This is by far the only gardening book I have ever read that has not left me feeling annoyed and disheartened at not living in a temperate zone. Most gardening books deal with absolutes, while ignoring that there are an awful lot of gardeners not living in the mild, temperate zones that they themselves live in that puts them outside of the absolutes (Nope, sorry, snow peas are not a summer vegetable here, Mr Expert. They grow well in winter, though). It's difficult to find reliable information for those of us that don't fit the normal climates.

This book is indeed written for the Tropical gardener, not aimed at the temperate gardener looking to grow some exotic tropical foods, as I expected. I found it absolutely delightful to read something more relevant to myself, and while living in a rather dry region classed as sub tropical means I can't quite prescribe to the 'Wet' and 'Dry' that the seasons are classed by here, it is INFINITELY refreshing to read a book that does not instruct me to plant my green bean seedlings out after the last frost. (For us dry subtropical gardeners, I still found the information about a 1000% more relevant to my growing than any other gardening book, despite not being able to split my seasons into the Wet and the Dry. Don't be put off by that.)

The planting guides are more geared towards things I can actually grow in my climate, like chokos and Vietnamese mint and peanuts, with nods and considerations towards the traditional fruit and veg growing, and the problems addressed are those that will actually arise from excess heat and humidity- drought conditions and excessive pests, etc. No wasted sections on how to prepare your veggie patch for snow, or timing your garden according to frosts!

The style of writing is my sort of thing- a little cooky, quite casual, and a lot humorous. That the author admits to a fair whack of the lazy-bug that I myself suffer from, made it all the more easy to relate to! I like the little segues into reminiscing from the author, and what that brings to the book; reminding us that tending our vegetable gardens is not simply a hobby, or a chore to do, separate from our actual lives, but that we are making precious memories as we get out and swear at the possum-chewed lime trees, chase down the kids who just ate all the newly ripened mulberries, or laughing to find our lawn area now covered in a mass of escapee sweet potatoes after a three-day wet patch.

This is a very Aussie sort of book, in my opinion, tackling Aussie sort of problems, and very practical, even as it entertains greatly. After years of reading books on the subject of gardening, and then promptly learning (in the most difficult and disappointing of ways- potatoes and QLD summers do NOT do well together) to disregard everything in said books, it's lovely to finally have a reference book I can rely on.

Tropical Food Gardens is a great investment for anyone in a Tropical/Sub Tropical climate, and I don't think I will ever give this book up. 1000000% recommend, for anyone wanting to grow anything in a region that might be hotter than a standard Temperate-aimed book would aim at. It's my new go-to reference.