So I ended up not testing out the ideas taught in this book due to lack of space, but it seems simple enough that even I, someone with a black thumb, could succeed for once!

Practical advice on how to start a garden..
it does matter if you have a small plot of land or container garden.
This is the book for you.

This book is a must have for any beginning gardener and professional alike. Such an array of information to help anyone become a seasoned gardener,

Love this book! This author has written a very informative and easy to follow guide for starting a vegetable garden. I enjoyed the recipes and the weekend projects. Lots of great photos. I highly recommend!

Beautiful and informative book for anyone who has or wants a garden.,
I've been gardening on a small scale for a long time but there are always things I have questions about and need an easy answer.. Not only will this book encourage you to pick you a seed catalogue or two but it helps you get a good understanding of what to grow, when to try to grow it and where to grow it too. Then there are the recipes, great ideas on what to do with all of the wonderful things that come out of your garden.
The book is split into seasons, so no matter when you pick it up there is relevant information . This book shows you how to garden with the basics, no need to run out and spend lots of money or to even have a large amount of space. Great ideas on companion plantings and container gardens.
No matter how much time or space you have, with this book you'll be ready to start growing your own food

#Beginner'sGarden #NetGalley #Harvest #Garden #Summer 2018

The best companion book for new gardeners. It comes with A to Z techniques and information: the type of soil, the veggies and plants of each season of the year, the pest and more useful content.

I love growing plants, whether it be flowers or veggies. Some plants I have better luck at then others. Also I live in Florida and some plants just won't grow well here while others thrive. This book was extremely helpful in teaching me about the different types of plats, what they need in order to grow well, and the best planting times. The illustrations were great. The information in this book even though it says the book is for beginners would be helpful to anyone. I wholeheartedly believe you know know enough to stop learning.



I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

This may be a book for beginners, but I found it to be an overload of information. I was hoping for something more simple and straightforward. The book is very thorough if you are looking to become a serious gardener but it was overwhelming for me.

What a joy this book is! From the seed to the table and everything in between. I think even the seasoned gardeners would find something useful in this book. Everything is explained and easy to understand with useful practical tips and even recipes! Great book if you’re just starting out gardening! I would recommend this book

This is the first April weekend in Kansas that we don't have snow or ice in the forecast, so my mind is wandering to the garden, which in my case is a collection of pots, some with last year's garden disasters still there. But this year I have more hope, because I have Alex Mitchell's Beginner's Garden. 

Mitchell has been gardening and writing about gardening for 20 years. And although this was her first book, she recently went back to it to refresh it and update it for today's beginning gardener. She has lots of great tips for working in small spaces and makes it super easy to get started on a tasteful, tasty patio or balcony garden. 

Beginner's Garden is packed with great ideas to get started quickly (or slowly) with ideas on specific plants to try, from veggies to herbs to flowers. Arugula and lettuces, new potatoes, beets, peppers, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, even pumpkins and squashes can be grown by a beginner in a pot or a small raised bed. 

Mitchell walks readers through the seasons, talking about what to do when. She includes very specific strategies for dealing with the bugs and diseases that can affect each plant and even about some of the other garden villains she encounters, such as slugs or cats. 

There are shopping lists so that you don't even up with a bunch of stuff you won't need (and don't need to waste your money on) as well as ideas for design and recipes, so that you can share your garden with all your friends. She gives lots of ideas for personalizing the garden and adding special touches like string lights (although I've always preferred the British term "fairy lights"), and then serving your friends and family a bruschetta topped with tomatoes straight from your garden or mojitos made with fresh mint. 

All of Mitchell's years of experience come through in her down-to-earth advice, and her breezy writing style makes everything sound so simple and accessible. And she offers lots of options, so readers can feel like they can make their own garden path to best fir their space and their lifestyle. Although I tend to kill my garden every year either by over-or under-watering (I do get help with that from Mother Nature, so it's not all my fault, just mostly), I am inspired to try again. And I love her idea of setting up an automatic watering system, because that could give me a fighting chance against high summer in Kansas, which seems to scorch everything I plant (that I haven't already flooded). 

So if you're like me, starting over every year, or if you're trying a garden for the first time, or if you just need workable ideas for you small patio space, then Beginner's Garden is an excellent resource. Highly recommended for anyone struggling to set up a small garden and keep it healthy through all the growing seasons. 



Galleys for Beginner's Garden were provided by Fox Chapel Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks.

If you are just starting out gardening or need some new ideas this is a great place to start

Beginner's Garden is a great book for exactly what is just that - a beginner's guide for gardening. It is divided into sections which is great with unbelievable illustrations, and also gives you some recipes - and that is awesome. I love the tips on herbs because I am a cook and use them daily so I was excited about that section - but there is a section for everyone - enjoy.

