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Robyn Jasko started her blog Grow Indie as a way to offer a guide to easy, DIY garden and cooking projects. (It’s part of the goindie.com network, which she and her husband created to encourage the support of local, independent businesses.) Now, Jasko has put together a book, inspired by information on her website, called Homesweet Homegrown: How to Grow, Make and Store Food, No Matter Where You Live. A slim paperback sweetly illustrated by Jennifer Biggs’ drawings of vegetables and raised beds, Homesweet Homegrown gives instructions so straightforward they made even this brown-thumbed author feel a little less daunted – excited, even – by the concept of growing some legit food.

The book is neatly divided into chapters titled “Know,” “Start,” “Grow,” “Plant,” “Plan,” “Make,” “Eat,” and “Store,” with growing tips and recipes organized in alphabetical lists of vegetables. It also includes easy-to-decipher charts of seed germination times and companion plants. We caught up with Jasko recently to hear more about the book.

Q. Why did you decide to write Homesweet Homegrown?
A. I’ve always been a gardener, whether I’ve lived in the city, the country, or the ‘burbs. Even on my fire escape in Philadelphia I had a tomato garden. Every year when I garden I have about 20 different books that I use and pull different things from. So I thought, wouldn’t it be great if all that information was in one book? I was also inspired by all the questions I get. So I created what I wished existed. It’s a pocket manual that covers all the basics of growing your own food, with recipes, food storage tips, garden planning, information about GMOs, organics, heirlooms, and more.