Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Gardening

Book excerpt: If you’re interested in growing your own fruits and vegetables, you’ve joined the ranks of a blossoming group of DIY gardeners who place a premium on the idea of self-reliance. But like any other kind of gardening, growing edibles is not a one-size-fits-all pursuit: in order to be successful, you’ll need to know not only which plants grow well in your state or region, but also how to grow them with careful methods and a schedule that caters specifically to your local microclimate. Fortunately for you, Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Gardening is written exclusively for gardeners who want to grow edibles in Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., or New Jersey. Author Katie Elzer-Peters, the master gardener responsible for our bestselling Beginner’s Illustrated Guide to Gardening (2012), equips you with all the information you need to design your edible garden, tend the soil, maintain your plants throughout their life cycles, and—most importantly—harvest the delicious foods they produce. So whether you live in the Delaware Valley, in the Beltway, on the Jersey Shore, or anywhere else in the Mid-Atlantic United States, you’ll discover the best fruit and vegetable plants for your garden in this beautiful step-by-step how-to guide . . . and they’ll be on your table before you know it.