I have been growing vegetables for several years, and every year, certain aspects make me feel like a beginner. I try and add three new plants or varieties each garden season to replace some things that weren't successful in prior years. I am also fortunate to have a significant other who doesn't say a word when I take over more of the yard with additional raised beds. Where else would I go except to a beginner's guide to learn about plants I haven't grown before? My 2018 garden plan was finalized late last year but thanks to Alex Mitchell, I now have my three new plants to try next. I am intrigued by new salad potatoes, nasturtiums(edible flowers, who knew), and lemon verbena(for herbal tea).
There is a wealth of information in this book including starting from seed, understanding your soil, what you can grow in pots, composting and many selections for plants. I learned a lot from my failures and it wasn't until I got smart enough to spend time researching and learning from books like this that I started to have a more productive garden. I can see this being a useful resource no matter what your gardening skill level and I am thinking this will be a great gift for a friend of mine who swears she has a brown gardening thumb.
Thank you, Alex Mitchell, Fox Chapel Publishing and NetGalley for the complimentary e ARC.

This book has great information, but is sometimes too technical for a beginner's book. For example, it uses the technical names for different varieties within a family of vegetables. This information could be difficult to read for a novice, and would be better in a chart or bullets than in a long list in a paragraph. However, the way it is organized by season and vegetable is very useful, and it has a glossary and index for quick reference. The author has a wry sense of humor, which can be amusing but doesn't always fit the situation. She gives some recipes to make excellent use of the food you grow.

This is a lovely introduction to gardening, with lots of hints and tips for using smaller spaces, while giving options for both ground growing and pot growing a variety of plants. Mitchell encourages readers to push the envelope, try the more difficult elements and reassures newbies about trying things that might seem intimidating at first glance. I really enjoyed this, and the added recipes and quick-fire ideas for super fast home-made meals are a great addition. Would be positively lovely as a hardback.

As a new gardner I am so happy I came across this book! The author guides the reader in an easy to understand way. I loved learning about the best time of year to plant as well as what types of pots work best for the herbs/plants your potting. I didn't have too much information when I began to read this book but now after I read this I have already planted my herbs and am very excited to watch them grow and I will be refering back to the book. A true gem!

As a long time vegetable gardener I have to say that Beginners Garden: A Practical Guide to Growing Vegetables & Fruit Without Getting Your Hands Too Dirty by Alex Mitchell from Fox Chapel Publishing
is a beautiful, useful book for anyone but especially the beginner wanting to grow vegetables. I have never done well with flowers (those I keep trying) but veggies are my success story in gardening. Having failed to learn from my gardening gifted mother-in-law I was on my own and learned a lot through trial and error. This book would have been a nice help way back when I started growing vegetables. The book is loaded with beautiful pictures, compost dos and don'ts, a few recipes, tips on varieties to plant, pests and diseases, and loads of good advice beginners need.
This beautiful book anyone would love
Thank you Alex Mitchell, Fox Chapel Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I love gardening but don't really have the room to spread out. There's just something about growing your own food and the author gets that. I don't live in the same zone as the author, but many of the tips can be incorporated into my own climate. Well worth reading!

This book has all of the practical advice that I should have learned from my grandfather. Without him here to ask, this is the next best thing....

I have forever admired those that can keep a plant living for more than a few days. Those that can grow something that's actually edible gets major kudos from me. I secretly wish I could be that girl that goes out to her backyard, picks vegetables, and makes a beautiful dish out of them. If you look at my bucket list one of the things you will see is eat something that you've grown. If I tried that right now I would make myself incredibly sick. I hope one day to be able to grow my own vegetables. The only person in my family that successfully grows their own vegetables is my grandfather. Last year I asked for gardening tips for a true beginner and he suggested I start with okra. I took his advice and followed his instructions to a T but I started too late in the season and a few hard freezes took my sweet little plant to the grave.

I know ZERO about gardening. That okra plant growing as much as it did was a true miracle from God! With the wealth of information out there it's easy to get overwhelmed, which is why I was so excited to get my hands on Beginner's Garden: A Practical Guide to Growing Vegetables & Fruits without Getting Your Hands Too Dirty by Alex Mitchell.

This book takes you through the entire process and leaves a beginner like myself with no question unanswered. Alex Mitchell states in the book that, "this is the book I wish I'd had when I started growing (on) my own," and for "people who have busy lives but still like the idea of eating a fresh salad they've grown." That would be me!

The information is very basic, which is much appreciated for this newbie, but make no mistake the amount of information contained within these pages is generous. I learned so much I never knew and things I didn't know I needed to know! The book is divided into seasons which is helpful. As far as the actual gardening, the author keeps the equipment required incredibly minimalistic which motivates you to get started quicker, without excuses. The section about planting in various containers was especially helpful for me. Containers do not seem as scary as a plot to me. I also love how the author added the "where have I gone wrong?" section with each vegetable, noting things to look out for, and even "villains" for certain crops.

The recipes sprinkled throughout the book are a nice touch and the photos are gorgeous! Simply written and easy to read, the Beginner's Garden would make a perfect housewarming gift and is a wonderful resource! Highly recommend!