What do you think?
Rate this book
The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast
How to grow your own food in the Heartland!
There is nothing more regionally specific than vegetable gardening—what to plant, when to plant it, and when to harvest are decisions based on climate, weather, and first frost The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast tackles this need head on, with regionally specific growing information written by local gardening expert, Ira Wallace. Monthly planting guides show exactly what you can do in the garden from January through December. The skill sets go beyond the basics with tutorials on seed saving, worm bins, and more.
This must-have book is for gardeners in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
There is nothing more regionally specific than vegetable gardening—what to plant, when to plant it, and when to harvest are decisions based on climate, weather, and first frost The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast tackles this need head on, with regionally specific growing information written by local gardening expert, Ira Wallace. Monthly planting guides show exactly what you can do in the garden from January through December. The skill sets go beyond the basics with tutorials on seed saving, worm bins, and more.
This must-have book is for gardeners in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
- GenresGardeningNonfiction
216 pages, Paperback
First published December 11, 2013
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 17, 2021
4.5/5
This is a great resource on vegetable gardening, so fantastic. Probably the best I've read so far. The focus is on the Southeastern region of the United States, which is great because oftentimes when I read gardening books the information is well-meaning but very general and based on places nowhere close to my home. Even within my own state of North Carolina, the gardening varies quite a bit from area to area, so having something more localized is super helpful.
The author approaches gardening month by month. Gosh, I LOVED this!! There are hints about what planning should occur when, and when and how to plant each thing. There are also sections about various different vegetables. These large sections are great for referencing.
I think this is mainly for people like me who enjoy gardening in my backyard. I doubt this book work very well for large-scale farmers. But it is a godsend for those of us who are interested in better ways to plant, what to plant and when, and how to take care of our soil, etc. I think beginners would gain a ton from this, but it could be a little bit overwhelming without any experience at all. For those that have had gardens for several years, it probably will work best. For example, I've had several gardens now-some more successful than others. I've made notes on the things that worked and what didn't, and this year I'm ready to put all of my information together and hopefully have my best veggie garden so far.
Everything in here was not new to me, but it is ALWAYS good to refresh and compare notes. I do wish the book had some pictures throughout. I have noticed that this author has other individual books on farming in several states. It might be even more helpful for me to read the North Carolina-specific book by Ira Wallace.
But I definitely recommend these regional garden books for people that really love their veggie gardens, like I do, and for people that generally want to know how to garden better. I've been planning this year's garden for a while now and it's almost time to start preparing more outdoors. I'm SO excited and can't wait to get my hands in the dirt!!
This is a great resource on vegetable gardening, so fantastic. Probably the best I've read so far. The focus is on the Southeastern region of the United States, which is great because oftentimes when I read gardening books the information is well-meaning but very general and based on places nowhere close to my home. Even within my own state of North Carolina, the gardening varies quite a bit from area to area, so having something more localized is super helpful.
The author approaches gardening month by month. Gosh, I LOVED this!! There are hints about what planning should occur when, and when and how to plant each thing. There are also sections about various different vegetables. These large sections are great for referencing.
I think this is mainly for people like me who enjoy gardening in my backyard. I doubt this book work very well for large-scale farmers. But it is a godsend for those of us who are interested in better ways to plant, what to plant and when, and how to take care of our soil, etc. I think beginners would gain a ton from this, but it could be a little bit overwhelming without any experience at all. For those that have had gardens for several years, it probably will work best. For example, I've had several gardens now-some more successful than others. I've made notes on the things that worked and what didn't, and this year I'm ready to put all of my information together and hopefully have my best veggie garden so far.
Everything in here was not new to me, but it is ALWAYS good to refresh and compare notes. I do wish the book had some pictures throughout. I have noticed that this author has other individual books on farming in several states. It might be even more helpful for me to read the North Carolina-specific book by Ira Wallace.
