From selecting and preparing ground for a garden to choosing crops -- vegetables, fruits, or herbs -- planting seeds, adding fertilizer, weeding and harvesting, this guide to small-space edible gardening will help beginning city gardeners green their thumbs and fill their freezers.
One of the best books available on container or balcony gardening, Grow Great Grub provides details on each plant, including recommended soil amendments, companion plants, and the depth of container needed to grow it successfully. The text includes lists of plants that grow well in depleted soil, shady locations or very hot spots.
There are some major differences between growing vegetables and herbs in containers rather than in the ground, and not all will benefit from being grown in containers.
The final pages of the book explain the basics of harvesting and preserving organic produce - drying, canning, and freezing - and offer instructions for making herbal vinegars or ristras from hot chili peppers.
Gayla Trail's first book, "You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening, " offered a fresh look at an old pursuit. This book is a little more straightforward, with sound advice on planting a kitchen garden and preserving its harvest for family meals. The book is illustrated with the author's inspired photography.