Cailin Riley Books

The daffodils are popping up and the grass is getting greener–it must be nearly spring!

I’m so beyond ready for warmer weather because it means more time to get outdoors and do some of my favorite activities, which include bike riding, hiking and working in my garden.

I’ve helped with gardening since I was little. My family had 5 acres and a large fenced-in garden that we used to grow veggies and fruits to eat. I got more into gardening myself a few years back and now that I have a house and a decent-sized backyard, I’ve gone full green thumb.

I’ve already got this year’s seedlings going and I’m so ready to transplant them into my raised beds and see them flourish! (And reap all the tasty benefits, of course.)

Here are some of the gardening books that have helped me along my journey:

No-Waste Composting: Small-Space Waste Recycling, Indoors and Out. Plus, 10 projects to repurpose household items into compost-making machines

This book is a great primer for anybody who is curious about starting to compost on a small scale. Composting sounds complicated and daunting but it’s actually super easy and you don’t need a large yard to do it.

A Gardener’s Guide to Botany: The Biology Behind the Plants You Love, How They Grow, and What They Need

While a longer read and more in-depth, this book is an amazing way to learn about the science of botany. I learned a lot from reading this about how plants grow and what conditions make for better growing.

The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible: Discover Ed’s High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions

Despite the cheesy title, this guidebook really is a great place to start for all gardeners, including beginners. I pull this baby out whenever I want to remind myself about the best-growing conditions for a certain vegetable.

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening

This is another shelf classic that I highly recommend. This book basically goes over what veggies, fruits and flowers you can plant together for good benefits. It also goes over what shouldn’t be planted together.