Growing Vegetables

Fully Updated and Revised (2026)

I was disappointed when the first edition of Growing Vegetables sold out, because my heart is for encouraging people to grow their own food, and having a vegetable garden is just as beneficial today as it ever was. So I was delighted when the good people at Upstart Press offered to reprint an updated and revised version. The premise of this book hasn’t changed – to provide gardeners with a good solid foundation of knowledge, supporting them through the first growing season with weekly guidance and timely advice. Its packed with tips and techniques, planning charts, and places to record notes and is a handy resource of trusted, reliable gardening information, quick to access and easy to understand. 

“Growing Vegetables is like having an expert at your elbow, sleeves rolled up, ready to lend a hand and offer great advice.” (Upstart Press)

This new edition has been brought home to New Zealand with just local content for Kiwi gardeners across the country.

Where to find a copy: This should be available at all good bookstores throughout New Zealand. If your local bookstore doesn’t have it, ask them to get it in for you.

Growing Vegetables

The original edition (2016)

This book was born out of a desire to set new gardeners off on the right path, as there is a lot of information out there that can become quite overwhelming.  This book is written in and easy to understand format that takes the garden through an entire year week by week, showing not only when to do tasks, but how and more importantly why.  The book encourages gardeners to grow beyond the pages as their confidence grows in the garden.  It is written with all everything a new gardener needs to know in mind. This is a book to be used not read.

Starting your gardening journey with a solid foundation will set you off on the right foot for many seasons to come.  The working title for this book was “A Learner Gardener’s Guide to Growing Great Vegetables.  However, it was decided this was a bit of a mouthful!

“Many people feel the urge to grow their own food, yet don’t know where to start. Gone are the days where this life skill is passed down through the generations. So, the keen gardener is left to find their own way through a mine field of information overload. This book has been created to guide and encourage you, week by week, through your first year of growing your own vegetables. It takes growing food back to basics and explains when, how and why to do things. It has been designed with you, the gardener in mind and how you would logically work your way through the season.”    (New Holland Publisher)

SOLD OUT – This was originally released in New Zealand, Australia and the UK and quickly sold out. If you want to learn about growing vegetables, grab a copy of the latest version of Growing Vegetables in good books stores across New Zealand right now.

Play in the Garden

I was approached by New Holland Publishers to write a kid’s gardening book, but I hesitated.  I had kids, and I gardened, however the kids didn’t seem inclined to join me in the garden.  They knew how as small children are very curious and were often by my side in the garden.  As they got older, they found the pleasures of the screen and lost interest in the garden.  I almost said no.  But then I thought ‘no actually… these kids need to get outside and experience some nature.  So, a dragged them through a growing season of fun and Play in the Garden was written.

Often kids interested in gardening are given a small space of their own with some radish seeds, a sunflower and a few other vegetables and expected to get on with it.  Many grown-ups don’t manage to make it to the end of the growing season unscathed, and kids can quickly lose interest after the first problem.  Play in the Garden encourages you to extend your garden to accommodate the child in your life and grow together side by side.  Spending time together can also help kids grow.

“Kids don’t have the patience or the interest in having their own garden patch, they just want to have fun! Sarah O’Neil knows this well. Her series of clever outdoor projects will get kids outside throughout the growing season, having fun in the vegetable garden.”    (New Holland Publisher)

Where to find a copy:

EXCLUSIVE LIMITED AVAILABILITY – This book has been completely sold out in all the stores so the remaining books are only available from me, so if you’d love a copy please send me a message and I’ll sort you out with a signed copy.

The Good Life

I discovered a love of writing about the trials and tribulations of my garden and my country life through a blogging competition organised by Yates – the most respected seed company in Australasia.  Once the competition ended I found I couldn’t stop writing so I kept on writing whenever and where ever I could, which is why you find me here on WordPress.

But then something really exciting happened.  The blogs I had written for the blogging competition have been turned into a book.  A proper one!  It’s called “The Good Life – four glorious seasons in my country garden” and is published by Harper Collins and sponsored by Yates.  Such an honour.  This book is more of a memoir style and has a lot of lessons learnt the hard way!

“THE GOOD LIFE is a funny and inspiring slice-of-life gardening book, looking at the ups and downs of gardening throughout the year. The book is full of practical gardening advice, as well as delicious recipes, interwoven with the story of Sarah’s transformation from city-slicker to country girl.”    (HarperCollins Publisher)

SOLD OUT – Unfortunately this book was so well received all of the copies were snapped up. If you are lucky you might find a second hand copy if you search the great big internet.

What’s Next?

Will there be any more books in the future?

Well…  never say never….  : o)