lettuc and kale growing and I WISH I had garlic – fresh grown garlic is heavenly!
My 4 year old and I have been working on our garden together for the last three years. We try to grow and assortment of things every year: from seed, new plants and a few that come back year after year. This year we are growing strawberries, zucchini and an assortment of herbs including basil, mint, oregano, parsley and chives. Love that she wants to do this and she loves to eat what she grows too!
I joined a CSA subscription program this year and I don’t want a bit of it to go to waste.
I miss my garden so much, I would have green beans, summer squash, peppers, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, sweet corn, cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, and pickles for canning.
If I had some land and the right climate I would LOVE to grow a chestnut tree, mango and peach tree.
As of yesterday I’m growing kohlrabi for the first time and so excited. The plants remind me of Easter with lovely shades of light green, purple and yellow.
Living in a leased house in a ‘community’ in FL where the lawns are ‘cared’ for and landscaped…hence, we are growing two tomato plants in pots on the lanai. I am so looking forward to retiring back north to a place where we can have a garden and seasons. The book sounds delightful and something to dream with while marking time. Thank God you can’t swing a cat without hitting a fresh produce stand around here.
We are growing three kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, banana pepper, lettuce, basil, cilantro, dill, and oregano.
This book looks like just what I need! I am growing beans for the first time this year along with tomatoes, herbs and peppers. I also grew arugula for the first time and loved it.
I am growing a color variety of carrots (white, red, yellow, purple.) Broccoli, (cauliflower, banana peppers, tomatoes, peas, watermelons, pumpkins, and corn. This is my first time and I’m hoping it goes ok….I have had some issues with potato bugs….:(
I am focusing on HERBS this year… basil, cilantro, parsley, thyme, sage, mint. So great to just wander into the yard and snip off a few sprigs of herbs!
Pole beans, bush beans rhubarb, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers both bell and hot, cucumbers (including lemon!) summer squash, winter squash, and lots and lots of herbs!
What a great looking book! I can’t wait to discover the tips and techniques so I can enjoy our garden well beyond the growing season. We have been in Switzerland for a few years and I am excited to get back to my garden in Ohio. I have missed it dearly! This year we are growing tomatoes, carrots, kale, spinach, snap peas, cucumbers, zuchini, and several varieties of lettuce and peppers. Good luck to everyone!
I am growing a lot of beans (both shelling and snap), rhubarb, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, tomatillos, tomatoes, peppers (hot and sweet), rice, quinoa, horseradish, and much more. I have a good variety in my garden this year.
This year I’m growing lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, and carrots!
Book looks great! We have kale, eggplant, lavender, basil, tomatoes – all in containers this year. Also planted some new raspberries and peanuts – they are for the kids. Should be fun!
We live in a large city and have a small garden. We are growing tomatoes, green beans, carrots, beets, vilest for pickles, zucchini and 6 kinds of peppers. Can’t wait to start making pickles!
We have decided to be lazy and to plant perennials in our new garden, so as to not have to do much work in the years to come. Rhubarb, asparagus, gooseberries, strawberries and yellow raspberries for now, with more to come later.
lol – I’m still planting, but with around an acre of garden, it takes a while. I’ve got around 40 different types of tomatoes, about 8 types of peppers, 3 types of corn (2 sweet, 1 popcorn), 8 types of carrots, 2 different beets, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, kale, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, around 16 different melons, 16 different pumpkins and winter squash, zucchini, an assortment of herbs and flowers, slicing cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, half a dozen different potatoes – you get the picture.
This year we are growing a variety of paste and eating tomatoes, leeks, onions, swiss chard, beans, cucumbers, and a wide variety of cuilnary herbs.
Rhubarb, Tomatoes, Peppers, Strawberries, Onions, Carrots, Lettuce, Celery, Kale, Peas, Beans, Beets, Corn, Pumpkins, Squash, Cucumbers, Potatoes, Green Onions, loads of herbs.
We belong to a csa for our real veggies. Thus the garden is really the kids garden and they grow whatever they want. We have peas, sunflowers, popcorn, gourds, and potatoes. We also put in a bunch of new blueberry bushes.
I have tomatoes, herbs , garli and shallots this year. I wish I had more but I have to make some raised beds lol
I am growing a bit of everything this year, lol! Beans, peas, tomatoes, corn, squash, pumpkins, eggplant, lettuce, turnips, radish, parsnips, carrots, garlic, potatoes, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, cukes, husk cherries, peppers and herbs. I am sure I have forgotten something.
