Gardening: fruit and vegetables Books

Book SynopsisThe Canadian prairies are an ideal place to grow a huge variety of vegetables, and there are plenty of healthful and economic benefits to having your own garden. Whether you have a traditional backyard space or several containers on a high-rise balcony, you can grow a season-long supply of tasty produce. Best-selling garden writer Laura Peters provides all you need to know to dig in: * Basics such as light, soil, exposure and frost tolerance * Almost infinite garden styles, including raised beds and limited space gardening * Preparing the garden and selecting which vegetables to grow where * Recommended varieties, including new, traditional, heirloom and unusual selections * Seasonal care, including mulching, weeding and watering * Tips throughout, including how to extend the growing season and what to do with your harvest * Organic approaches to management of pests and diseases * An appendix featuring companion plants and relationships * Helpful hardiness maps, and delicious colour photos throughout. * From A to Z--yummy asparagus, through to healthy kale and peculiar kohlrabi, all the way to colourful peppers, potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini--it's all here in this informative gardening guide.

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Book SynopsisBy re-imagining how we plan and use our gardens, we can all do our bit to support local wildlife, improve our health and help tackle the climate crisis. Positive steps, no matter how small, can really make a difference. This is a practical, easy-to-use guide for anyone who wants to boost nature in their patch and make the world a little greener. Illustrated with specially commissioned drawings, it contains essential information on many topics, from planting nectar-rich borders, native hedgerows, trees and wildflower meadows to creating rain gardens, green roofs and ponds. These activities, together with providing homes and feeders for birds, mammals, amphibians, bees and other insects, will encourage many kinds of native wildlife to thrive in your garden, whatever its size. Expert advice is also provided on sustainable gardening approaches to fruit and vegetable production, making compost and the propagation of new plants.Trade Review'Full of wisdom, Kirsty Wilson shows us how taking positive steps in our own garden can support wildlife, improve our health and help tackle the climate crisis' * Scots Magazine *'A welcome book, as a garden and its plants are always enriched by the wildlife they attract' -- Roy Lancaster CBE, plantsman and plant explorer'Full of sound advice and excellent ideas' -- Jim McColl MBE, former presenter, BBC TV’s Beechgrove'it's blooming marvellous' * Sunday Post *'of practical value to any gardener who has wondered how to do their bit to support local wildlife, improve their health or make a contribution to tackling the climate crisis' -- Ken Lussey * Undiscovered Scotland *'A real gem... will help you convert your garden into an amazing mixed habitat for wildlife, including birds' * Birdwatching Magazine *'Kirsty is a star of the gardening world for our times... Planting with Nature is a brilliant read - I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to get some hints and tips to make their own garden buzzing with life' -- Scott Smith * Press and Journal *

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Book Synopsis‘It looks set to become a classic.’ - Susan Jane White 'One of the most inspired cooks in Ireland.' - The Observer This book features over 300 recipes organised by month. Imagine indulging in a mouthwatering Potato Moussaka, savoring the rich flavors of Pommes a la Basque, relishing in the delectable La Truffado, devouring delicious Empanadas, and ending the month with a heavenly Gooseberry and Potato Cobbler. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! May's recipe selection also includes a heavenly Potato Salad with Black Olives and Thyme and 20 more delicious dishes, almost one for every day of the month! Having moved to Ireland from London in the 1970s, Lucy Madden began growing vegetables in the large Victorian walled garden of her home, the Hilton Park Estate, in Clones, Co. Monaghan. She soon fell in love with potato growing and put her work into practice for her guests, developing a huge repertoire of culinary options with home-grown spuds. A member of the Irish Food Writers' Guild of Ireland, Lucy is perhaps the best-placed cook and writer to complete the ultimate seasonal potato cookbook, which contains over 300 recipes for any occasion. From traditional potato dishes to wild potato desserts, this book is a perfect companion for anyone interested in knowing more about the most versatile and nourishing vegetable.Trade Review'The foil-baked chilli potatoes are a go-to dish in our home, the ultimate comfort food' - Dee CollinsTable of ContentsForeword Acknowledgements Introduction Choosing and Cooking Potatoes Note: The recipes mentioned after each month are only a selection of six from the original list of 300 potato recipes. January Dublin Coddle Potatoes à la Parisienne Potato and Chervil Soup Potato Pizza Ohio Pudding Sky and Earth February Lemon Pie Baked Potato with Cheese and Egg Yolks Roast Potatoes Potato Sponge Cake with Walnuts Potato Bread Woolton Pie March Leeks and Potatoes with Welsh Rarebit Boxty – Bastai Boxty Pancakes Tatie Hash Scallop and Monkfish Potato Pie Potato and Pasta with Herbs April Half-Baked Potato A Warm Salad with Cream and Dill Crêpes Parmentier Baked Potatoes with Garlic and Nut Sauce Peasant Potatoes Baked Potatoes with Juniper Butter Sauce May Borscht with Potatoes New Potatoes with Persillade Potato Moussaka Latkes Indian-Style Potato and Chicken Casserole Pommes à la Basque June Spanish Potatoes Potato Caesar Salad Offentori Asparagus with New Potatoes Baked Potatoes with a Green Sauce Marinaded Kipper Fillets with Potatoes July Nova Scotia (Old Arcadia) Grated Potato Pie Lemon Potatoes Potatoes with Breton Sauce Sorrel and Potato Soufflés Focaccia with Red Onions Caesar Soup August Green Goddess Soup Summer Flower Salad Stuffed Potato Shells Ajiaco de Ollocus Potatoes with Lettuce and Nasturtium Butter Barbecued Potatoes with Mint September Potato and Bean Soup with Turnip Tops Potato and Tomato Purée Rabbit with Rosemary and Potatoes Potato Galette with Thyme Salade Cauchoise with Avocado Cream Potatoes Lasagne October Mrs Murphy’s Soup Gratin of Potatoes and Celeriac with Fromage Blanc Kartoffelkuchen Potato, Rocket and Bread Soup Spiced Potato, Cauliflower and Pumpkin Vegetable Terrine November Rumbledethumps Caldo Verde Chilcano Soup Potato and Butter Bean Curry Foil-Baked Chilli Potatoes Potato and Cheese Soufflé December Purée Albert Noel Potatoes with Cinnamon and Pine Nuts Potato Sanders Apple, Sultana and Potato Bake Cheese Puff Potatoes Potato and Mussel Soup