But I definitely recommend these regional garden books for people that really love their veggie gardens, like I do, and for people that generally want to know how to garden better. I've been planning this year's garden for a while now and it's almost time to start preparing more outdoors. I'm SO excited and can't wait to get my hands in the dirt!!
July 31, 2015
I'm rereading this book right now to try and re-inspire myself after a disastrous gardening year. Books about raising vegetables in the South are few and far between, so this definitely fills a gap. So many gardening books take the Northeast as their template for all gardening, and of course many of those strategies don't work down here in Mississippi.
June 28, 2022
Wonderfully laid out and great explanations.
October 23, 2025
So here's the problem: gardening is hyper local.
Ostensibly Timber Press acknowledges this by even doing a series of books dedicated to gardening in various regions of the US, and I applaud them for it. If you've done much reading in the gardening space you'll quickly find out that the genre is dominated by writers who are gardening in the North East of the USA, maybe getting into the midwest. Gardening in other parts of the country, much less other parts of the world, tends to look very different, and what works or what doesn't isn't the same. So I appreciate the attempt to write something for my region. But it turns out the American South is a big place.
Wallace, the author, is associated with a very well respected farm/seed exchange in Virginia. Virginia is south of the mason dixon line, yes, but it's very different from say lower Alabama. Wallace does acknowledge this and tries to further divide gardening advice into recommendations for the lower and upper South and this helps, but even splitting the region into two means each gets about 4 USDA growing zones lumped together and that's still going to give people at either extreme trouble.
Part of the issue here is that the book is largely organized by month, with recommended crops to plant, garden work to do, etc. for the upper and lower south respectively. From a reader's perspective this is really nice, I'd love if this format worked because that is kind of the eternal question: is it too soon or too late to plant X? What should I be doing next? But there's just too much variance for this to really work. If you happen to be in the southern extreme of the area described as the lower south, here's my advice to make better use of the book:
At the start of the year, pretend like the chapter for January doesn't exist, it's never going to apply to you. Probably February too. Start on the March chapter in January. Then continue reading through 1~2 months ahead of the actual date. When you get to August pretend there's another chapter that reads like this:
SUMMER:
Everything is dead except okra. I sure hope you started some okra 6 or so weeks ago. If you didn't, give up and go grab some iced tea because you're not doing anything right now. Maybe start some tomatoes or cucumbers for when the heat breaks just a little bit in mid September.
Then start reading from the June chapter, a month behind, until you get into December or January again, until you're back into the we-dont-get-that-weather-here zone.
I don't know if folks at the northern extreme are going to have the opposite problem or not, but the point stands: you really can't put a lot of stock in the timeline that Wallace lays out if you're on the edges of the growing zone.
That all probably sounds really critical, but I actually liked the book on the whole! Yes the timelines were off for my corner of the South, some of the book does not apply to me in any way, but with the above adjustments it generally works. And it _is_ refreshing to read something that acknowledges that summer is not the magical time where all plants prosper and a little sweat is your biggest problem like the yankee-gardening-industrial complex would have you believe. I bet if you live in Virginia it's really really great advice, Wallace is clearly a very experienced grower who's been successful commercially growing in her zone, that's not an easy thing to do!
Ostensibly Timber Press acknowledges this by even doing a series of books dedicated to gardening in various regions of the US, and I applaud them for it. If you've done much reading in the gardening space you'll quickly find out that the genre is dominated by writers who are gardening in the North East of the USA, maybe getting into the midwest. Gardening in other parts of the country, much less other parts of the world, tends to look very different, and what works or what doesn't isn't the same. So I appreciate the attempt to write something for my region. But it turns out the American South is a big place.
Wallace, the author, is associated with a very well respected farm/seed exchange in Virginia. Virginia is south of the mason dixon line, yes, but it's very different from say lower Alabama. Wallace does acknowledge this and tries to further divide gardening advice into recommendations for the lower and upper South and this helps, but even splitting the region into two means each gets about 4 USDA growing zones lumped together and that's still going to give people at either extreme trouble.
