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How to Start Vegetable Gardening to Feed Your Family

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Here are gardening basics to help you grow your own vegetables, build organic gardens, create raised bed gardens, and no till gardens. These sustainable gardening tips will help you companion plant in your DIY garden, build greenhouses that serve you...
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Gardening Basics

Here are some resources that I've found to help me get started with learning how to start my first vegetable garden! 🪴

 
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The Spruce has become my best friend. I seriously cannot believe all this information is FREE on the internet! It's been a big help learning about the basics of caring for the plants I plan to grow in my garden.
The Spruce | Gardening Basics for Beginners
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Brian is one of my “teachers” on YouTube. He has over 30+ years of experience gardening and is down to share so much of that experience with all of us for free. I love love love love this series and think it should be on everyone's beginning gardenin...
Brian Lowell's Organic Gardening Basics Master Class
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Kevin is just beyond anything when it comes to the wealth of knowledge that he's willing to share, him and his team. He's another one like Brian that I aspire to when it comes to their gardening skills.
Epic Gardening | Basics Archives
 
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Not only is this a brilliant place to get seeds (hint hint) but their Grower's Library is much like the Spruce for me and a WEALTH of information from generations of people who know what they're doing.
Welcome to the Grower's Library at Johnny's Selected Seeds
 
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Jill is amazing. I'm just amazed how God worked everything out for me to come into contact with her blog. I love how much information she has compiled together from her decade plus of homesteading. These articles are severe must reads.
The Prairie Homestead | Grow a Garden Archives
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I actually have this book right next to me (no kidding!) It's the basis of how I plant to start raised bed gardens when I have the space. I'm absolutely in love with the author's teaching style and have been able to glean so much from her wisdom!
Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System
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When I first decided that I was going to obey God and get into homesteading, I had to make a decision. I do not regret buying this book whatsoever because the information is just top notch. It's one of the forms of gardening I know is extremely helpf...
All New Square Foot Gardening
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There are other books out there on this subject, but this is the one. I promise you: this is the one. 💎
Companion Planting for Beginners: Pair Plants
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If you're an American, this is great for you. My grandfather used this religiously and the weather patterns are usually (somehow) blazingly on point. (Canadians can preorder the 2025 version too, here.)
The 2025 Old Farmer's Almanac
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Seed Starting Guides for Beginners

Here's everything you need to know about starting your garden from seeds, from where to buy organic seeds, how to sow seeds, and more.

 
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If you're gonna buy your organic seed, go here. Just do it. These heirloom seeds are generations and generations of fantastic breeds and the wealth of information you'll get on each of them when you order their free catalog is just outstanding.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds | RareSeeds.Com
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Now listen, this is my FAVORITE PLACE to get information on seeds and their properties, companion plants, etc. You can buy seeds here too (hint hint) 😘 But seriously, go here, click on a seed you're looking for in your garden, scroll down and just r...
Eden Brothers | Vegetable Seeds
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This is another wonderful place to get heirloom seeds for your garden.
True Leaf Market Seed Company
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I own two of these! This is perfect for storing your seeds in!
Multi-Color Photo Storage Box
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Here is a break down of all the blog articles written by Kevin and the Epic Gardening team on how to work with seeds. You can also enjoy his epic playlist on YouTube.
Epic Gardening | Seeds Archives
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Listen, along with square foot gardening and lasagna gardening (my two favourite methods) the chaos gardening thing? Yeah. I'm into that. It brings soooo much ease and fun and you can really see how nature has been telling us how to get things done a...
What Happens When You Dump an Entire Seed Packet in One Garden Bed (Weird Things I Do)
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Listen: this isn't starting from seed but from seed cuttings, and is just as useful. You have PLENTY of experienced gardeners ready and willing to just give you all their time tested advice for FREE in these videos shown here.
A Playlist: How to Propagate from Cuttings
 
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While this also technically isn't starting from seeds either, much more propagating and stuff, this is one of the best resources for people on a budget to start thinking outside of the box 📦👀
The Easiest Crops To Grow For Free
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This is honestly one of the best free articles I've read on the web about seed saving. It comes with a TON of pictures and she just shows you what it looks like and what it's supposed to look like when saving seeds (very important read, imo.)
Growing in the Garden | How to Save Seeds
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This blog article was just very helpful to me and I hope it's helpful to you too. ♥️
How to Grow Free Food Every Year by Saving Seeds
 
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If you only invest in ONE BOOK for seed saving and growing techniques, buy this one. I own it, I'm so glad that I trusted the Lord and just bought it, and you will be too. The other two books recommended are soon to be in my library, but this is the ...
Seed to Seed: Seed Saving & Growing Techniques
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Absolute must have book.
The Seed Garden: Art and Practice of Seed Saving
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This is another one you're gonna be thanking me you invested in, truly.
The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds: 322 Plants
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Must Read Books for Gardeners & Farmers

Regardless if you're a beginning gardener or you have dreams of owning a large scale farm, these are books that will help you begin your journey and that you're probably gonna reference over and over again like I have 😂

 
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I love this book a lot because in the beginning, I knew I had a big dream but I needed to be realistic and pace myself. It wasn't about starting small but thinking about starting with what I have. And for many people, you might not have 20 acres. You...
Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on ¼ Acre by Brett L. Markham
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There are no regrets in me buying this book. Not a single one. And probably won't be like… ever. 🪴
The Home-Scale Forest Garden: How to Plan, Plant, and Tend a Resilient Edible Landscape by Dani Baker
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This book is for… us. And you know who us is. It's just a reminder that we are also allowed to have access in these communities that may not always have people like us at the forefront. Where there may not be the representation needed to believe that...
Black Girls Gardening: Empowering Stories and Garden Wisdom for Healing and Flourishing in Nature|Hardcover

Tips for Vertical Gardening

One of the best techniques to utilize every square inch of your garden.

 
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Must. Watch. Immediately.
A Complete Guide to Vertical Gardening (On A Budget!) | Growing Food Made Simple
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Just save this playlist and thank me later. Seriously. ♥️
GrowVeg: Vertical Gardening Playlist
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Must watch. Simply must watch.
VERTICAL GARDENING TIPS & IDEAS: Why and how to add VERTICAL SPACE to your garden for EVERY BUDGET
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I mean, real people are doing this. So we can too. ♥️
Affordable Vertical Gardening Trellis Ideas | A Comprehensive Guide
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This is another guide that is just spot on and really makes the whole trellis thing feel achievable for less.
How to Build An Arched Trellis for 30 Dollars | Vertical Gardening
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Love.
40 Garden Trellising Examples for Growing Vegetables Vertically: All DIY Budget Friendly Options
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There's a reason that these are so popular! You can even utilize these on patios and balconies! Start your garden TODAY with a Greenstalk!
GreenStalk Vertical Planter
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DIY Raised Bed Gardening Tutorials

After vertical gardening, this will really be instrumental in helping you create the vegetable garden of your dreams!

 
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You're really gonna love this awesome DIY guide. ♥️
Homestead and Chill | How to Build a Raised Garden Bed: Step-by-Step Guide
 
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This is a reaaallllyyy cool and affordable idea that I'm gonna be taking into consideration myself!
How to Build a $2 RAISED BED, Cheap and Easy Gardening
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Resources for Urban Gardening

If you are starting out in the city or suburbs, you can still garden even if you don't have a yard. I mean it. Here's some expert tips to help you do just that.

 
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This honestly helped me put so much into perspective. I hope this helps you like it helped me.
The Rooted Farmhouse | How To Start Planning Your Urban Homesteading Goals
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Don't be dismayed! This is one of the BEST YouTube channels that I've found showcasing just how you can get off the ground starting your garden in an urban setting.
Urban Gardening
 
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These guys are pretty cool. I honestly love their resource page with links to brands and websites that they trust (which some of which I happen to trust a lot too!) But they're dedicated to helping people really get into gardening even in urban setti...
Seattle Urban Farm Company
 
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If you're living in an urban area or just like an apartment and are really trying to grow your own fruit trees? You're welcome. 💁🏾‍♀️
Growing Fruit Trees in Containers, Part 1

Greenhouse Guide

For when you're ready to take things to the next level in your garden!

 
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This podcast episode is sure to answer a bunch of your questions on which build is right for you!
The Prairie Homestead | Cold Frames, Greenhouses, High Tunnels... Which Do You Choose?
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Gardening Inspiration

This is a series of blog posts, videos, vlogs, etc to help you discover that the lifestyle God may be calling you into is POSSIBLE and to work on it NOW! 🪴

 
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Listen: Kelly's testimony is POWERFUL! She's provided a WEALTH of knowledge on just one page with things she would've done differently to begin gardening when she didn't have anything left over and barely enough to make ends meet. This is a GEM of in...
Gently Sustainable | How to Homestead With No Money
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This is the dream. This is truly the dream. I mean, you've gotta start somewhere. And sometimes we think that what we have isn't enough, and this woman broke the code and shows you how she did it. I just love everything about this.
No Land, No Problem: This Ugandan Woman Feeds a Village With Just Her Tiny Backyard Garden
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Now Bre is THE dream, she is the moment 😂 But no seriously, she's been one of the most inspirational YouTubers that I've watched as I've gone down this gardening journey with the Most High. I just love her attitude about what she had to work with an...
Bre Ellis on YouTube
 
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I have watched soooooo many of Angela's videos. Not because I live in a hot climate, but because the earth is heating up period. It's getting hot, water is not always promised in a lot of areas, and when I considered moving to a warmer climate? I con...
Growing In The Garden on YouTube