I found this book to be a good beginner's guide to doing gardens that you can have inside, especially apartments. It was a good, step-by-step guide, and easy to follow. I am hoping that I can do this myself. It was made to look easy to do. I have been able to keep some plants, but I have never tried to do much. I do have more confidence now from this book.

Helpful, easy-t0-follow guide to becoming an indoor gardener. There are several ideas I want to implement ASAP.

A detailed guide to grow the edibles year around in your kitchen countertop...... Countertop gardening provides edible produce as well as oxygen inside our home......

This is a big winner for anyone who wants to grow things but suffers from the vertical limits of city living (ie, they have nowhere to grow things)! This is all about indoor gardening, challenging the wannabe gardener to help growth thrive in small indoor spaces. This is a basic book, so an absolute beginner is safe to start here, and even as a semi experienced gardener with many indoor plants, I learned plenty from the book and it inspired me to consider growing more edibles in my indoor space next spring.

Countertop Gardens is a new niche gardening book by Shelley Levis. Released 19th June 2018 by Quarto's Cool Springs imprint, it's 160 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

Humans benefit from contact with natural spaces and growing things. One of the real dangers of living in smaller spaces without any green access is the detrimental effect on our mental health. Horticultural therapy is a long recognized effective and enjoyable method for engaging with our natural environment and improving mental health. This author presents a compelling case for no-excuses access to gardening indoors year round and with limited (or nonexistent) outdoor spaces.

The book is full color and includes a number of recipes. The author's style is breezy, confident, and encouraging. The writing is easy to read and accessible. This is mostly a general introduction to various methods of indoor container growing and how to adapt the reader's efforts into getting the best possible results. The chapters are arranged logically and introduce concepts along with expanded information as chapters progress. This book had value for me personally as a resource guide with good online information web resources.

I think as long as readers have realistic expectations about yields and look at indoor growing as a fun experiment rather than a method of providing a significant amount of food (in virtually all cases), this book will provide a fun and useful introduction to the alternatives out there for the would-be indoor gardener.

Four stars, appealingly written and well photographed.

Countertop Gardens: Easily Grow Kitchen Edibles Indoors for Year-Round Enjoyment by Shelley Levis is for readers that want to grow some of their own food in their kitchen. Whether you have a huge yard in a warm climate or a tiny apartment in a city with harsh winters, you can grow edibles year-round in the comfort and convenience of your own kitchen. The book walks readers through the challenges, benefits, and how-tos of growing inside and presenting the wide array of methods available. In addition to going over the pros and cons of a wide range of ready-made hydroponic, aquaponic, and vertical gardening systems, author Shelley Levis describes how to make your own DIY setups--from simple space-saving container designs to more creative and complex soil-free solutions.

Countertop Gardens: Easily Grow Kitchen Edibles Indoors for Year-Round Enjoyment is a well organized and comprehensive guide to growing indoors. The book detailed the factors necessary in growing indoors and the variety of needs plants can have. She also offered solutions and tips for the majority of problems that gardeners might face, as well as sharing some of the difficulties that she has faced over the years. I like that Levis listed several different types of growing mediums and methods, this was not just another book about making sure your indoor plants get enough light and water. Instead she detailed the whys and hows as well as offering commercial and do-it-yourself options for getting a kitchen (or house-wide really) indoor garden going. THe included recipes and index at the end of the book were helpful as well. I already have some visions of rearranging my kitchen and den to make room for some herbs, spinach, and lettuce. Since light is usually what my plants are lacking- and some of the products suggested were already on my wish list- I feel better prepared to make this happen.

Countertop Gardens: Easily Grow Kitchen Edibles Indoors for Year-Round Enjoyment is a great resource for growing indoors, and can offer valuable information and inspiration for gardeners that want to move some of their efforts indoors.

Everyone's got a window ledge or even a porch and with this book you can get on board with the 'grow your own' movement, living a healthier lifestyle and brightening your home with edible plants and vegetables.

Format: Adobe Digital

*I would like to thank the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Some people are natural green thumbs, others struggle to keep air plants alive (I fall into the latter category). But regardless of skill level, gardening can be a meditative and highly rewarding hobby. However, not everyone has land which can be devoted to a garden, and winters can lead to short growing seasons. This book solves that problem by introducing several solutions and ideas to growing plants inside with limited space.

Countertop Gardens provides a primer for gardening in small spaces adequate enough for a beginner like myself. The manual starts with an introduction to materials that can be used to grow plants, from soilless to hydroponic and then leads into how each of the materials contributes to the well being of the plant. Levis further reviews multiple products on the market to make growing easy and stylish, though could be out of many budgets. For that, she provides DIY alternatives that were surprisingly simple.

My one regret with this book comes from the perspective of the author. Being a scientist, it is always disappointing and saddening when I see the negativity with which many perceive science. This book presents several misconceptions when it comes to topics such as organic, chemicals, and genetically modified crops.

This one is OK not a lot of new material in it pretty much the same info you can find for free on the web or from the different hardware you buy...but if you want it all in one place it would work for those that don't have a yard to grow things.