Part of the issue here is that the book is largely organized by month, with recommended crops to plant, garden work to do, etc. for the upper and lower south respectively. From a reader's perspective this is really nice, I'd love if this format worked because that is kind of the eternal question: is it too soon or too late to plant X? What should I be doing next? But there's just too much variance for this to really work. If you happen to be in the southern extreme of the area described as the lower south, here's my advice to make better use of the book:
At the start of the year, pretend like the chapter for January doesn't exist, it's never going to apply to you. Probably February too. Start on the March chapter in January. Then continue reading through 1~2 months ahead of the actual date. When you get to August pretend there's another chapter that reads like this:
SUMMER:
Everything is dead except okra. I sure hope you started some okra 6 or so weeks ago. If you didn't, give up and go grab some iced tea because you're not doing anything right now. Maybe start some tomatoes or cucumbers for when the heat breaks just a little bit in mid September.
Then start reading from the June chapter, a month behind, until you get into December or January again, until you're back into the we-dont-get-that-weather-here zone.
I don't know if folks at the northern extreme are going to have the opposite problem or not, but the point stands: you really can't put a lot of stock in the timeline that Wallace lays out if you're on the edges of the growing zone.
That all probably sounds really critical, but I actually liked the book on the whole! Yes the timelines were off for my corner of the South, some of the book does not apply to me in any way, but with the above adjustments it generally works. And it _is_ refreshing to read something that acknowledges that summer is not the magical time where all plants prosper and a little sweat is your biggest problem like the yankee-gardening-industrial complex would have you believe. I bet if you live in Virginia it's really really great advice, Wallace is clearly a very experienced grower who's been successful commercially growing in her zone, that's not an easy thing to do!
May 31, 2020
Having "Asian vegetables" as one item is outdated and unhelpful
June 11, 2020
As a beginner gardener, this book was a great resource for me. I know I will refer to it many times on my gardening journey.
October 31, 2020
3.5 stars - Some of the timing is off, this book has you planting your fall garden too early, when the soil is still too warm. It does have some good advice, but it's not my "go to" gardening book.
August 9, 2022
Recommended by our local community garden, and I can see why.
Want to Read
January 8, 2024Her Mate (Medina) Concentrate Liquid Humus
Medina Hasta Gro Plant
Medina Grower Green
Medina Hasta Gro Plant
Medina Grower Green
Read
May 17, 2024It is an exceptional book for gardening in my area. The monthly tips are great for organizing gardening chores.
February 9, 2025
If you live in the southeast of Tennessee or in the Southeast in general this is fantastic to learn and grow your garden. Highly recommend!
July 31, 2026
Great reference book! Originally borrowed from the library, but it’s such a wealth of knowledge that I am buying my own copy for home reference. 5/5 stars!
December 29, 2025
This book is valuable firstly to new vegetable gardeners and those moving to the Southeast. Of course, experienced gardeners always want to learn from each other, so I encourage anyone growing food in our region, or its neighbors, to get a copy. The writing and format are clear and accessible, the index is excellent, so you can quickly find the topic you want. The scale is backyard, not farm. That said, this book could also be useful for new farm interns learning crop basics, timing, and how things are done without fancy equipment. It has the advantage of clearly setting out the basic information without being overwhelming.
The Southeast has been “traditionally underserved” in terms of vegetable gardening books, so having this compilation of tips for our climate, the names of reliable regional varieties, and the encouragement to start in any month and harvest in every month, is valuable beyond price. There are great gardening writers elsewhere in this big country, but nothing beats learning from someone who really knows the territory. Ira learned gardening in her grandmother’s yard in Florida, and has grown food in Virginia for many years. It is hard to translate northern books which talk of ground frozen solid for months in winter, or curing onions out in the September sun. Beginners will have a much happier time starting out with a book written for the actual conditions they will encounter. Gardeners moving from other climate zones will get useful information about working with “the quirks of our climate”; fall gardening, winter gardening, hot weather crops like southern peas and okra. For instance, did you know why gardeners in hot climates don’t sow in hills? They dry out too much (the gardeners as well as the hills!).
