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)

Visually, Inspirationaly, the language is lovely to read, the layout and design of the book itself is devine. Absolutely a must.

Jess is an amazing writer and this book is proof. Her love of gardening shines through but also her ability to make this topic easy to understand is so appreciated! This is my gardening bible.

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.

Great book- tons of useful info. Would buy for a new gardener.

The media could not be loaded. 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!

I love that I don’t have to scour the internet looking for gardening info. Everything is in here. In one book. And it’s very well laid out and easy to read.

Empieza tu huerto y ocupa tu tiempo en algo relajante.

Wonderful book for a begginer but maybe not for those who've gone through their first year of gardening. Great gift to someone starting their gardening journey.

I’ve read a fair amount of first time gardener books that give black and white information. This gives guidelines, but more importantly, teaches you how to think and how to stay motivated. It is both info and encouragement, which I think is very important for us newbies.

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!