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Page Count:192
Images:Black & White Images
Dimensions: 6 × 9 × 0.45 in
Publication Date:October 08, 2024
ISBN:9780865719781
Sustainability:Printed on 100% recycled paper
Printed in:Canada
Audiobook Narrator:Jeffrey Machado
Audiobook Length:06:02:48

Food Science for Gardeners

Grow, Harvest, and Prepare Nutrient Dense Foods

Food Science for Gardeners is everyone’s guide to optimizing the quality of garden produce, including avoiding safety risks such as pesticides and microplastics; the pros and cons of different storage methods; and how to prepare the most nutrient-dense and delicious vegetables and fruits possible.

Book Awards

WINNER | 2025 International Book Awards: Home & Garden

Earn up to 32 Points.

Everyone’s guide to using the power of science to produce healthier and tastier fruits and vegetables

From garden to fork, Food Science for Gardeners is everyone’s guide to optimizing the quality of garden produce and preparing the most delicious and nutritious food possible.

Beginning with a high-level overview of food quality and nutrient density, this invaluable resource then takes a deep, but accessible, dive into:

  • The essential nutrient groups as well as phytonutrients and their anti-oxidant properties
  • Factors affecting food safety such as pesticides, microplastics, bacteria, and other forms of chemical and biological contamination
  • The pros and cons of a host of approaches to food storage and preservation, as well as an extensive variety of cooking methods
  • Gardening techniques for growing nutritious food
  • A complete section dedicated to the best growing methods for common fruits and vegetables.

Whether you’re a home gardener, local food enthusiast, or small-scale farmer, Food Science for Gardeners demystifies the science of food, enabling you to put the best quality vegetables and fruits on your plate.

Praise for the book

If you eat what you grow, you need this book!

JEFF LOWENFELS, a.k.a. Lord of the Roots, and author, Teaming With Microbes Tetralogy

What a useful reference this is for anyone interested in growing food!

LINDA GILKESON, educator and author, Backyard Bounty

Roll up your sleeves and let this amazing book get you started on your journey to great health and a fun garden!

LYNN GILLESPIE, organic farmer, thelivingfarm.org

Table of Contents

  • 1. Introduction
    • Why Do We Eat?
    • What Is Food Quality?
    • Do Gardeners Produce High Quality Food?
    • Gardeners Affect Quality
    • The History of Food Science
  • 2. Understanding Nutrition
    • Human Nutrients vs Plant Nutrients
    • Nutrients vs Calories
    • Nutrients in Food
    • Factors Affecting Nutrients
    • Nutrition Myths
  • 3. Food Safety— Chemicals
    • Chemical Toxicity
    • Pesticides
    • Heavy Metals
    • Food Safe Plastics
    • Safe Material for Raised Beds
    • Microplastics
    • Growing Food Near Toxic Plants
    • Allelopathy
    • GMO Food
    • Allergies and Sensitivities
  • 4. Food Safety— Biological
    • The Microbes Among Us
    • What Is a Foodborne Illness
    • How Microbes Grow
    • Detecting a Problem
    • Buying Food
    • Food Safety Myths
    • Final Thoughts
  • 5. Nutrient Density
    • Measuring Nutrient Densit
    • Factors Affecting Nutrient Density
    • What Does Science Know About Growing Nutrient-Dense Food?
    • Factors Affecting Nutrients
  • 6. The Flavor of Food
    • Nutrition and Flavor
    • Why Does Grocery Store Produce Taste Bland?
    • Sweetness vs Acidity
    • Factors Affecting Flavor
  • 7. Growing Great Food
    • Selecting the Right Cultivar
    • Importance of Days to Maturity
    • Heirlooms vs Hybrids
    • Is Organic Food Better?
    • Fresh Is Best
  • 8. Handling and Storing Food
    • Washing Hands and Produce
    • Food Storage
  • 9. Preserving Food
    • Preserving Techniques
    • Methods for Preserving Food
  • 10. Cooking Food
    • Why Do We Cook Food?
    • How Does Cooking Affect Flavor?
    • How Does Cooking Affect Nutrition?
    • Cooking Creates Undesirable Compounds
    • Food That Needs Cooking
    • Cooking Myths
    • Cooking Methods
  • 11. Growing and Serving Quality Food
    • Beans, Green (Snap Beans)
    • Cucumbers
    • Garlic
    • Lettuce
    • Onion
    • Peas
    • Radish
    • Raspberries
    • Strawberries
    • Tomato
    • Zucchini
  • Notes
  • Index
  • About the Author
  • Connect with Robert Pavlis
  • About New Society Publishers

Accessibility Information

Product Page Accessibility Display

Conformance Status: EPUB Accessibility Compliant | WCAG level AA Compliant
Screen Reader Compatibility: Designed for an optimal screen reader experience and fully accessible to persons with disabilities.

Content Enhancements

Alternative Text for Images: Descriptive text is provided for all images, ensuring visual content is fully accessible.
Table of Contents: Easy, direct navigation through a clean, structured table of contents.
Reading Order: Enforces a logical and consistent reading order for sequential, uninterrupted content consumption.
Page List: Includes an accurate page list for physical book page referencing and exact academic citation synchronization.
Structural Navigation: Built with a clear hierarchical layout for easy content traversal and section hopping.
Semantic Structure: Employs appropriate semantic markup to ensure absolute text clarity, meaning, and text-to-speech accuracy.

Reading Optimization

Unrestricted Formatting Preferences: User-configured assistive tools, custom typography scaling, line-spacing modifications, and native reading application options are never locked or disabled.
Color Independence: Textual layouts, data states, and links use distinct styles or symbols so that color changes are never the sole method of conveying critical information.
High-Contrast Design: Typography contrast levels comfortably exceed standard baseline parameters to reduce eye strain under any lighting environment.
Non-Visual Accessibility Support: All non-decorative editorial text and data visualizations are optimized to support reading entirely without sight.
Language Tagging: Embedded text attributes direct text-to-speech engines to use correct pronunciation defaults automatically.
Blank Page Removal: Unnecessary blank pages are completely eliminated to ensure a streamlined, smooth reading flow.

Contact Information

For further information or questions contact [email protected]

Explore the Garden Science Series

Meet the Author

author Robert Pavlis

Robert Pavlis has been an avid gardener for over four decades. He is the owner and developer of Aspen Grove Gardens, a 6-acre botanical garden that features over 3,000 varieties of plants. Specializing in soil science, he has been an instructor for Landscape Ontario and is a garden blogger, writer, and chemist. The author of Building Natural Ponds, Pavlis is a well-known speaker whose audiences include Master Gardener groups, horticultural societies, orchid societies, and garden shows such as Canada Blooms and the FarmSmart conference. He teaches gardening fundamentals at the University of Guelph and garden design for the City of Guelph, Ontario, where he currently resides.

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About the Publisher

New Society Publishers has been a leader in sustainable living books since 1980. Our books are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper to support the health of the planet.

B Corporation, SDG, and FSC Mixed Paper.
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