This book is intended mostly for those in the lands where the American Holly grows. This is zones 6-9, with bits of 5 and 10: the Southeastern Coastal Plains, Piedmont, Appalachians, Interior Plateau and Ozarks. Winters are temperate, summers are hot and humid, and there is a wide range of seasonal crops. We need to start spring crops early, to get a harvest before temperatures heat up; we need to add organic matter frequently, as it burns up fast in hot humid conditions; we need to know about shading.
The Gardening 101 section includes many helpful tips on soil tests, garden planning and rotations and cover crops. There are lists of crops by season and by ease of growing in our climate. As the introduction says, “Happily, gardening is a year-round activity in our region”, so there is a month-by-month section listing tasks and possibilities.
The Month-by-month section includes a To Do page for each month with panels on Plan, Prepare and Maintain, Sow and Plant, and Fresh Harvest. There is also a Skill Set panel each month covering topics such as making compost, setting up drip irrigation, building shade structures. Each month has a theme: Sowing Seed Indoors for February, Beating the Heat in July. The tone is encouraging and helpful for beginners and climate migrants alike.
My one quibble is that the drawings don’t always seem to exactly fit the text, and I wish there could have been some photos. Luckily, Ira is from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and their website www.southernexposure.com has plenty of photos of crops in action and includes a sun symbol for varieties especially suited to the Southeast.
There is a nice description of working against the shortening days and cooling temperatures of fall to get crops established in the “living refrigerator” outdoors – filling it up to draw from later. Plan for crops to mature in late November, before growth slows right down. There are a lot of critters out there, though, so bring in what you can for storage. Also, plan to have some crops reach half-size, be protected over winter, then rapidly grow in early spring for first harvests of the new growing season.
Part 3 of the book is an A to Z of crops, starting with two Planting and Harvesting Charts, one for the Upper South and one for the Lower South. These cover 38 crops or groups of closely-related crops. Then each crop has around one page of details, divided into paragraphs on Growing, Harvesting, Varieties and Seed Saving.
The Resources section includes seed and plant suppliers, community organizations, weather and climate resources, companies selling tools and supplies, soil testing services and more good books (blush, including mine). There is a Glossary, to demystify any terms you don’t know – soon you will!
If you live in the Southeast and are new to growing food here, you’ll learn a lot from this book and its clearly arrayed information. If you live around the Southeast, you’ll probably also learn some tips (think of Pennsylvania as the “Upper Southeast”!). If you’re a farmer with new interns about to arrive, get this book for your library. If you’re an experienced vegetable grower in our region, take a look too – I bet you’ll find some new ideas.
The Southeast has been “traditionally underserved” in terms of vegetable gardening books, so having this compilation of tips for our climate, the names of reliable regional varieties, and the encouragement to start in any month and harvest in every month, is valuable beyond price. There are great gardening writers elsewhere in this big country, but nothing beats learning from someone who really knows the territory. Ira learned gardening in her grandmother’s yard in Florida, and has grown food in Virginia for many years. It is hard to translate northern books which talk of ground frozen solid for months in winter, or curing onions out in the September sun. Beginners will have a much happier time starting out with a book written for the actual conditions they will encounter. Gardeners moving from other climate zones will get useful information about working with “the quirks of our climate”; fall gardening, winter gardening, hot weather crops like southern peas and okra. For instance, did you know why gardeners in hot climates don’t sow in hills? They dry out too much (the gardeners as well as the hills!).
This book is intended mostly for those in the lands where the American Holly grows. This is zones 6-9, with bits of 5 and 10: the Southeastern Coastal Plains, Piedmont, Appalachians, Interior Plateau and Ozarks. Winters are temperate, summers are hot and humid, and there is a wide range of seasonal crops. We need to start spring crops early, to get a harvest before temperatures heat up; we need to add organic matter frequently, as it burns up fast in hot humid conditions; we need to know about shading.
