100 books like How to Grow More Vegetables

By John Jeavons,

Here are 100 books that How to Grow More Vegetables fans have personally recommended if you like How to Grow More Vegetables. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Book cover of Silent Spring

Elizabeth Randall Author Of An Ocklawaha River Odyssey: Paddling Through Natural History

From my list on saving Florida from becoming an arid dump of toxic waste.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have lived in Florida since 1969, attended public school here, and received my Master’s degree from a state college. My husband, Bob Randall, a photographer and an entrepreneur, and I have written six nonfiction books about Florida. An Ocklawaha River Odyssey is our favorite. Kayaking the 56 miles of winding waterways became less of a research expedition and more of a spiritual journey as the ancient river cast its spell on us. From wildlife, including manatees and monkeys, to wild orchids and pickerelweed, the Ocklawaha provides more than exercise and recreation; it also touches your soul. I hope my writing and Bob’s photography provide that experience for our readers.

Elizabeth's book list on saving Florida from becoming an arid dump of toxic waste

Elizabeth Randall Why did Elizabeth love this book?

Carson’s Silent Spring is full of unsettling environmental details, including the poisoning of species of birds by insecticides and politicians' proposals to use a nuclear bomb to form a dam. Although it was published in 1962, the book is even more relevant today, and I love that it is easy to read and gives environmentalists the facts they need to counter those who would poison and destroy wildlife and, ultimately, the environment.

By Rachel Carson,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Silent Spring as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silent Spring alerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. "Silent Spring became a runaway bestseller, with international reverberations . . . [It is] well crafted, fearless and succinct . . . Even if she had not inspired a generation of activists, Carson would prevail as one of the greatest nature writers in American letters" (Peter Matthiessen, for Time"s 100 Most Influential People of the Century). This fortieth anniversary edition celebrates Rachel Carson"s watershed…


Book cover of The One-Straw Revolution

Frank Holzman Author Of A Radiant Earth: Tools for restoring balanced ecosystems to regenerate and reconnect with the planet.

From my list on ecology, regenerative gardening, and farming.

Why am I passionate about this?

These books fall in line with my community of people who care for the Earth. They were my beginning influences to doing the work I have done over the past five decades and in the countries I have worked to teach people how to develop good stewardship practices on the land they worked. Community development is at the heart of what I do. Healing land heals us and helps us become more whole.

Frank's book list on ecology, regenerative gardening, and farming

Frank Holzman Why did Frank love this book?

This is an introduction to natural farming. This Japanese farmer was a spearhead for how to work with natural pathways and create a system that flows with the land. He was an inspiration for the Permaculture design for Bill Mollinson. He adapted a design that worked with animals, insects, native plants, and water to form a biological series of self-reliance.

This book is inspirational and lays the groundwork for growing with nature. This book opened me up to using biomimicry in my design.

By Masanobu Fukuoka,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The One-Straw Revolution as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Call it “Zen and the Art of Farming” or a “Little Green Book,” Masanobu Fukuoka’s manifesto about farming, eating, and the limits of human knowledge presents a radical challenge to the global systems we rely on for our food. At the same time, it is a spiritual memoir of a man whose innovative system of cultivating the earth reflects a deep faith in the wholeness and balance of the natural world. As Wendell Berry writes in his preface, the book “is valuable to us because it is at once practical and philosophical. It is an inspiring, necessary book about agriculture…


Book cover of Radical Agriculture

Frank Holzman Author Of A Radiant Earth: Tools for restoring balanced ecosystems to regenerate and reconnect with the planet.

From my list on ecology, regenerative gardening, and farming.

Why am I passionate about this?

These books fall in line with my community of people who care for the Earth. They were my beginning influences to doing the work I have done over the past five decades and in the countries I have worked to teach people how to develop good stewardship practices on the land they worked. Community development is at the heart of what I do. Healing land heals us and helps us become more whole.

Frank's book list on ecology, regenerative gardening, and farming

Frank Holzman Why did Frank love this book?