The first thing I loved about this book was the "inspiration gallery" at the beginning. It contains photos of all sorts of ways people can grow food indoors in countertop containers. It made me want to delve deeper into the book to see how to make some of these.growing systems.

The author does spend some time discussing growth mediums for these small space gardens. I wish she'd have focused a bit more on the sustainability of the different choices For instance, peat moss is harvested from bogs that are not renewable resources. Using coir instead would be a nice recommendation.

Other sections of the book include the best edibles for countertop gardens, container types (from mason jars to grow bags to fancy hydroponic systems), DIY gardening and troubleshooting. There's a heavy emphasis on using commercial growing systems, and it would be nice to see a few more DIY/repurposing ideas. The Troubleshooting section has some good advice for common problems with seed starting and seedling growth.

This would be a good reference for someone who's thinking about doing some small container gardening indoors.

Perfectly formatting with the information needed for countertop gardening. If you want to have a countertop garden this is the book to have because every detail is included. It will give you the tools and steps you needed to know what you need to get the job done right. Before you know it you'll be enjoying your garden and anything you have grown in it.

Countertop Gardens by Shelley Levis is a very comprehensive book of indoor gardening options, including all the various lighting options, aqua options, containers, hanging options, etc. The book also includes useful information about soil and fertilizers. Great book with lots of photos and instructions.

This is a helpful guide to maintaining a small garden for those who prefer not to have an outdoor space to tend to. Will definitely add it as a resource to my library for patrons who like to dabble in gardening but do not want the responsibility of a lot of plants.

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Countertop Gardens is a great resource for anyone who wants to grow plants but has very limited space for doing so. Shelley Levis covers both the basics (what the plants actually need to survive) and more advanced stuff (hydroponics! aquaponics!) concerning growing plants.

For me as a semi-advanced urban gardener, many of the things Levis writes about were familiar, but it is helpful to have them put into scientific explanations. Case in point: that many plants that we are used to seeing/ having at our homes are tropical plants, and they enjoy having the same temperature and overall conditions around them all year long. It is more difficult to sustain seasonal plants at home, because they are used to daytime period lengthening/ shortening and temperatures varying throughout the year. Sometimes it may be possible to re-create some of the seasonal conditions artificially: I have never thought that I could, for example, put a fan next to the plants to get them used to air circulation. My favourite piece of advice, though, was to think like a plant and consider its natural habitat when situating it in one's house.

The book also provides an overview of various "countertop" gardening supplies and methods, including ready-made containers and systems. Additionally, there is a section on common problems and issues, complete with solutions. And there are, of course, many pictures accompanying the text and explaining some concepts.

All in all, I think that Contertop Gardens can be a very useful book for both beginners and more advanced urban gardeners; there is a wealth of information in there that will find its audience among various types of plant lovers.

Great book for anyone wanting to dabble in countertop gardening. Full of beautiful images that inspire one to try something new in their home.

This book give so many helpful and neat ideas of how to create a great little garden inside. I always have had a hard time with this and just put them in pots. I ended up with so many pots sitting around my house. This book makes those pots go away and gives you a cute indoor garden.

Countertop Gardens is a beautifully photographed guide for growing inside gardens so you can have veggies year ‘round. Provides a variety of ways to use your green thumb indoors, including aquaponics, hydroponics, vertical planting, small pots, and more. Highly recommended for the green goddesses among us as well as the green thumb wannabes!

Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group - Cool Springs Press and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my true review.

#CountertopGardens #NetGalley

Love to garden but don’t have even a balcony? This is a great book for exploring the options for easy indoor gardening.

Shelley is obviously passionate about gardening and she sure knows what she's talking about. I love the science behind gardening and Shelley gives an honest take on gardening. It's not easy, if you want easy, go to the grocery store. There is something to be said about sustaining oneself, and the pride of being able to care for oneself. I'm hoping to use her knowledge so my thumb will be a little bit greener!

Cool Springs Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Countertop Gardens. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion was freely given.

Dotted with beautiful photographs of finished projects and their yields, Countertop Gardens is a DIY book dedicated to growing edibles indoors. With chapters that include different methods, best edibles, DIY, basics, devices, and troubleshooting, this comprehensive guide to countertop gardening provides the necessary information for success.

The beginning offers readers a look at how to start, with basic terms and explanations as to different planting mediums and substrates. Including information on hydroponics and aquaponics, Countertop Gardens touches upon all methods of indoor gardening. With the basics of lighting, feeding, watering, and general care, beginners will be able to start their own successful gardens fully informed.

The author takes the guesswork out of deciding what to plant by giving readers information about successful indoor plants. With bonus recipes throughout the section, readers will find inspiration. The portion of the book that addresses devices is very helpful, as the author describes both more expensive store bought systems and DIY ones. The most valuable section of the book is troubleshooting, as problems that may arise will threaten the entire project. The author does a good job of explaining what could happen and how to prevent problems. The resource section gives readers a starting point, a way of looking at all of the gardening tips and ideas touched upon in this book. I would definitely recommend Countertop Gardens to those who wish to garden indoors, especially those with small spaces in which to work.