I've grown some of these in the past. This year I grew Cape Gooseberries- very nice! There are lots of fun foods out there that every gardener should try at least once! Great book! Love the photos!

I'm a new gardener, so a lot of this was more advanced than I'm ready for, but it was interesting to see what the possibilities are, and what I may be able to achieve in the future. I didn't realize this was a UK book, and I live in the US so the growing zones for me weren't listed and would require some extra planning and research to see what would be possible where I live. I really appreciated the cooking information that was included.

I received this book, for free, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great guide for both, new and experienced gardeners who want a little fun. I have been gardening for years, and I still learned a bunch from this book. There is always more to learn! This book showed me a bunch of varieties to plant. I can't wait to get planting.

There are a lot of gardening books out there, but very few are as interesting as this one. I probably won't try growing even half of the unusual foods in this book, but even if I'm unsuccessful at it, it will have been fun! We are eagerly planning next year's garden....

This is a fun book for avid gardeners who want to try some new plants. It provides lots of color photos and information for each plant, along with ideas for how to cook them. I do wish it gave some more information right next to each plant, specifically garden zones and what types of plants they are (perennial, annual, etc.). It seems to be published in the UK, which is why it doesn't list U.S. growing zones, but it's frustrating to have to search the lowest temperatures and figure out whether each plant would be well suited for my garden, and then those ranges make no sense anyway when you find out later that they're annuals anyway.

As a forager, I was surprised to see how many plants I recognized as hybrid varieties of weeds like lambsquarters. I always take that as a good sign, because if its relatives grow unwanted in my garden then they're probably pretty likely to grow if I encourage them. :) It was disappointing to see how many won't grow well in my Minnesota garden though. I really prefer to plant perennials or easy annuals from seed. So many of the plants would have been welcome in my garden but after reading the fine print I found that they weren't well suited here.

Most of the plants require a fair amount of work. Even when they're rated easy to grow, the author recommends starting them inside, transplanting, staking, tying, etc.

Readers may be pleased or weirded out by how many of the plants are ones we grow as ornamentals, too. Hostas, day lilies, fuschias and love-lies-bleeding (amaranth) are examples.

I received a temporary ARC of this book through Net Galley.

This book isn't perfect, but its close. I could have used more information about why one would or would not grow something. For example, it doesn't give information about how well plants self-propagate, how much sugar they have (sometimes) or how much semi toxic compounds they contain (I'm looking at you oxalate!).

That being said, this book is organized extraordinarily well making it easy to find the information you need quickly. In particular this book categorizes the level of difficulty of each plant in a simple rating scheme. There are also many sections that help one learn how to best grow the plant. Lastly, and probably most importantly, there is a wide swathe of innovative plants here and that is what draws me to these kinds of books. These plants were quite original and introduced many new plants to me. I think this book is pretty awesome. I just wish it told me that strawberry spinach was mildly sweet, high in oxalates and spreads itself well.

This is a great book for new and experienced gardeners interested in learning more about growing their own food. I've been gardening for years and I learned so much from this book. Whether you have a few pots or multiple acres, you're sure to get something from this book. It starts with a concise but comprehensive coverage of the basics and getting started and moves into a variety of unusual fruits, vegetables and herbs anyone can grow. The layout is well-organized, the pictures are beautiful, and the information is easy to follow. I appreciated that cooking information is provided for each food. Seed companies are listed under resources. There were a number of plants I've never heard of, and some I knew about but had never considered growing. I'm excited to try my hand at snake gourd, hyacinth bean, asparagus peas, chickpeas, and strawberry spinach.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in growing their own food or adding new and unusual plants in their garden.

I received an e-copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Matthew Biggs' Grow Something Different to Eat covers a variety of crops from fruiting vegetables to herbs to fruit. My list of things to grow in the garden has grown since reading this book. I appreciated the in depth growing information and the cook's tips on how to eat these unusual items. I found some of my favorite suppliers in the resource section and discovered a few new ones. I can hardly wait to add honeyberry and goji berries to my garden. I got some good information on cucamelons, which I already grow in my garden. This book is full of useful information. Beware though! You will probably need to expand your garden after you read it.

