About Harvest Home Guides

The Problem with Generic Gardening Advice

Most vegetable gardening books treat the entire United States like one big garden. They give you a single planting date for tomatoes, one set of variety recommendations, and generic advice that works perfectly — if you happen to live in the author’s zip code.

For everyone else? It’s a recipe for frustration. Late frosts kill early transplants. Heat-intolerant varieties wilt in southern summers. Planting calendars designed for Zone 6 are useless in Zone 9.

Why Regional Matters

The United States spans USDA hardiness zones 1 through 13. A gardener in Houston faces completely different challenges than one in Minneapolis — different soil types, rainfall patterns, pest pressures, frost dates, and heat levels.

Harvest Home Guides exists to solve this. Each book in our series is written for a specific U.S. region, with:

  • Month-by-month planting calendars tailored to local frost dates and growing seasons
  • Variety recommendations tested and proven in your specific climate
  • Soil strategies based on regional soil types (clay, sand, caliche, loam)
  • Pest and disease management for the bugs and blights you’ll actually encounter
  • Water management appropriate for your rainfall patterns
  • Season extension techniques that work in your climate

The Series

We’re building a comprehensive library of regional vegetable gardening guides:

  1. Texas (Coming Soon) — From Zone 6b in the Panhandle to Zone 9b in the Valley
  2. Southeast (Planned) — Humid heat, long seasons, double-cropping
  3. Midwest (Planned) — Short seasons, big harvests
  4. Southwest (Planned) — Desert gardening done right
  5. Pacific Northwest (Planned) — Year-round growing potential
  6. Northeast (Planned) — Cold-climate food production

Our Approach

Every Harvest Home Guides book is:

  • Research-backed — We rely on university extension service data, USDA research, and proven growing techniques
  • Practically focused — No fluff, no filler. Just actionable information you can use this season
  • Written for real gardeners — Whether you’re growing in raised beds, containers, or a backyard plot, our guides meet you where you are

The Blog

Our blog provides free vegetable gardening content targeted to specific regions and zones. It’s a complement to the book series — covering seasonal topics, answering common questions, and helping gardeners across the country grow better food.

Get in Touch

Have questions about the book series or want to suggest a topic for the blog? We’d love to hear from you at hello@harvesthomeguides.com.

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      <h3 class="title is-5">📚 The Book Series</h3>
      <p><strong>Harvest Home Guides: Texas</strong> is coming soon — the complete vegetable gardening guide for every Texas region.</p>
      <a href="/books/" class="button is-primary-green is-small mt-3">See All Books</a>
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