The First-Time Gardener: Growing Vegetables: All the know-how and encouragement you need to grow - and fall in love with! - your brand new food garden (Volume 1) (The First-Time Gardener's Guides, 1)

This book was written for me. I’m a first-time gardener this year. Okay, I realize it was also written for everyone else that wanted an easy-to-understand book to help them realize success in their gardening endeavors. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, learning, and finding answers to questions, even some I originally thought were, perhaps, dumb. The book has a great layout and it is easy to reference the section I need to re-read at any given time. The photos are not only beautiful but also very useful. Even better, the author, Jessica Sowards, made me feel comfortable leaving the holding pattern I was in and actually doing some gardening this year. Her encouragement allowed me to find confidence to try and her honesty prepared me to understand that there would be ups and downs, successes and failures but it was okay and absolutely part of the process. She told me I could grow food, even if I thought my thumb was black. She was right. My first harvest was a cucumber, recently enjoyed for lunch. It was delicious and I’m giddy with the success of growing it. Some books are valuable beyond the price you pay and more like a gift from the author. This is one of those books. Highly recommended!

It is Jessica Sowards who inspired me to want to become a gardener through her Youtube Channel. I'm glad to finally have her book! You get years of wisdom when you buy this book. With this book you have all the information you need to get started, and more. As you garden you'll need to find solutions to problems as they arise. She encourages you to keep a garden journal to record your outcomes and let the garden teach you valuable lessons. It's about learning and growing yourself also! She's honest about the fact that gardening is hard work; that every gardener will make mistakes and sometimes fail; and that there will be situations that cannot be controlled, only overcome. Throughout the book she encourages you to persevere just as she does, because the rewards are worth it. It's helpful to keep these realities in mind and let go of any romanticized view of gardening. I like that when she offers various alternatives for your garden, she also addresses the way to properly use them and cautions about what could go wrong if you don't. She has a heart for your success, and tells you in advance so you can avoid setback and discouragement. Just a few highlights of what I appreciate about the book: ⦁ The foundation of what every garden must have to produce food, the "non-negotiables", are laid out before you, as well as the "negotiables" which are the decisions you make based on your needs, your landscape conditions, and your personal preferences and creativity. ⦁ The pros and cons of various options help you make well-informed decisions. ⦁ Insights about issues I'd never considered are shared in this book. For me, it's helpful to read it several times to make sure those nuggets of wisdom sink in. ⦁ It's written in a friendly, conversational style as if your gardening friend is teaching you -- and she is! ⦁ Jessica is an expert communicator. She knows how to write concisely without unnecessary words. Because it is so well-written, there's a lot of information, helpful tips and encouragement covering all the bases of growing your own food, packed in a comfortable sized book. ⦁ Inspiring photos of her garden and the text are artistically arranged to make it a pleasant, relaxing read. It's packed with info, yet easy on the eyes because it feels more green, than stark white space on the pages. Jessica has a heart for gardening, for people, and for teaching her passion to others. That love certainly comes through her writing.

I first found Jess about three years ago when I was Googling information about growing tomatoes, and it took me about a year and a half later to find her again and started following her YouTube channel religiously. So poetic in all she talks about, I knew that The First-Time Gardener: Growing Vegetables would be amazing. I ordered it just as soon as that was possible and then had to wait until March! Oh, the anticipation, but I knew it would be worth the wait! The pictures are amazing and truly capture the beauty of Jess and Miah’s garden space. The information is priceless and so well written. Since I have followed Jess for a while now, before reading the book I thought there was little more I could learn from her, but I was wrong. There is so much advise in this one book that I can use in my garden, and I loved the charts. It makes it so easy to see information in a flash. While reading, it felt as if Jess was talking to me, and I love how motivational she can be. The last part of the book, “Just Keep Growing,” sums it all up. Jess encourages us to try anything and everything in our gardens because there is always next year. It is better to have tried something new than to regret not doing it later. Thank you, Jess, for such a beautiful book. I will be reading it again now that I have started really getting into my garden.

I found Jessica on YouTube. I’ve been trying to learn about gardening for a couple years searching for help on YouTube channels. I finally ran across one of her videos and she explained things in detail, which is what I needed. So many professional gardeners forget about us newbies and leave out information. I thought her book would be a good idea because she’s so great in her videos. It’s the basics. I would not recommend this to a skilled gardener. She talks about setting up your garden, the plants needs, how to plant, zoning, etc. My favorite thing is the advice on how to do things inexpensive, and where to source containers and soil. She is fun in her language. The book is well organized, and it’s really beautiful. There are lots of pretty pictures of her personal garden. It really gets you excited about the process of growing food for your family. If you are a new gardener this book is really a must have. Ps. Jessica if you read these reviews you’re I think your cattle panel arches are WAY more beautiful than any expensive store bought trellis.

I cannot claim to be a master gardener, but through Jess's wonderful YouTube videos, I had a decently successful garden last year instead of one tomato from a couple of dozen tomato plants. While much of the information in the book is in Jess's videos on her YouTube channel, the charts that she included are phenomenal, and the breakdown of organic pesticides is immensely helpful! This book is absolutely coffee table-worthy, and it will definitely be frequently referenced. As a home-schooling mother, my middle school daughter has been asking for information about botany pertaining to the garden, and this book gives a good deal of the basics. Not only is it beautiful, but it is super useful, and it is laid out in a way that is very easy to digest. I cannot wait for any future books that Jess publishes, and I will ALWAYS recommend this book to anyone starting down the path to gardening. Thank you so much, Jess, for this wonderful gardening reference. We will cherish it forever!

