Having your own plot of land and growing your own fresh fruit and vegetables straight from the garden is a simple pleasure. Meals from garden to table are now more of a luxury than common practice, but for those wanting to go back to the simpler days where vegetables rich in nutrients were plucked from the garden and cooked up freshly for dinner, there is a way to eat from the land - no matter the size of your outdoor space. To make gardening more accessible and efficient for you, we have picked out the best books on growing fruit and vegetables for every green thumb.
Whether you are a home cook looking to eat seasonally, a beginner gardener who requires a foolproof guide or living in a city with a small garden, an allotment, patio or balcony and are looking to make the most of your space.- these books will give a helping hand so you can grow fresh fruit and vegetables in your own home. Your garden will never taste so good.
How to start your fruit and veg plot
Before we take a look at the best books on growing fruit and vegetables, here are some tops tips on how to turn your outdoor plot into a productive area from Modern Gardens Magazine writer Karen Murphy.
"Decide on your basic principles before you start – do you want the garden to be as natural as possible? You don't have to be full-on organic to start with; just dip your toe into naturalistic gardening and see how it works. Chances are you'll soon see that weedkillers, chemicals and pesticides are expensive and not needed on a well-run plot," Karen says.
"Start by easing yourself in with proprietary feeds, composts and manures and eventually, you may well get into a rhythm of making your own from homemade compost and comfrey or nettles. And consider the ‘no-dig’ option. This simply involves layering organic matter to your beds instead of any back-breaking digging. In year one, cover beds with polythene or cardboard, remove it in year two after weeds have gone, add rotted manure and… stop digging! It benefits the soil, saves time and work, and you’ll get fewer weeds and slugs."
So without further ado, let's take a look at the best books on growing fruit and vegetables for every type of gardener so you can make the most of your outdoor space.
Best books on growing fruit and vegetables
Best overall book on growing fruit and vegetables
This book is called a bible for a good reason. Filled with practical and easy-to-follow advice on how to tend to your garden throughout the year, highly-acclaimed gardener Carol Klein has collaborated with the Royal Horticultural Society to bring this beginner's guide to all novice green thumbs. The 416-page book covers environmentally friendly ways to grow over 75 herbs and produce as well as how to make the most of small plots, create raised beds, improve soil and more. The imagery and instructions are clear and easy to read, and there is no tricky gardening jargon to make your life all the easier.
Pages: 416
Amazon Review: "I bought this as a gift for a new gardener, and they love it. There is lots of great advice on a variety of fruit and veg with how to care for them and when to plant the seeds. It is a must-buy for anyone who wants to start growing or really wants to perfect their gardening skills with well-thought-out and detailed plans and ideas for their perfect fruit and veg patch.
Best book on growing fruit and vegetables for smaller gardens
This book is perfect for those wanting to benefit from seasonal eating as it focuses on each month and breaks down what to do throughout the year and instructions on how to fulfil gardening tasks. It tells you how to start digging over your plot in January through to sowing and planting in February. Plus, it can be used as a to-do list to organise your growing and harvesting. The crop planner is an excellent addition that provides a catalogue of more than 60 fruits, vegetables, and herbs that can be grown in an allotment or kitchen garden, helping you to make the best of your outdoor space all year long.
Pages: 352
Amazon Review: "This is a great book. Easy to navigate and monthly step-by-step straightforward advice. I've had an allotment for 3 years and have a multitude of reference books. This is by far the best and is the one I now go to if I want to check what I should be doing, when and how! Brilliant book."
Best book on growing fruit and vegetables for vegetable patches
AmazonIf you are looking to grow your own veg patch, you'll have a sustainable income of food in no time. With over fifty fruits and vegetables to be inspired by, you can sharpen your brain into crop growth and stability. This book covers all the essentials, and all the information is easy-to-read with handy diagrams covering when to sow and harvest and foolproof advice to make your patch the best of them all with this step-by-step book.
Pages: 256
Amazon Review: "A lovely well-organised book with chapters on growing space indoors and out, planning plots for beginners and families and two pages for each vegetable so easy to see everything required - soil preference, varieties, sowing under cover, when to sow, spacing, sowing outside, how many to put in a 40cm container or in a row, thinning, routine care with feeding and pest control, time to harvest, when to harvest, how to harvest, all with 11-12 lovely coloured photos of each step."
