Seed to Table: A Seasonal Guide to Organically Growing, Cooking, and Preserving Food at Home

by Luay Ghafari

Overview

A Seasonal Guide for Growing & Cooking Foods Right at Home

“Luay makes growing your own food, even if just a small amount, into an achievable endeavor.”—Niki Irving of Flourish Flower Farm, flower farmer, florist, author of Growing Flowers

#1 Best Seller in Organic Gardening

Learn to garden in any space with Seed to Table, grow and cook nutrient-dense foods to take your gardening and cooking to the next level!

Gardening, cooking, and eating done right!Seed to Table focuses on how to feed your family with nutritious foods from your own outdoor, home and/or kitchen garden. Whether you live in a city or in the country, this book gives you tools on effective growing techniques, seed starting methods, and garden maintenance. 

Organic gardening for every individual style! Have fun while you create your own gardening system whether it be for a container garden or a kitchen garden. Try out big and small garden ideas to stock up your fridge with delicious fruits, vegetables, and herbs to grow your self-sufficiency. Maximize your minimal or large space with impactful practices that are perfect for anyone on a sustainability and self-sufficiency journey.

Inside Seed to Table, you’ll find:

• A full and in-depth guide on preserving foods while cultivating homegrown foods
• Easy and delicious vegetable-forward recipes and preservation techniques to feed your whole family
• Effective urban gardening tools to create a garden in a patio garden, rooftop space, or any space

If you're looking for books on urban gardening or gardening in any space, add this book to your collection! If you liked Plants-Only Kitchen, Holistic Homesteading, or Raised-Bed Gardening for Beginners, then you’ll love Seed to Table.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684811632
Publisher:	Mango Media
Publication date:	06/13/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	478
Sales rank:	706,084
File size:	178 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Luay Ghafari is an urban gardener, garden educator, consultant, recipe developer, and founder of Urban Farm and Kitchen, a seasonal garden-to-table food blog and gardening resource. His mission is to guide and help anyone on a gardening and food-growing journey. With over a decade of intensive urban growing experience, he uses tried-and-true science-based techniques to grow abundant, healthy, and thriving gardens for himself and his clients. He is passionate about the garden-to-table movement and vegetable-forward seasonal recipes. He also teaches a garden-to-table Master Class for beginner and intermediate gardeners. He has been featured in publications like Medium, Food52, and Toronto Life Magazine, as well as in documentaries and is active on social media, where he shares gardening tips and seasonal recipes. Luay is based in Toronto, Canada.

Read an Excerpt

From the Introduction

For years, my interest in food focused predominantly on cooking. I had very little interest in what happened before my ingredients made it to my local market or grocery store. That changed in 2009 when I began participating in a CSA (community supported agriculture) program. It was almost as if I had this epiphany, an awakening of sorts. I still remember the name of the farmer, Andre Samson, from Farnham, Quebec. That first CSA box was somewhat strange. Organic fruits and vegetables that looked nothing like the perfectly shaped, unblemished produce we’re all used to seeing at the store. I will admit that it took me some time to deprogram myself and appreciate the beauty in the unique. The vegetables tasted great too. I was hooked. We got into the car, drove to Jean-Talon Market and I purchased my first ever tomato, cucumber, and basil seedlings. For the next three years, I learned as much as I could about urban agriculture and container gardens.

After moving to Toronto in 2013 I enrolled in the culinary arts program at George Brown College. I did not intend to make culinary arts a career path but wanted to expose myself to new techniques and practices and learn from my peers. It was this experience that cemented for me the desire to focus on seasonality and self-sufficiency. Up until this point, I was living exclusively in condos with small balconies. I was yearning for more space. It was not until we purchased our first house with a backyard that my imagination took off. So many possibilities. Though small, my urban garden held lots of potential.

It was on a particularly tough and exhausting business trip in 2018 that I decided to launch Urban Farm and Kitchen, my gardening, cooking, and lifestyle blog. In an instant, I purchased the domain name and created my first logo. Soon after, I announced it to my Instagram followers. My vision was not quite clear but I knew that long term I would be working towards a garden-to-table initiative or business of some sort. My passion for gardening and seasonal cooking could not remain a hobby forever. I wanted more.