This book opened me up to how our food system and modern agribusiness work.

I read this while in between my studies in horticulture and agriculture. I was so taken by the book that I sought him out. I discovered that he was teaching organic horticulture at a small college down the coast near Santa Cruz. I went there and studied horticulture in his class. I gained a great deal of knowledge from him. He was a valuable resource.

By Richard Merrill (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Radical Agriculture as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book has soft covers.Ex-library,With usual stamps and markings,In poor condition, suitable as a reading copy.


Book cover of Food First: Beyond the Myth of Scarcity

Frank Holzman Author Of A Radiant Earth: Tools for restoring balanced ecosystems to regenerate and reconnect with the planet.

From my list on ecology, regenerative gardening, and farming.

Why am I passionate about this?

These books fall in line with my community of people who care for the Earth. They were my beginning influences to doing the work I have done over the past five decades and in the countries I have worked to teach people how to develop good stewardship practices on the land they worked. Community development is at the heart of what I do. Healing land heals us and helps us become more whole.

Frank's book list on ecology, regenerative gardening, and farming

Frank Holzman Why did Frank love this book?

This book is a classic book on the food revolution that took place in the 1970s. It examines our approach to food and how we farm.

The way food is produced is the result of supply and demand without consideration of the damage it causes to the environment. In other words, short-term gains for long-term damage to our planet. She is highly revered as a pioneer in the revolutionary food movement.

By Frances Moore Lappe, Joseph Collins,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Food First as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Clean copy of terrific book from 1981


Book cover of The No Dig Organic Home & Garden: Grow, Cook, Use, and Store Your Harvest

Bill Laws Author Of Fifty Plants That Changed the Course of History

From my list on backyard veg.

Why am I passionate about this?

Veg. I grow it; I nurture it; I shield it from cold winds, protect it from voracious pigeons, warm it against sudden frosts. And then I share it with friends, family, and neighbours… and we eat it. In between times I might write something gardeny or historical, but you’ll usually find me back on my veg plot, a little urban allotment in the west of England. I do a lot of reading there too! 

Bill's book list on backyard veg

Bill Laws Why did Bill love this book?

Organics, raised beds, permaculture, vertical gardening: there are plenty of exciting new ideas coming out of the veg patch. One of the most persuasive is Charles Dowding’s no-dig brigade. Many of my ‘can’t dig’ friends are joining up too, prevented from wielding a spade by sore backs, arthritis, and other such ailments. This regime of hand weeding and hoeing, and freshening the soil with generous helpings of homemade mulching composts is so much kinder to the planet than plastering it with artificial fertilisers.

By Charles Dowding, Stephanie Hafferty,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The No Dig Organic Home & Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

No dig organic gardening saves time and work. It requires an annual dressing of compost to help accelerate the improvement in soil structure and leads to higher fertility and less weeds. No dig experts, Charles Dowding and Stephanie Hafferty, explain how to set up a no dig garden. They describe how to: Make compost, enrich soil, harvest and prepare food and make natural beauty and clean ing products and garden preparations. These approaches work as well in small spaces as in large gardens. The Authors' combined experience gives you ways of growing, preparing and storing the plants you grow for…


Book cover of Fruit Trees for Every Garden: An Organic Approach to Growing Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Citrus, and More

Michelle Balz Author Of No-Waste Composting: Small-Space Waste Recycling, Indoors and Out. Plus, 10 Projects to Repurpose Household Items Into Compost-Making Machines

From my list on for aspiring urban homesteaders.

Why am I passionate about this?

For me, backyard composting is more than just a way to lessen how much waste I send to the landfill. When you compost you transform items that many people consider garbage into a valuable soil amendment for your garden. You are creating something with real value that can help plants thrive and act as a carbon sink to help reduce negative impacts of climate change. Composting is so easy and rewarding that I really want to see everyone give it a try.

Michelle's book list on for aspiring urban homesteaders

Michelle Balz Why did Michelle love this book?

