Leaves, Roots & Fruit: A Step-by-Step Guide to Planting an Organic Kitchen Garden

Nicole Johnsey Burke offers a practical gardening system for growing organic food year-round in a kitchen garden, regardless of available space, sunlight, time, or gardening experience. The approach is built on matching plants' needs to your resources. Burke organizes plants into three categories: Leaves (quick-growing salad greens and herbs requiring minimal care), Roots (underground crops like tubers, bulbs, and rhizomes that store well and need more attention), and Fruit (the most demanding category, including beans, squash, and tomatoes, requiring significant space and consistent watering). The book provides step-by-step instructions for setup, care, and harvest within each plant category, along with tips for gardeners of all experience levels. Burke, founder of Gardenary, Inc. and author of Kitchen Garden Revival, emphasizes that plants want to grow—and that there is always something you can cultivate in your current growing conditions.