It has been a wonderful journey filled with challenges and triumphs. In many ways, I did it on my own. Trying, failing, adjusting, adapting, perfecting. Persevering through failure is not a trait that everyone possesses. Unfortunately, failure in the garden can lead to a sense of hopelessness that can push new gardeners to give up. I don’t want that for anyone. There is peace in growing a garden. There is a sense of optimism and wonder, a connection with nature that centers us and makes us appreciate the world around us. My hope is that more and more people experience this joy.

Writing this book has been a joy as well. In many ways, it has given me the opportunity to think back and truly appreciate my journey and how I became the person I am today. I hope that this book and the experiences, knowledge, and ideas within it will inspire you and support you in crafting and executing your own garden-to-table vision.

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword
Introduction

Chapter 1 - Garden to Table

• A Matter of Taste
• On the Road to Self-Sufficiency
• A Communal Act

Chapter 2 - Crop Guides

• Cool Weather Crops
• Warm Weather Crops
• Herbs
• Garlic

Chapter 3 - Garden to Table Recipes and Preservation Techniques

• Garden-Inspired Libations
• Snacks and Dips
• Salads and Soups
• Pesto and Sauces
• Larger Dishes
• Side Dishes
• Condiments
• Pickling and Fermenting
• Confit
• Drying the Harvest
• Freezing your harvest

Chapter 4 - Garden Planning

• Hardiness Zones and Microclimates
• Leveraging Your Space Efficiently
• Taking Personal Inventory
• The Importance of Flowers in the Edible Garden
• Thematic Gardens

Chapter 5 - Growing Techniques

• Growing in Containers
• Growing Vertically
• Growing in Gutters
• Growing in Raised Beds
• Succession Planting

Chapter 6 - Fundamentals of Soil

• The Importance of Soil Health
• Micro and Macro Nutrients
• Product Rundown
• Amending Soil Organically
• Mulching

Chapter 7 - Seeds, Seedlings, and Plant Material

• Understanding Seed Lingo
• Should you Start from Seed?
• Planting Guide

Chapter 8 - Seed Starting for Beginners

• Equipment
• Seed Starting Technique
• Caring for your Seedlings
• Hardening Off Process
• Transplanting into the Garden

Chapter 9 - Garden Maintenance

• Weeding
• Watering and Irrigation Systems
• Feeding the Soil
• Identifying and Managing Pests
• Identifying and Managing Disease
• Pruning and Pinching

Chapter 10 - Season Extension and Winterization

• Extending the Growing Season
• Winterization

Glossary of Common Terms
Resources
QR Code Weblinks
Acknowledgments
P.S
About the Author
Index

Editorial Reviews

Luay has an enormous amount of knowledge on growing beautiful produce. Beyond his knowledge, his love and dedication to bringing to life vegetables is unparalleled. This book is an interesting and fantastic combination of simple and tasty recipes along with a DIY, approachable guide to becoming a home gardener.”
—Afrim Pristine, internationally renowned maître fromager of the Cheese Boutique, Food Network TV Host, and author of For the Love of Cheese: Recipes and Wisdom from the Cheese Boutique

“Seed to Table is a fantastic, robust guide that will help you achieve the garden-to-table lifestyle you’ve always craved. From quick growing tips and in-depth gardening techniques to drool-worthy recipes to use or preserve your homegrown bounty—Luay has covered it all!”
—Deanna Talerico, garden expert, blogger and founder of Homestead and Chill

“Luay makes growing your own food, even if just a small amount, into an achievable endeavor. Combine his expert growing advice with the detailed crop guides and delicious, creative recipes, this book contains everything you can possibly need to know to enjoy fresh meals straight from the garden.”
—Niki Irving of Flourish Flower Farm, flower farmer, florist, author of Growing Flowers

From the Publisher