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30 Great Plants to Grow and Eat Better
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30 Great Plants to Grow and Eat Better: The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening for a Money-Saving, Healthier Diet

Author Mark Ridsdill Smith

A comprehensive, essential guide to growing 30 of the best edible plants on your balcony, rooftop, patio or yard—simply, successfully and cheaply—so you can eat a diverse range of vegetables, herbs and leaves throughout the year.

Author Mark Ridsdill Smith trialed over 100 different plants to choose the top 30 that will give you the most ‘bang for your buck', based these four criteria:

  • Do they have great flavor and are they versatile in the kitchen? 
  • Are they hard to buy or expensive in the shops? 
  • Are they highly nutritious? 
  • Do they grow easily and / or productively in containers? 

For beginners, Mark gives the steps to grow successfully in containers, together with essential growing skills, like sowing seeds. For more experienced growers, Mark includes tips on growing more in a small space, cost-saving ideas as well as signposting other plants that can be grown using similar techniques. There are also specific growing plans for different scenarios, each one tailored to help overcome a common obstacle, including shortage of time, a lack of space, and growing spaces that don’t get much sun. Other plans in this section will include one for first-time gardeners, for foodies and one for those who rent or are often away from home. Mark will also offer simple ways to make use of your produce in the kitchen.  

This is an essential guide for any gardener, whether growing in pots in small gardens or even large spaces, who wants to look after their gut health, bring diversity and flavour into their diet and reap all the holistic benefits that growing your own can bring.

About The Author

Mark Ridsdill Smith founded Vertical Veg in 2009 after discovering how much food he could grow on the balcony of his flat. His website, Substack and Facebook page inspire and support people to grow food in small urban spaces, and Mark has run workshops across the UK, including for Garden Organic and Capital Growth. Mark has shared his growing experience on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, Alan Titchmarsh’s Love Your Garden on ITV and BBC1’s Countryfile. He has also written a series of 15 articles for the Guardian’s ‘Live Better’ campaign and a feature for Which? Gardening. Mark’s first book, The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening, won the Garden Media Guild Practical Book of the Year Award 2022.

  • Publish Date: February 16, 2027
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Category: Gardening - Garden Types - Container & Raised Bed
  • Publisher: Chelsea Green
  • Trim Size: 7 x 9-7/8
  • Pages: 240
  • US Price: $34.95
  • CDN Price: $47.00
  • ISBN: 978-1-64502-331-9
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Author Bookshelf: Mark Ridsdill Smith

30 Great Plants to Grow and Eat Better
The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening