Tasty food starts in the garden. It’s rare for me to post a recipe without mentioning homegrown ingredients, freshly harvested produce, and other gardening thoughts. Sometimes I make suggestions for planning, growing, maintaining, and harvesting food from your garden, including herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

But the nitty-gritty on getting your hands dirty in garden soil would fill a separate blog. I share information I glean from other sources in every post on this blog, and I’m always happy to answer questions posed in post comments or the Twice as Tasty Facebook group. But if you want to learn even more about growing your own food, I suggest seeking out some of my favorite resources.

Barbara Damrosch
The Garden Primer

If you’re looking for an all-round guide to creating a garden, building up your soil, choosing plants, and caring for them, grab The Garden Primer. It’s the first book I turn to when I bring home a new perennial or am thinking about starting a new bed. Damrosch covers a huge range of topics, from soil testing to pest control, and hundreds of plants, both edible and ornamental. Her engaging writing style gives both new and experienced gardeners valuable info.

Ann Lovejoy
Organic Garden Design School

If you’re just starting a garden, Lovejoy’s beautiful spaces will give you plenty to drool over, even though she has little to say here about edibles. The real value, whether you want to mimic her landscaping or grow your own veg, is in the back workbook section. It shows you how to look at the space you have to work with and select the best site for each type of plant based on light, terrain, proximity, and other considerations often overlooked in the excitement of a new garden. The planning and preparation may seem excessive, but learning about where you will be planting before you move the first shovelful of dirt will pay off in spades in seasons to come.

Sandra Perrin
Organic Gardening in Cold Climates

I picked up this little volume when I first moved to Montana, and it’s been a surprising gem. Perrin packs a lot of info into its pages, including soil care, herb choices, and companion plants. But the treasure lies in the pages on specific types of vegetables. Perrin suggests several varieties ideal for cold climates, along with their estimated required growing days and basic care instructions. If you live in a different type of climate, I suggest asking at your local nursery if a similar book exists for your area.

Like what you’ve learned? To learn more in a Twice as Tasty workshop—in your own kitchen and garden, among friends, and with my personal help—click here. If you’re not yet a Twice as Tasty subscriber, get the newsletter and weekly post notifications delivered straight to your inbox by clicking here.