Like many others, I got into gardening at the start of the pandemic after a lifelong desire to try. I had mostly experimented with flowers and wanted to try growing my own vegetables. Unfortunately, the soil where I live is very poor, so I knew raised beds would be the easiest approach. This book was very helpful in learning how to get them set up, which materials to use and what to plant with what. I had some successes and a lot of failures, but I am still going to keep trying and referencing this book for help as I learn more.

Thank you Quarto Publishing Group – Cool Springs Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

If you bought this book for no other reasoning but to learn how to build raised beds for gardening, it would be totally worth it. The author gives several examples of raised beds. How to build them and maintain them. There’s lots of information (with in-depth instructions) and pictures. Terrific book!

Unfortunately I missed the opportunity to download this by requesting so close to the publishing date but I appreciate the opportunity and will be adding it to my to read list.

Vibrant photos, engaging descriptions with a step by step how to guide to becoming a great raised bed gardener! Although, I really think this book would be great for any type of gardener whether in raised beds or traditional gardening. This book is perfect for beginners as it is so detailed in a step-by-step way while being conversational and engaging! This book was fun to read on top of being incredibly informational. I am not a beginner gardener, yet I still found myself enthralled with the book and taking notes on ways to improve my gardening. This book is a great book for anyone interested in gardening whether beginner or old-timer as there is great info to be gleaned from this book! This book has gone on my must own list so I can add it to my gardening bookshelf. I will recommend this book to anyone asking about gardening information!

This is a great little book for anyone thinking about starting a raised bed garden. It's even a good book for experienced gardeners. Myself, I have been using raised beds for over a decade, and I picked up many good tips here.
Chock full of information, wonderfully photographed, easy to read, this book has it all!
From the initial planning, through the construction, the filling, the planting, all the way to harvest. It's all in here.
This is a great resource.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

I bought my first raised garden bed in 2020, when we downsized to a condo and only had a porch to garden on. 2020 brought a very nice yield and I has a big fan of raised gardening. Last Summer, 2021, the garden yield was definitely not as much and I was disappointed. After reading this fabulous book, I have new information and loads of ideas to try this Summer. I highly recommend this book as a reference book to all of those interested in raised gardening!

I am new to gardening and have a collapsed 'raised' bed which needs to be rebuilt and planted. This book is perfect for the job! It contains lots of advice and images to help with the step by step process of a wide variety of raised beds. I am still a little daunted by the prospect of what I need to do - but at least I am well informed!

I particularly liked the 'plans' for beds which are located towards the end of the book. I tend to throw plants in without any true thought to a scheme but this book has certainly made me rethink that approach.

Lots to learn here, and all delivered in manageable chunks.

Another excellent book in the First-Time series, this one decodes any mysteries involved in raised bed gardening. Excellent tips and planning for the controlled growing environment that raised beds offer. Great resource.

This is a great book if you're new to raised bed gardening. There are lots of photos and there's a wealth of information. There are already so many books on this topic and many of them are very good, but this is a great addition. I appreciated the focus on sourcing good dirt and how cheap dirt will sabotage your garden, and also how to avoid toxins in the wood and other materials sometimes used for raised beds.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for an honest review.

This book teaches you how to build and grow a raised garden bed as well as the benefits of a raised bed. It also teaches you how to choose the best bed for your space, how to choose which soil to use, planting layouts (pizza garden, salsa garden, salad garden), and how to water, fertilize and mulch your veggies. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Early spring always seems to have me eager to diving into a gardening book while I (im)patiently waiting for the last frost and a chance to get outside working in the soil. I’m avid, but nowhere near pro-status so I perked right up when I saw this First-Time Gardener series book by YouTuber, KaliKim. Raised bed gardening is something to which I’m a relative newcomer and I want to expand so I eagerly dove into this quick-read book with the colorful photos and graphics sprinkled throughout.



Raised Bed Gardening covers several elements from an overview on what it is, the differences and advantages to doing a raised bed, and types of raised bed before diving into starting a raised bed garden from the soil on up.

First, there were discussions about plotting out where to put them (even for patios if a yard is not available) or even on slopes. Planning what to grow and what sort of light it will need should play a part in where to locate the beds.

There was a section on building easy raised beds of various types or purchasing one. Personally, I’ve got a square wooden one about a foot high and about 6x6 ft. I was intrigued by the makeshift circle of cement blocks filled in with soil including the hollowed areas of the blocks themselves since my husband has extras of those leftover from a different DIY project and I could put these to good use now.

Next, was the discussion about the soil composition needed to fill the raised bed. I appreciated the inclusion of the recipes for making natural and compost filler for the bottom layer saving the cost of all soil. She also put in soil recipes and a method of checking to make sure any soil being used is viable (moist and clumps, but also arable enough to break up, too). My own garden bed is small enough that the cost of buying bags of special raised bed soil to get started was not too much and I simply add some brown compost enrichers and a new bag of soil on top for the new season.