We recommend this book. It is well designed and very informative. I learned about many new things to plant and try. There are all sorts of options available with more than 50 explained of fruits and veggies. I had never hear of strawberry popcorn, as an example. We were inspired. Whether you are beginning gardener or seasoned this book is well formatted and details to help us step-by-step.

Not what I was expecting. Disappointed and hopefully the final copy will be much better.

I really like this book and how it was laid out. It gives you ideas on new things to grow in your garden and how to grow them. It’s about taking some of the “odd” ingredients you find in restaurants from different regions and countries, and growing them in your own yard. Many I had never heard of like Hyacinth Beans and Salsola. Some I have heard of like White pine strawberry and Wasabi. (Who knew you could grow wasabi?) Lots of detail and pictures, I just wish there were some recipes so you would know how to crook these exotic things one you grow them.

One of my biggest initial gardening challenges was finding vital seed starting and growing information in one place. I would go back and forth to books and websites, gathering facts and putting everything together. I would wind up with what I felt was a comprehensive guide, but it was time-consuming and I often realized too late that I missed some tip or trick that would have assured greater garden success.
As soon as I started reading this book, I knew it was a must-have for my gardening bookshelf. It's not only a resource for learning about growing something new, it is also detailed. From understanding different growing conditions to growing from seed, hardening off plants, caring for and harvesting, each plant highlighted is thoroughly explained and is accompanied by gorgeous pictures. I had already made my 2018 garden plan before I read this book and was thrilled to find cucamelons, strawberry spinach and cape gooseberry inside as they are the three new things I plan to grow this year. Typically, I add something new every year and this will be a go-to guide for years to come.
This is a great resource for discovering new plants and ensuring they survive and thrive. Thank you, Matthew Biggs, DK, and NetGalley for the digital copy to read and review.

Within the first 10 pages of this book, I knew I had to have it! Superbly illustrated, this book is a great guide to growing fruits and vegetables that are not your typical fruits and vegetables. For example: asparagus peas, shiso, callaloo, earth chestnut, chia, turmeric, and fuchsia berry. Each plant type is featured on a 2-4 page spread that includes visually stimulating photos and diagrams, plant descriptions (including what it tastes like) how to grow/care for plants, how to prepare/preserve the food. In addition to unusual plants you've never heard of, the book also features common plants know are edible, such as dahlia tubers, fuchsia berries, and Oregon grape. Browsing this book made me want to try these unusual plants, and luckily the author includes a short list of suppliers at the end. A great resource for someone who wants to try something different!

Mmmm, yum—a salad with achocha, spilanthes and rat-tail radish! A savory dish with snake gourd, Turkish orange eggplant (they look like tomatoes!) or skirret! Perhaps some honeyberries for dessert? Your vegie garden can be a source of new culinary adventures. Clear colorful photos, charts, and growing instructions abound, as well as cooking suggestions. Make room in those beds for something new.

This book is SUPER cool. I love to food-garden and I'm always looking for things outside the typical plants, and this book contains really interesting varieties that I can't wait to try growing. With detailed growing, maintenance, and harvesting instructions, along with some basic cooking ideas, there's something here for every climate and skill-level.

I loved this book. Bright and colorful with great photographs! Thorough descriptions and easy to understand instructions. Easy enough for novice or beginner gardeners, with enough interesting and unusual crops to tempt the more seasoned growers.

There is a helpful 'choosing crops' section towards the start of the book to help you pick crops based on space, climate and growing conditions. Many crops have a three to four page section covering what the crop is, step-by-step growing instructions, harvest information, aftercare advice and cooking tips.

This is a great all-in-one book, and would be a great gift for the gardener or wannabee gardener.

I am absolutely abysmal at gardening, I come from a long lineage of amazing gardeners, but I kill all plants. Granted that doesn't keep me from being fascinated by gardening, especially when what is being grown is unusual edibles!

This book had me thinking I might be able to keep plants alive (I probably am not going to chance it) and I really want to try it because these foods look so neat! As a person who is all about eating new and exciting things, this book is amazing. The guides to these unique plants is clear (like I said, a garbage gardener likes me thinks I could possibly not murder plants) and I appreciated the added notes about how to eat the various foods.

If you are a gardener looking to bring something really weird to the table to impress guests...or someone who is on a mission to eat all of the things, then you can't go wrong with this photo filled book!