Food Grown Right, In Your Backyard: A Beginner's Guide to Growing Crops at Home

As the founders behind the Seattle Urban Farm Company, Colin McCrate and Brad Halm have heard it all: My backyard is too small; how can I make space for a garden? Do I really need to buy fertilizer? What on earth is that creature crawling on the tomatoes? My crops took off and the zucchini are in the sidewalk -- who has time to harvest this all?!

Food Grown Right, in Your Backyard is a primer for these questions and more. In response to the rising interest in homegrown foods, the Seattle Urban Farm Co. builds vegetable gardens for everyone from busy families to restaurants. Along the way, Colin and Brad teach beginner growers from all walks of life the techniques of organic food production. In this full color, beautifully photographed guide, they prove that anyone can develop a "green thumb," as they show readers how to build a garden from the ground up, explain general garden basics, discuss the best types of crops to try, and much more, including:

* Garden size and design for any setting (no matter how small!), including container gardens
* Soil types, and watering and irrigation
* Plant life 101, and profiles of recommended vegetables, herbs, edible flowers, and berries
* Garden tools and time-saving rules
* Crop planning, tips on what to do with the harvest, and a garden calendar to keep your garden growing year-round

Q&A material, profiles of other beginner gardeners, and step-by-step instructions all come together in this unique, friendly guide that was inspired by the kinds of questions Colin and Brad hear every day on the job with the Seattle Urban Farm Co.

"The book is clear, concise, and beautifully illustrated. Even the more technical sections are presented in 'layman’s terms,' so even if you are new to gardening you will understand them. The photographs make understanding the text easy. Additional tables throughout the text also help, including one giving materials for composting. Because of the way the information is laid out, it won’t matter where you live, you will still be able to use the information. If you wish to plant a vegetable garden, this is easily one of the most useful books I’ve seen."
-- The National Gardener

COLIN McCRATE has been growing food organically for more than a decade. He worked on a variety of small farms in the Mid-West before taking a position as Garden Manager at an Environmental Education center on Orcas Island, WA. After leaving Orcas, Colin stayed in the Pacific Northwest, working simultaneously for Farmhouse Organics in Poulsbo, WA and as a residential landscaper in Seattle. After spending a few seasons designing and installing gardens in the city, he officially founded the Seattle Urban Farm Company in January of 2007. It all started with a simple question: "Does anyone need help setting up a vegetable garden?" and it turned out, quite a few did. Learn more at seattleurbanfarmcompany.com

BRAD HALM'S interest in food production started in a small vegetable garden at the Homestead, an experiential living option at Denison University in Ohio. After graduating, he apprenticed on organic farms around Ohio for several years, then took a position as the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Manager for Village Acres Farm in Pennsylvania. He moved to Seattle in 2007 to help Colin start the Seattle Urban Farm Company, and he has been building urban farms ever since. Learn more at seattleurbanfarmcompany.com

HILARY DAHL, a Seattle native, has been with the Seattle Urban Farm Company since the winter of 2010. She brings with her an educational background in landscape architecture and urban planning from the University of Washington. During college Hilary spent three summers interning on a sustainable, net-zero energy housing construction project on Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands where she learned traditional and alternative construction skills as well as organic gardening methods. Hilary is also our in-house photographer and you will find her photos on this website and on our other outreach material.