"The Vegetable Gardener's Bible Ed. 2" by Edward C. Smith is a glossy guide to growing your veggies that manages to cover a wide range of topics with depth, while being accessible.
The well-organized structure and detailed glossary of "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" allows readers to jump right in anywhere in the book to learn about just one topic, or can start from the beginning to get a full education in edible gardening.
As one of several hundred five-star reviewers wrote on Amazon, "Each page [of the glossary] includes: the name of the vegetable, information about it, where they like to been sown and grown, seed depth, germination soil temperature, days to germination, when to sow indoors…when to sow outdoors…growing pH, growing soil temperature, spacing in beds, watering, light needed, nutrient requirements, rotation considerations, and seed longevity."
Those on the newbie end of gardening will love the "easy step-by-step directions on planting," combined with "lots of great pictures," as Amazon user, Lynn G. explains. But if you'd like to read more broadly into basic concepts of gardening, some sections of the book cater to that desire as well. I really liked the sections on "good" and "bad" garden bugs, and how to get away with less weeding.
As the number one bestseller in Amazon's Vegetable Gardening category, you won't be surprised that it's an all-around great resource for home growers of edible gardens. It's also the number six overall bestseller in Amazon's Gardening and Landscape Design category, which includes thousands of texts.
The author, Edward C. Smith, has reportedly spent decades with his wife living on a self-sufficient, off-grid property, where they feed themselves all year round from their garden. It's easy to trust a source that has such success when they walk the walk, as well as talk the talk.
Pros: A comprehensive guide to growing your own food geared to get the highest yield with the least work
Cons: The scope is mostly for middle-range gardeners, so experts and complete novices may not find what they need
Buy "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" at Amazon for $16.52