Early Book Review: Gardening for Everyone: Growing Vegetables, Herbs, and More at Home by Julia Watkins

Gardening for Everyone: Growing Vegetables, Herbs, and More at Home by Julia Watkins is currently scheduled for release on March 8 2022. It is a guide to creating and growing a backyard garden simply and sustainably—from planning to planting to harvest, with profiles of essential vegetables and herbs, ecological tips, and fun and creative projects.  Growing food in your backyard, porch, or windowsill can be one of the simplest and most rewarding ways to nourish yourself, be self-sufficient, and connect with nature in a hands-on way. Here sustainability expert Julia Watkins shares everything you need to know to grow your own vegetables, fruits, and herbs (as well as wildflowers and other beneficial companion plants). The book covers all the nuts and bolts of creating and caring for your garden—planning, building, planting, tending, and harvesting—followed by a deeper dive into the plants themselves: demystifying annuals vs. perennials, cold-weather vs. warm-weather veggies, and profiles of favorite crops. Throughout, Julia offers tips for creating an eco-friendly and sustainable garden (such as vermicomposting, no-till “lasagna” gardening, and attracting pollinators), plus some fun and unexpected hands-on projects like how to build a bean teepee, make wildflower seed paper, and enjoy refreshing herbal lemonade ice pops.

Gardening for Everyone is a book that has something for everyone that is interested in growing their own food- regardless of the amount of land or time you may have at your disposal. Growing up my parents had a huge garden and most of our produce for the year come from it. I have fond memories of the fresh food, less fond memories of the work involved, and less land and time to invest in the process now than when I was a kid. What I love about the book and the author is that they meet the reader where they are. Information on how to do just about everything in the most sustainable way possible is offered, along with the understanding that not everyone is up for everything. The text is accessible and well written and organized while the included images are well chosen and brighten up the book. I think the reference style of the book offers readers the chance to explore all of the information they are interested in and the chance to explore options they might not have thought available to them, with no judgement about gardening style. For instance, I am a well intentioned gardener- I plant a garden with full intention of a great harvest and doing better than last year every year, but end up sharing the majority of my harvest with bunnies and birds every single year. The fact that the author admitted to having been that type of gardener at one point themselves made me feel much better. I loved that she covered every topic that I might have gone looking for, and included some that I had never considered. The recipes, crafts, and gardening projects included were interesting to me, and I might be trying some oft hem out this year to get the kids more involved. I also liked that some resources for supplies and further information was included at the end of the book.   

Gardening for Everyone is a well written and useful book that I would recommend for public libraries and a spot in personal libraries for those with space for more.