Fruit Trees for Every Garden was an excellent guide for me as I dream of planting my small backyard orchard. You can tell by reading the text that Martin really knows his stuff and as you read it feels more like an old friend sharing their wisdom over coffee than reading a textbook. The photos are lovely and warrant checking out the book on their own. Martin also dives extensively into the importance of using compost when planting trees, so he earns big points from me.

By Orin Martin, Manjula Martin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fruit Trees for Every Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Written by the long-time manager of the renowned Alan Chadwick Garden at the University of California, Santa Cruz, this substantial, authoritative, and beautiful full-color guide covers everything you need to know about organically growing healthy, bountiful fruit trees.

WINNER OF THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY BOOK AWARD

For more than forty years, Orin Martin has taught thousands of apprentices, students, and home gardeners the art and craft of growing fruit trees organically. In Fruit Trees for Every Garden, Orin shares--with hard-won wisdom and plenty of humor--his recommended fruit varieties and techniques for productive trees, including apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, nectarine,…


Book cover of 101 Organic Gardening Hacks: Eco-Friendly Solutions to Improve Any Garden

Lisa Steele Author Of Gardening with Chickens: Plans and Plants for You and Your Hens

From my list on gardening for creative gardeners.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a New Englander, born and bred. I am a 5th-generation chicken keeper and lifelong gardener. An author and Maine Master Gardener, I live on a small farm in Maine where I raise chickens, ducks, and geese and grow all kinds of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. My mom was a 3rd-grade teacher and my dad was incredibly artistic, so that combination resulted in me being an avid DIYer. I love to build and make and paint and raise and grow all kinds of things.

Lisa's book list on gardening for creative gardeners

Lisa Steele Why did Lisa love this book?

The ultimate DIY gardening book, author Shawna Coronado shares more than 100 quick and easy, practical and functional projects for the garden to save you time and money. From tips for a more bountiful harvest to mixing your own garden soil, repelling garden pests, or making a more attractive garden border, the author walks the readers through each project with simple step-by-step instructions.

By Shawna Coronado,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 101 Organic Gardening Hacks as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shawna Coronado, one of America’s most creative gardeners, gives you her library of clever gardening tricks in 101 Organic Gardening Hacks.

If you ask garden author Shawna Coronado what a hack is, she might just wave her hand toward her own back yard. She could be pointing at the garden bench she created from leftover wood posts and a few cinder blocks, or the rows of wine bottles buried soldier-style along a winding pathway, or even the garden soil itself, which is blended by hand from an organic soil recipe she devised.

In 101 Organic Garden Hacks you’ll find the…


Book cover of Edible Paradise: How to Grow Herbs, Flowers, and Vegetables in Any Space

Aranya Austin Author Of Permaculture Design: A Step-By-Step Guide

From my list on if you'd like to grow your own vegetables.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved nature and the idea of being more self-reliant, so growing some of my own food seemed like an obvious place to start. This led me to permaculture and the treasure box of goodies it provides for each of us to make a positive difference in the world. Almost by accident, I found myself teaching and I loved it so much it became my main vocation. I write to make sense of things for myself and this is how my Design Guide came about. Books are a gift so few of our ancestors had access to. I hope you enjoy my recommendations as much as I have. 

Aranya's book list on if you'd like to grow your own vegetables

Aranya Austin Why did Aranya love this book?

I first came across an original Dutch copy of Vera’s book in a charity shop and I bought it despite not understanding the words because it looked so beautiful. In 2019 I finally got the chance to buy an English version and I was not disappointed. Vera is another no-dig, organic grower and this book demonstrates how attractive and abundant such gardens can be. I especially like her sections on her favourite edible flowers and how she groups plants together based on their shape and size but also how they can benefit each other. It’s an all-round beautiful and inspiring book that lives on my easy-access bookshelf!

