5 stars
Just in time to start planning my 2018 garden, I found Nikki Jabbour’s Veggie Garden Remix. An inspiring book full of ideas that will excite gardeners at every experience level.
From the publisher:
Best-selling author Niki Jabbour invites you to shake up your vegetable garden with an intriguing array of 224 plants from around the world. With her lively “Like this? Then try this!” approach, Jabbour encourages you to start with what you know and expand your repertoire to try related plants, many of which are delicacies in other cultures. Jabbour presents detailed growing information for each plant, along with fun facts and plant history. Be prepared to have your mind expanded and catch Jabbour’s contagious enthusiasm for experimentation and fun in the garden.
I’ll be upfront about the fact that I am not an experienced gardener. My garden this year will be my first attempt at anything bigger than a single pot of lettuce and a tomato plant. But I haven’t been inspired by traditional veggies. My husband and I don’t enjoy eating a lot of the traditional vegetables such as squashes and zucchini. Jabbour’s Veggie Garden Remix is a wonderful compendium of alternative options for us to grow. I’m excited about my garden this year.
I love the way Jabbour organizes this book as well. It’s set up in easy to browse “If you like this, try these other options” sections so you can quickly jump directly to tomato alternatives or squash alternatives. In each section, she helpfully gives you a rundown of the pros, cons and other “good to know” facts about the plants she’s recommending. As a beginning gardener, I found her photos of the plants in different maturity stages to be incredibly helpful. I like to know what I’m looking for in a ripe fruit.
Many of the alternative fruits and veggie’s Jabbour is recommending are heirloom varieties or ethnic varietals from far-flung parts of the world. Japanese squashes, Mexican and Armenian cucumbers and Egyptian beans are just a few of the fun and funky plants Jabbour profiles in this accessible, easy to read book.
Nikki Jabbour’s Veggie Garden Remix hits shelves February 6, 2018 and is a must-have for any gardener looking to do something new in the dirt this year.
I received an eARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Alex Can Read 