Backyard Farming: Growing Vegetables and Herbs - A Book Worth Reading
So you want to grow your own food. Maybe you scrolled past one too many “farm to table” posts on Instagram. Maybe you’re tired of paying five dollars for a single bell pepper. Or maybe you just want to know where your food actually comes from. Whatever your reason, you’re in the right place.
This is the start of a series where we retell and break down Backyard Farming: Growing Vegetables and Herbs by Kim Pezza. We’re going chapter by chapter, pulling out the good stuff, adding our own thoughts, and making it all easy to follow. Think of it as a book club, but you don’t have to buy the book (though you totally should).
About the Book
Title: Backyard Farming: Growing Vegetables and Herbs
Author: Kim Pezza
ISBN: 978-1-57826-460-5
Publisher: Hatherleigh Press, 2013
Kim Pezza grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York. She raised animals, grew herbs and vegetables, and basically lived the backyard farming life before it became trendy. She’s not some corporate farming consultant. She’s someone who actually got dirt under her fingernails and learned through doing.
And that comes through in the writing. This book reads like advice from a friend who’s been gardening for years and wants to save you from the mistakes she already made.
Who Is This Book For?
First-time gardeners. That’s the sweet spot. If you’ve never planted anything beyond maybe a succulent that died on your windowsill, this book meets you where you are. But it also has enough depth that someone with a little experience will pick up new ideas.
The book covers the full journey from planning your garden all the way through harvesting what you grew. It doesn’t skip steps or assume you already know things. Pezza walks you through traditional gardens, raised beds, container gardens, and even vertical growing setups.
Here’s the thing. A lot of gardening books either overwhelm you with science or talk down to you like you’re five. This one finds a nice middle ground. It’s practical without being boring and thorough without being exhausting.
What We’ll Cover in This Series
Each post in this series maps roughly to a chapter or section of the book. We’ll cover:
- The history and benefits of backyard farming
- How to plan your garden from scratch
- Choosing between garden types (traditional, raised bed, container, vertical)
- Designing your garden layout
- Soil, composting, and keeping your plants fed
- Growing specific vegetables and herbs
- Dealing with pests and diseases
- Harvesting and storing what you grew
Along the way, we’ll add our own commentary. Sometimes Pezza nails it and we just want to highlight that. Other times we’ll add context or share what’s changed since the book came out in 2013.
Why Bother Growing Your Own Food?
You know what’s cool about growing your own tomatoes? You actually know what went into them. No mystery pesticides. No weird wax coatings. No traveling thousands of miles in a refrigerated truck. Just soil, water, sun, and your effort.
But beyond the food itself, there’s something genuinely satisfying about watching a seed turn into something you can eat. It sounds corny. It is corny. And it’s still true.
Whether you have a big backyard or just a balcony with some pots, there’s a version of this that works for you. That’s one of the best things about Pezza’s book. She doesn’t assume everyone has acres of land. She meets you where you are and works with what you’ve got.
Let’s Get Started
Ready to learn how people have been growing their own food for thousands of years and why it still matters today? Let’s go.