By Vera Greutink,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Edible Paradise as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Learn how to create your own no dig, organic garden with permaculture design and techniques. Vera's 15 years of experience as a no dig gardener provides a vast amount of knowledge on growing fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers. The book is divided into two sections, container gardening and permaculture kitchen gardening. Part One shares knowledge especially useful to urban gardeners and those with little space. Part Two advises on starting and maintaining a garden. Vera's speciality is creating beautiful and delicious polycultures and she offers a range of examples to get you started and the knowledge to experiment. She also…


Book cover of The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening

Lynn Byczynski Author Of The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers

From my list on for flower lovers.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a farmer and a writer, I have devoted my career to organic vegetable and flower production. I founded Growing for Market, a national magazine for market farmers, and published a monthly column about cut flowers. I also grew flowers commercially for 25 years for florists, supermarkets, CSAs, and farmer's markets. I am obsessed with all things in the garden, but especially with the flowering plants, and I’m delighted to share my love of flowers with anyone who wants to learn more.

Lynn's book list on for flower lovers

Lynn Byczynski Why did Lynn love this book?

My garden will never look like Longmeadow, Monty Don’s quintessential English garden with bucolic vistas, garden rooms enclosed by tall hedges, and a tidy vegetable garden complete with a glass greenhouse. But I can dream, can’t I? This book by the star of the BBC’s Gardeners’ World is full of practical information about gardening organically. I’m amazed at how many plants Monty grows in pots. Let’s just say his show and books have opened my eyes to new possibilities for my own gardens.

By Monty Don,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Complete Gardener as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Sunday Times bestseller

Even great gardeners like Monty Don are always learning and always experimenting.

The Complete Gardener brings you right up to date on how Monty gardens today.

This extensively revised new edition covers what Monty believes are the most important aspects of gardening today. Whether you're a beginner or seasoned gardener, it's time to get your green-fingered hands dirty!

A comprehensive gardening guide that no gardener should be without:

- An introductory chapter that explains the essentials of organic gardening practice
- A structure chapter that shows you how to define space in your garden with hard…


Book cover of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible: Discover Ed's High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions: Wide Rows, Organic Method

Charlie Nardozzi Author Of The Complete Guide to No-Dig Gardening: Grow Beautiful Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers - The Easy Way! Layer Your Way to Healthy Soil-Eliminate Tilling

From my list on organic gardening.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been gardening my whole life, starting on my Italian grandfather's farm in Connecticut. As an adult, I've always been an organic gardener and constantly looking for new ways to garden more in tune with Nature, disrupting the soil less while still producing an abundance of vegetables, flowers, and herbs. Certainly, I've learned from experience but also learned from my University education and 10 years of working for National Gardening magazine interviewing expert gardeners across the country. My wife Wendy and I are mostly self-sufficient in vegetables and berries from spring until fall. I also love trying new types of edibles such as honeyberries, tromboncino vining squash, and cucamelons in the garden.  

Charlie's book list on organic gardening

Charlie Nardozzi Why did Charlie love this book?

Using his “W-O-R-D” method (Wide beds, Organic methods, Raised beds, and Deep beds), Ed Smith described in detail how to grow a productive, vegetable garden organically. I like Ed's emphasis on soil building, using raised beds, and composting to create the habitat in your yard for beneficial insects and soil creatures, while reducing the need for spraying for pests. He also runs through an A to Z of his favorite vegetables and how to grow them.

By Edward C. Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Vegetable Gardener's Bible as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ed Smith is back with a 10th Anniversary Edition for the next generation of vegetable gardeners. New to this edition is coverage of 15 additional vegetables, including an expanded section on salad greens and more European and Asian vegetables. Readers will also find growing information on more fruits and herbs, new cultivar photographs in many vegetable entries, and a much requested section on extending the season into the winter months. No matter how cold the climate, growers can bring herbs indoors and keep hardy greens alive in cold frames or hoop houses. The impulse to grow vegetables is even stronger…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in organic gardening, compost, and ecology?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about organic gardening, compost, and ecology.

Organic Gardening Explore 19 books about organic gardening
Compost Explore 11 books about compost
Ecology Explore 77 books about ecology