The Gardening 101 section includes many helpful tips on soil tests, garden planning and rotations and cover crops. There are lists of crops by season and by ease of growing in our climate. As the introduction says, “Happily, gardening is a year-round activity in our region”, so there is a month-by-month section listing tasks and possibilities.
The Month-by-month section includes a To Do page for each month with panels on Plan, Prepare and Maintain, Sow and Plant, and Fresh Harvest. There is also a Skill Set panel each month covering topics such as making compost, setting up drip irrigation, building shade structures. Each month has a theme: Sowing Seed Indoors for February, Beating the Heat in July. The tone is encouraging and helpful for beginners and climate migrants alike.
My one quibble is that the drawings don’t always seem to exactly fit the text, and I wish there could have been some photos. Luckily, Ira is from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and their website www.southernexposure.com has plenty of photos of crops in action and includes a sun symbol for varieties especially suited to the Southeast.
There is a nice description of working against the shortening days and cooling temperatures of fall to get crops established in the “living refrigerator” outdoors – filling it up to draw from later. Plan for crops to mature in late November, before growth slows right down. There are a lot of critters out there, though, so bring in what you can for storage. Also, plan to have some crops reach half-size, be protected over winter, then rapidly grow in early spring for first harvests of the new growing season.
Part 3 of the book is an A to Z of crops, starting with two Planting and Harvesting Charts, one for the Upper South and one for the Lower South. These cover 38 crops or groups of closely-related crops. Then each crop has around one page of details, divided into paragraphs on Growing, Harvesting, Varieties and Seed Saving.
The Resources section includes seed and plant suppliers, community organizations, weather and climate resources, companies selling tools and supplies, soil testing services and more good books (blush, including mine). There is a Glossary, to demystify any terms you don’t know – soon you will!
If you live in the Southeast and are new to growing food here, you’ll learn a lot from this book and its clearly arrayed information. If you live around the Southeast, you’ll probably also learn some tips (think of Pennsylvania as the “Upper Southeast”!). If you’re a farmer with new interns about to arrive, get this book for your library. If you’re an experienced vegetable grower in our region, take a look too – I bet you’ll find some new ideas.
November 24, 2013
The author really knows the various climates in this diversified region, including the expanded potential of microclimates. Phenology was a new term to me, but the concept is more like old time wisdom. This seems to be like getting back in touch with nature. Unlike the old timers, we can use the Internet to help figure out best planting times, but some folks have a knack that even the best technology can't beat. If you know one of these gifted people make them your best friends. Many of the concepts are well covered here and in other similar books, but are well worth repeating. Succession planting is covered including relay (new to me) planting. Good diagrams for drip irrigation layout, tomato trenching, Florida string weaving for tomatoes (another one new to me.) Advice for harvesting, storage, and even sharing your knowledge with other members of the community. Great ideas for sharing the bounty during the holidays; who wouldn't delight in a homemade (grapevine) gift basket full of your harvested and preserved herbs, root vegetables, and even greens? The planting and harvesting chart is very useful as are the individual plant descriptions and the average frost dates and number of frost-free days. Resources for purchase are at the end of the book. Overall a good purchase for Southeastern libraries and individuals.
March 30, 2016
This is my go-to veggie gardening resource guide. The book breaks down gardening tips by month. It is so handy to just flip to the current month to make sure I am on track with my seed starting, plantings, harvest, maintenance, etc. I view Ira Wallace as a very trusted source for practical and sage gardening advice.
November 8, 2014
Thought I'd marked this as read long ago! I reviewed it here: http://groweat.blogspot.com/2014/08/b....
February 9, 2014
easy to read with lots of practical advice for vegetable gardening in the Virginia piedmont-- great resource
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews