California Fruit & Vegetable Gardening, 2nd Edition: Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles for California Gardens

In this updated 2nd edition of California Fruit & Vegetable Gardening, the critical elements of climate, soil, sun, and water are addressed to ensure your success, no matter which part of The Golden State you call home.

California's diverse and unique growing conditions offer special challenges to food gardeners. Whether you garden in the southern, central, or northern part of the state, you'll find the answers you're looking for. From soil preparation and starting seeds to safely managing California's most troublesome vegetable garden pests, author Claire Splan guides you to your most productive garden ever.

Inside, you'll find detailed profiles of over 60 edible plants that thrive in California's distinctive growing conditions, including favorites like avocados, tomatoes, passion fruits, eggplants, beets and pomegranates. In addition to vegetables and fruits, also featured are popular herbs. Helpful charts and planting graphs keep you on track, while the garden maintenance tips found throughout ensure a lush, productive, and high-yielding garden.

Whether you grow in containers, raised beds, an extensive kitchen garden, a community garden, or a backyard veggie patch, California Fruit & Vegetable Gardening serves as an invaluable resource to West Coast gardeners, regardless of whether you're a first-time grower or an experienced Master Gardener.

California Fruit & Vegetable Gardening is part of the regional Fruit & Vegetable Gardening series from Cool Springs Press. Other books in the series include Texas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening, Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Gardening, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening, and many others.


About the Author

Claire Splan is a gardener and writer in Alameda, California. After buying her first house in 2002, she began taking horticulture classes and remaking the gardens at her home, writing about her experiences there and her growing interest in gardening and environmental issues at her garden blog, An Alameda Garden (alamedagarden.blogspot.com). A member of the Garden Writers Association, Claire has been published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Rosebud, and Firsts magazine and reviews gardening books for the New York Journal of Books (nyjournalofbooks.com). She has degrees from the University of Southern California and the University of San Francisco and has studied landscape horticulture at Merritt College. Claire is the author of Cool Springs Press's California Fruit and Vegetable Gardening (2012, updated 2021) and California Month-by-Month Gardening (2014).