So I took a nap today after work. My husband walks in and says "you got a package and it feels like a book." I thought "ok, I will open it and look at it" knowing full well I have not read a book in over 5 years without falling asleep in the the first few pages. I purchased this book realizing that it would possibly be a while before I finish it. Nope, not the case. I am already halfway through it and just now put it down so I could post this. So fluid and easy to read. I love the quotes of inspiration throughout. I am going to have to put some up in my craft room. Gorgeous pictures, it always warms my heart to see your children in the garden. And they have grown so much since I first fell on one of your videos. Although I am not a beginner, and definitely still a novice, this book has given me so much more understanding of gardening. Learning new information and having confirmation of things I knew but was so unsure of. I can't even express how much I am enjoying this book that arrived only hours ago or the ability to express just how hard it is for me to get into a book. Must read for any new gardener wanting to learn about gardening and get the inspiration to do so!

Thanks to covid, I decided to try and turn my black thumbs green this past year, and let me tell you: EVERYTHING I've scoured the internet for is in this book. Whether it's lighting, soil, weather, bugs or diseases, she tells multiple ways to handle things as well as gives you cheap and safe homemade recipes that work. I started out barely being able to water a grocery store basil plant I bought at the wrong time of year. Now I've graduated into 3 raised beds and 2 dozen containers! I made all the wrong moves on my own, and I'm finding all of my mistakes being addressed in this book. They were hard lessons to learn and honestly, if it wasn't for being stuck at home so much, I don't think I would have continued, but that gets me to the most important part of this book: the encouragement. I have a few other gardening books, but they are pretty standard "here's what's what, and tips" and read like some kind of encyclopedia that a robot could have written. Great if you know what you're looking for already or just want to know what gardeners do, but this reads like your good friend who knows you don't know what you're doing and wants to give you the best advice while validating all your insecurities and helping you grow as a person and a gardener. It sounds super corny, but I didn't know I needed that. It's so easy to beat ourselves up over our own ignorance because we have access to instant info at our fingertips. The author does a fantastic job of informing, and encouraging without being overly jargony or preachy. It's crystal clear that she loves to garden and is grateful for the opportunity to grow gardeners that do as well.

To know Jessica Sowards is to love her. Everything you see here was 1000% inspired by Jess and her wealth of knowledge, advice, and willingness to share her failures as much as her triumphs. I found Roots & Refuge Farm in the summer of 2019, when I stumbled across the homesteading community. All of a sudden I had found my people! I fell in love with her charm, as did millions of others, and she became my inspiration, and my teacher. Then 2020 arrived and all of a sudden the dream of the garden became a necessity, and I dove head first into building what you see here, and all of it was because of Jess. You see I was “waiting” for my forever homestead, living on 1/10 and acre in the middle of the city. With my newfound gift of time, and with her guidance and encouragement through her YouTube channel, I built this “victory garden” from the ground up. I poured my heart and soul into this garden during the summer of 2020, and ended up producing over 200 lbs of food for myself and my 3 children off this 1/10 of an acre. This is what Jessica does. She inspires, she encourages, she teaches. All through her passion for growing food. When my copy of the book finally arrived, I poured over the pages for hours! Not only is it a wealth of knowledge with beautiful, vibrant photos of the farm at Roots & Refuge, but the size and quality of the pages are stellar! Jessica, you have millions of “sisters” all over the world who cried along with you when you opened the package and saw your book for the first time. It was an intensely beautiful moment to watch you experience the realization of one of your biggest dreams. I love you dear “soil sister!” Can’t wait to see what’s in store for you next!

Jessica de Roots and Refuge Farm a une manière de décrire et expliquer les choses pour les rendre compréhensibles et transposables. Le livre ne contient pas que des simples explications mais beaucoup de conseils et le partage d'une passion, le jardinage. Je le recommande vivement à toute personne pouvant lire et comprendre l'anglais!

Empieza tu huerto y ocupa tu tiempo en algo relajante.

This book is a great refresher for experienced gardeners, and fabulous for a new gardener. The glimpse into Jessica Sowards life in her small farm is delightful. Very articulate, beautifully photographed, so well researched. Definitely recommend to all! Can't wait to read more from this author.

Excellent advice from an experienced Australia-based passionate veggie gardener

I don’t often write reviews but I had to for this book. I’ve tried growing veggie gardens a couple of times and have failed dismally. I had no confidence going in this time and this book has changed that. It has shown me exactly why my last attempts failed, it has taught me that failure is learning and I am so much better equipped to start this year! It is excellently written, engaging and not at all boring. It is a feel good read, full of life giving energy and has really changed my view of gardening. If you are a veggie growing newbie or someone like me who is lacking wisdom and confidence, then GET THIS BOOK. You don’t need anything else at this stage, just this book. Jessica Sowards is a joy to read and a joy to watch on YouTube. Buy this book, you won’t regret it.