This giveaway would be a excellent book to win, TY!!!
I am growing beans, tomatoes, carrots, kale and herbs so far. Putting beets in today and whatever else our Wisconsin weather will let me put in! With ten kids at home, I would love to put up the majority of our food, but anything makes a dent – plus is healthier!
We are growing tomatoes, okra, strawberries, watermelon, and cantelope. Awesome giveaway! Thanks!
We have a smallish yard, but the kids have a playhouse on a mound in the corner of the yard. So we put a garden in next to the playhouse on the mound. It’s a little house with a little garden next to it. We do very well with lettuces and spinach here in Colorado. The warmer weather crops don’t do so well.
I’m growing cucumbers because I promised myself I would try pickles this year!
I am growing Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Squash, Beans in a community spot and for fun I’m growing Boston prickles up a fence in my backyard:)
I’ve got a tomato plant in a container and a few herbs on my small patio. What a treat!
Tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, beans, peas, zucchini, chard, spinach, kale, onions, garlic, potatoes, shallots, arugula, pumpkins, beets, radishes, carrots, lettuces, herbs, rhubarb… I think that’s all.
tomato plants and beans..we will see how it goes
I’d love to settle in with this book- looks wonderful!
We’re planting: herbs, lettuces, beans, purple carrots, beets, tomatoes, spinach, peas, zucchini, patty pan squash, tomatillos, peppers (sweet & hot), cucumbers. And a big blackberry bush! Gardening = therapy for me! : )
Love to read what everyone is planting, especially quinoa! I love it but have not tried growing it. This year we are trying dragon tongue beans in addition to some new varieties of heirloom tomatoes. If it ever stops raining, I’ll get my seeds in this weekend! Thanks for the chance to win!
This is wonderful – Thank you for offering this. I don’t have a garden nor have I ever canned before but have always wanted to. And if I win.. Thats just what I’d do =)
Arugala, yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, broccoli, herbs,cucumbers, lettuces, and beans. It is so much more fun to plan dinner around what I go out and pick instead of what I go out and buy. I am searching for a heat resistant kale to plant.
I am growing cukes, assorted peppers, various herbs, and Everglades tomato plants. I plan on doing strawberries next planting season along with butter lettuce. South FL has gotten hot already and the strawberry season is coming to a close. Would love to have this book and also have you come to our area to teach a class or two.
Looks like a great book. This year I’m growing lots of herbs, peppers, peas, spinach, beets, radishes, chard, pole beans, arugula, eggplant, lettuces, tomatoes and more. I’m trying two grafted tomatoes this year to see if they are up to the hype. They are expensive, but are supposed to have four times the yield in the space of one plant. For us small space gardeners, it might be just the ticket!
I rent a suite in a duplex and I’m growing six different kinds of tomatoes in rubbermaid self-watering containers in the backyard this year. Black Sea Man, Black Cherry, Sungold, Silvery Fir Tree, Cream Sausage and Green Sausage. Excited to put up some green and yellow tomato sauce at the end of the season and lots of tasty tomato sandwiches and salads!
So far…..tomatoes, potatoes, herbs, strawberries, currants, blueberries, and salad mix. With plans for peppers, carrots, beets, kale, chard and probably way more that I don’t have room for! =)
I will be growing tomatoes, salad greens, tons of flowers and hopefully some herbs. This little book sounds like a gem.
I am growing homeless plants this year. I was too busy to start anything from seed & am too cheap to buy plants so I am just taking whatever starts my friends or clients have extra of & throwing them in the raised beds, should be an interesting mix.
Garlic, basil, and tomatoes… pesto garden
This year we’re growing: potatoes, onions, garlic, chives, kale, cabbage, several varieties of winter squash and summer squash, lots o’ beets, string beans, pumpkins (yeah, yeah it’s a winter squash) and we’ll try watermelons too.
We bought a new house and have plenty of space to garden, but we are having to start slowly, as I am new to gardening. We started the garden this year with an herb garden – sweet basil, thai basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, lavender, dill, sage, pineapple sage, lemon balm, bee balm and lots of mint. I also put in an asparagus bed (can’t wait to make asparagus pickles) and a small orchard with peaches, pears, figs, and blackberries.
I have a 6×12 garden in my backyard. I have 4 or 5 varieties of squash, cukes, 3 types of tomatoes, beans, strawberries (but they are done now), blueberries and peppers.