For the prospective vegetable gardener who lacks the know-how or space, this fully illustrated handbook explains how anyone can raise a bumper crop—including clear and complete instructions on how to plan, plant, and care for everything from a container garden on an apartment balcony to a mini-farm in a large backyard. This encyclopedic guide discusses what and how much to grow and when and how to harvest each vegetable, and supplies all the detailed information needed to raise spectacular crops of everything from artichokes to zucchini, including a special section on herbs. Step-by-step instructions on the correct and safe ways to freeze, bottle, dry, and store harvested vegetables are also included.

A perfect companion to The Encyclopedia of Country Living, this is a complete gardening manual for setting up your own vegetable garden—whether it’s just a few rows of lettuce or a year-round field Drawn from, and a continuation of, the bestseller The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Growing Your Own Vegetables is informed by years of hands-on experience and the wisdom gathered from a generation of homesteaders and small farmers. Starting with planning the garden (plot size, seasonal considerations, getting the most from a small plot) and laying it out (rows, beds, plowing), this book addresses the planning and growing issues for all North American climate zones. Gardeners need to understand (and love) their soil, and the Growing Your Own Vegetables explains it in simple terms, with advice on composting and testing for contamination (so important since this is going to be your food source!). Author Carla Emery was a very early advocate of gardening without chemical fertilizers, so the approach here is organic all the way. Much of the book is the crop-by-crop guide to planting, cultivating, and harvesting the delicious vegetables we love to eat: onions, leafy greens, stems and flowers (rhubarb, artichoke, broccoli), roots (spuds, radishes, jicama), grasses & grains (just imagine: your own wheat field!), legumes, gourds, and the nightshade family (that would be tomatoes, peppers, eggplant).

- Learn how to plant and care for your vegetable garden.- Encyclopedia covers more than 100 of the most sure-fire vegetable varieties.

A practical guide on planting, growing, and preparing more than eighty vegetables and herbs, this handy home companion is perfect for avid cooks, foodies, and small scale vegetable gardeners.