Best book on growing fruit and vegetables for smaller gardens
AmazonYou can grow your own fruit and vegetables even if you're lacking in space. Whether you are looking to plant on a balcony or just want to condense your veg patch, this 'Crops in Tight Spots' book is all about gardeners with restricted spaces. Filled with tried-and-tested, foolproof crop ideas tailored for containers, raised beds and small gardens - this book will help show you that just because you have less doesn't mean you have to cut back on your patch.
Pages: 176
Review: "A very helpful book for anyone wanting to grow more fruit, veg and flowers etc. There are sections for a small garden, roofs and balconies, terraces and courtyards, windowsills and awkward spaces like alleyways. Alex gives imaginative suggestions for what plants work well together, what's worth growing, how to style your area and how to plan ahead."
Best illustrated book on growing fruit and vegetables
AmazonFrom January to December, take a deep dive into a month-by-month guide on keeping your veg growing throughout the year. This veg-growing book will have you feeling ready to jump in, with advice, tips, and information in an easy-to-follow format. Illustrated throughout with charming drawings and sketches, 'The Veg Grower’s Almanac' is a welcome addition to any gardener’s shelf.
Pages: 192
Amazon Review: "This is a very handy guide and contains priceless knowledge. Would love to report my garden has produced copious amounts but sad to say slugs and bugs enjoyed my efforts but, to be fair, I bought this guide after I had planted everything! Will let you know how next year goes!! Loved the fact it covers what is effectively crop rotation in veg beds."
Best book on growing fruit and vegetables for home cooks
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If living off the land and cooking fresh produce from the garden sounds like something you would love, then James Wong's tips and tricks to grow beautiful nutrient-dense fruit and vegetables is the book for you. In his informative guide, Kew Gardens-trained botanist and bestselling writer James Wong uses a scientific approach to gardening to help you get the most out of your food. This book is filled with interesting facts, illustrations and photos, plus 36 fun and inventive recipes to cook up at home.
Pages: 224
Review: "If you regularly buy from supermarkets, you'll have noticed that commercial growing practices produce great yields at the expense of flavour. Luckily this doesn't have to apply to your back garden. James Wong uses science and his own trialling results to show how you can produce great harvests at home with maximum flavour. All the while cutting down on your gardening workload? Sounds too good to be true? Well, this reviewer has been using James Wong's methods for some time and can confirm that they work, and my garden has never tasted better."
Best book on growing fruit and vegetables for self-sustainable gardeners
If you want to be self-sufficient and grow your own fruit and veg for free, this book is an excellent choice. Huw Richards' book is packed with tried and tested advice on how to grow your own food in your home garden, allotment or container and look forward to a fruitful harvest year-round. It comes with Huw Richards' 52-week journal of how he grew his own produce for free for a year without spending a penny, how to sell your products to raise money to expand your growing area and advice on deciding how to best grow your crops and more.
Pages: 224
Review: "As someone with a very small budget but a huge love of gardening, this book is full of useful advice on growing food for free. Everything is explained really well. The advice is something that everyone can do. A great second book from Huw Richards. I would recommend this to everyone."
What are the health benefits of eating more fresh fruit and veg?
Eat around the rainbow for all your vitamins and minerals. Eating produce in various colours is a fantastic way to get in all your essential minerals and vitamins, and nutrient-rich crops are easy and rewarding to grow – in more ways than one. Here is Karen's guide to growing and eating the rainbow.
Red fruit and veg: Lycopene gives red fruits their colour, and contains properties that protect against heart problems, blood pressure and cholesterol. It’s absorbed better by us when cooked. Orange Carotenes are converted to Vitamin A in our bodies, which helps with hormones and the heart, keeps the eyes healthy and can protect against cancers. Citrus has more vitamins.
Yellow fruit and veg: also have carotenes in them, all of which ups the vitamin A count in our bodies as much as orange fruit and veg. Citrus are, of course, also rich in Vitamin C.
Green fruit and veg: Chlorophyll gives green crops their colour, but many greens, such as broccoli and peas, are medical research marvels; the former may specifically protect blood vessels and against certain cancers, while peas are among those that protect eye health.
Blue and purple fruit and veg: Blue and purple fruit and veg contain heavy doses of anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants to protect from cell damage. Beetroot is particularly high in nitrates, which experts think reduces blood pressure.
What to read next:
11 best gardening books for beginners to herb your enthusiasm
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