After the soil discussion, she talks of what to grow in the beds with charts for theme gardens (salad, butterfly, salsa, etc) and where and when to place the plantings to best advantage.

Then a nice reminder about how to keep the soil enriched with fertilizer at periodic moments during the growing season. This is where I fall off the wagon and have the least knowledge so I was glad to get her suggestions for what type of fertilizer was needed with planting time, and then the various intervals of growth even to that last point in the fall before the garden is done (at least mine is here in the north).



All in all, I thought I got an excellent overview of raised bed gardening and some good practical points and tips to make it a success. Definitely a book I would recommend for those interested in the topic.

The First-Time Gardener: Raised Bed Gardening by CaliKim is basically a gardening book.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Quarto Publishing Group – Cool Springs Press, Cool Springs Press and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis and Opinions:
This is a self-help book, with instructions for raised garden beds.

The author takes you right through the process.  It starts with planning -- how many beds do you want, where will you place them, deciding on a shape, and height.  She then gets into building the beds -- with actual designs included.   Then there is a section on soil, before finally getting into plants, and mulch, and trellises.  Note that there are a number of pictures and lay-outs which I thought were useful.  

It is a great introduction to raised bed gardening, and very straight-forward.  Plant recommendations were common species ... and not in Latin.

Overall, I found the book to be very informative, without being overwhelming.  I may have to talk to my hubby, and see if we can find a spot (or two).

I really loved this book. I have always had a garden but the soil isn't great so I will definitely be using this guide to build my own raised beds to help my back not ache so bad but also for better plants!

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
YouTube gardening sensation, Calikim, has bestowed all of her wisdom and insights within these pages, on the topic of raised bed gardening. Excellent resource for both beginner and those of us familiar with the concept of growing food in shallow above ground beds. Filled with step by step photos this book is an excellent resource for gardeners. Highly recommend for anyone with small spaces to grow your own vegetables.

The First-Time Gardener: Raised Bed Gardening is perfect for anyone who wants to start. Spring is here and it's time to start with your garden again or even if it's your first time. This shows you exactly how to set up and maintain your raised garden beds. It even has spectacular pictures to follow along with. Such a helpful resource!!

Very informative and helpful for first time gardeners and even people who have been gardening a few years. Great tips and images to help newbies find their starting points.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The First-Time Gardener: Raised Bed Gardening by CaliKim s an amazing and beautiful guide to keeping the perfect raised-bed garden. The book contains gorgeous full-color photos of gardens, and the author gives us step-by-step instructions for building our own raised-bed gardens and keeping them like the ones in the photos. According to the description, readers will "soon be growing your own fresh, organic vegetables, herbs, and flowers like a pro.."

Overall, The First-Time Gardener: Raised Bed Gardening is a gorgeous book that would make an excellent coffee-table book as well as a guide to gardening. One highlight of this book are the amazing photos. I was blown away by how beautiful some of the gardens looked. Another highlight are the wonderful tips that the CaliKim gives us from her experience growing raised-bed gardens. I was especially impressed by the step-by-step directions with accompanying photos. If you're intrigued by the description, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in April!

I follow CaliKim on Instagram and adore her. She is a teacher and a gem! She strives for people to be successful in their home gardeners and she has given such confidence to grow your own food which is becoming more and more beneficial in these trying times.

Kim is no-nonsense, truly budget-conscious friendly projects throughout this fantastic book. She even teaches how to build a raised bed on a slope! You don't see that every day. There are charts, graphs, step-by-steps everything to give a backyard, home gardeners the confidence to grow their own food and flowers.

I would have included more information on putting hardware cloth which is a grid wire available now even in stainless steel option to last a long time for those folks who have gopher issues. This is critical. Kim does touch on it but only says "wire mesh". Great Resouce and index at the end. Kim also has some great YouTube videos.

A useful, needed book to feel confident on the path to the joy of raised bed gardening.

I started this book having two years of working and starting my own raised bed garden - my own symptom of working from home and needing a break from all the zoom meetings!

I was intrigued to read this book via netgalley and now that I have finished it, I absolutely want to buy my own copy for reference. This book had all the right basics for a gardener who has any amount of space and knowledge. I believe that each year a gardener learns something new and this book made me think about soil and mulch which are two things I know I want to improve upon where I may have "mastered" some of the other lessons in this book.

Not only will I be buying this book for myself, but I have a few friends who are also dabbling in personal gardening and I will be buying them copies as well!

I really enjoyed this book! Raised bed gardening is a fun passion of mine and many others. This is a first time or beginner book with a wealth of information. Even some ideas about what might go wrong. Easy step by step raised bed making and some very cute but simple ideas. I liked the detailed information about how much room you may need per plant. I can see I still have a lot to learn. Five stars!

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left this review!