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You don't need a large homestead with sprawling acres to grow your own food
In fact, apartment gardening can offer bountiful harvests all while beautifying your home and providing mental health benefits as well.
These 8 apartment homesteading books showcase how to garden in small spaces, indoors, and offer guidance to container gardening.
5
BEST FOR LOCAL
FORAGING INFORMATION
Timber Press Regional Foraging Series
Regional Expert Foraging Authors
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Here are my top picks for apartment gardening + homesteading books to read in 2023:
1. Best for Indoor Growing in an Apartment:
Indoor Kitchen Gardening Handbook by Elizabeth Millard
Key points:
- unlike a lot of indoor gardening books out there, this one focuses specifically on growing food
- focuses on foods with unique flavors and foods that are easy to grow inside
- looks at microgreens and sprouts for nutrition
- highlights herbs for flavor, tea, and medicinal properties
- has a section highlighting the bigger vegetable plants such as tomatoes, peppers, radishes, etc.
Runner Up for Apartment Indoor Growing:
How to Garden Indoors & Grow Your Own Food Year Round by Kim Roman
Key points:
- spiral bound for ease of reference
- instructions are clear and offer step-by-step guidelines
- perfect for first-time gardeners
- offers information on how to calculate materials and save on costs
2. Best Book for Container Gardening on Balconies:
Grow Bag Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow Bountiful Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers in Lightweight, Eco-Friendly Fabric Pot a book by Kevin Espiritu
Key points:
- a full how-to guide on container gardening
- lots of specific information on grow bags
- perfect for those who have an apartment balcony or outside space to grow food
- offers unique tips on how to grow the most resilient and thriving plants in grow bags
- shows the full potential of what you can grow in a container garden
Runner Up for Container Gardening:
How to Grow your Own Food by Angela Judd
Key points:
- Details the container growing requirements for 50 edible plants
- Offers information on best container size based on the plant's needs
- Perfect for first-time gardeners or those with experience
- Illustrations make this book great for visual learners
3. Best for Maximizing Small Outdoor Spaces to Garden in the City:
Rebel Gardening by Alessandro Vitale
- a fantastic guide to apartment homesteading in the city
- showcases gardening from a permaculture perspective
- offers unique ways to build sustainability and resilience into your garden
- provides information in a way that is spunky and fun, but also serious and informative
Runner Up for Maximizing Small Spaces:
Small Space Vegetable Gardens by Andrea Bellamy
Key points:
- Focuses on growing 60 edible plants that will thrive in a small space
- Provides detailed information on each plant, from how to sow seed to best harvesting practices
- Takes you through the steps you need to assess the space you have
- Written with balcony gardening, patios, or small plots in mind
4. Best book for Connecting to Nature through food:
Our Kindred Home by Alyson Morgan
- Invite the rhythms of nature into your home with this beautiful book
- Perfect for apartment homesteaders who want to go beyond gardening with their lifestyle changes
- Written from an herbalist's perspective with themes of environmentalism and social justice
- Perfect for slow living enthusiasts or those who want to tap into their creative side
- Information is provided on herbs and seasonal rituals
Runner Up for Connecting to Nature through Food:
Forest + Home: Cultivating an Herbal Kitchen by Spencre McGowan
Key points:
- Very encouraging for those who want to connect with nature but don't have their on outdoor space
- Will open your eyes to the abundance of food and medicine that can be found in nature
- Offers tips on growing some of your own edible herbs and flowers
- Great for beginners; written with easy to understand instructions
- Showcases seasonal recipes based on what can be foraged during that time period
5. Best for Local Foraging Information for apartment homesteaders:
Timber Press Regional Foraging Series
- Timber Press offers a range of local foraging books with information specific to different regions
- Photographs and identification tips help readers to understand native plants in their home landscape
- Books are written with stewardship in mind
- Offers opportunity to gather and forage food locally for eating and preserving
- Beautiful book for anyone who wants to understand their local ecology and become confident with plant identification
6. Best for Learning Food Preservation for Apartment Homesteaders:
The Canning Kitchen by Amy Bronee
- Written with small kitchens and small batches in mind
- Focuses on food safety in a way that is approachable and easy to understand
- Shares how to make pantry staples along with some more interesting recipes to add variety into your diet
- Great for first-time canners
7. Best Book for Learning Mending Skills:
Visible Mending by Arounna Khounnoraj
- Provides information on a life skill that apartment homesteaders will find approachable and useful
- Written in an easy-to-understand way, perfect for beginners
- Offers a way to be a part of sustainable fashion
- Shares a different perspective to mending - cherishing the memories from clothes instead of being disappointed in holes or tears.
8. Learn how to make your own herbal remedies as an apartment homesteader:
The Artisan Herbalist by Bevin Cohen
- Written by an herbalist and gardener who is passionate about land stewardship and making herbalism accessible for all
- Learn plant identification skills and how to forage plants
- Explore growing your own herbs for medicine making
- Learn different ways to work with herbs, such as teas, oils, salves, and tinctures
- Shares tips for how to grow herbs on balconies and containers, perfect for apartment homesteaders
Runner Up for Apartment Homesteading Herb Craft:
The Healing Garden by Juliet Blankespoor
Key points:
- Written by renowned herbalist, the founder of Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine
- Shares the steps to build your own home apothecary, perfect for an apartment homesteader who wants to build more self-sufficiency into their routine
- Focuses on growing your own plants as opposed to foraging
- Learn how to make teas, tinctures, oils, salves, and syrups
- Beautiful and inspiring photographs