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Book SynopsisThis book is ideal for beginners, improvers and those serious about growing tasty, healthy organic fruit and vegetables. It will empower readers to grow food for a family, and help work out how to get the best results. Many books give sowing and growing instructions for a multitude of crops, but few give space to the techniques and tips that make gardening easier and that help anyone to grow healthy, sustainable food. Some of the techniques are developed from Joyce’s own trials and observations; others are classic techniques that are still useful now. With a bit more detail, and a step-by-step project, a technique becomes much easier to follow and understand. There’s something here for everyone: whether you grow in a small back yard and want to know how to raise salad in buckets, or if you have a large allotment where you want to improve pollination, or make your own liquid feeds. The book makes several promises to its readers. Firstly, by following its advice you will grow great fruit and vegetables. Next, the knowledge you gain will save you time as well as money. Third, you'll enjoy the gardening journey and the discoveries made along the way. Fourth, you'll find greener and cleaner ways of doing things, and you'll improve your skills, methods and habits. Find out how to rotate your vegetables so they stay healthy and well-fed, to preserve choice crops for the freshest taste, to improve the soil organically and sustainably, and to produce home made fertiliser from the leaves of your comfrey crop. Trade Review'A hugely useful, hands-on guide to creating a properly productive, sustainably-managed kitchen garden.' * Irish Times *'If you're planning on growing your own food for 2020, this book is a great investment. Russell's advice based on decades of experience, covers all the basics from preparing the soil to storing crops. I am a DIY dunce, but the projects here are straightforward enough that even I want to give them a go.' * Financial Times *'A supremely practical, user-friendly guide to creating a properly productive, sustainably-managed kitchen garden, handsomely illustrated with over 400 photographs by her husband Ben Russell.' * Irish Times - Best Gardening Books *'The best guide for the keen beginner that I've seen in a while. Terrifically practical and full of money and time-saving methods, it's also attractively laid out with with exceptionally helpful photographs making it easy to follow.' * Morning Star - Best Gardening Books of 2019 *Table of Contents01 INTRODUCTION 02 GETTING STARTED Introduction Double digging/single digging Lazy-beds Pots Propagation Potting on and planting out 03 BETTER SOIL Introduction Compost Manures Comfrey Leaves Mulch Humus pH (soil acidity/alkalinity) Using available resources 04 BETTER PRODUCE Introduction; Crop rotation Crop protection Crop supports Pollination Companion planting Liquid Feeds 05 STORE YOUR HARVEST Introduction Bags, bins and boxes Making a carrot clamp Stringing/plaiting onions and garlic Storing in the ground Freezing and drying Preserves & pickles 06 AND MORE… Make your own potting mixes Saving Seed

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Book SynopsisForeword by Raymond Blanc.***'Anna is my go-to expert for all veg growing advice. She really knows her stuff.' - Melissa HemsleyGrow Easy is a superb book for those embarking on a journey to grow edibles, or those who are more experienced and looking to hone their skills. - Raymond Blanc 'Anna's growing skills translate easily into the pages of this book, so rich with information.' - Charles Dowding'Anna is helping a new greener generation grow.' - Gill Meller***A new generation of gardeners are hungry for the know-how to transform their balconies, front steps and back gardens into spaces to grow edibles. Anna Greenland, rising star of the organic grow-your-own scene, offers the jargon- free information, inspiration and confidence you need to get growing from scratch with absolutely no prior knowledge. Growing in an organic, sustainable way is central to this book and it doesn't need to be difficult or costly with Grow Easy at your side.* Try Anna's 30 top crop choices of vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit that are perfect for small spaces. Plant 'spotlights' give in-depth advice on how to grow each crop in a pot, in the ground or on a windowsill, plus Anna shares her trusted recipes to make the most of the harvest.* A year-round planner keeps you on track with monthly tasks.* Seasonal crop plans are included for those with small gardens, with a blueprint for two raised beds that gives continuous harvests and avoids gluts.Trade ReviewThe gentle Anna Greenland, who looks after the vegetable garden, carries old wisdom and deep understanding of the seasons in her young soul which is beautiful to see. -- Raymond Blanc OBE

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Book Synopsis***'Bellamy makes gardening seem simple, expressive and joyful. Anyone can do it.' - Evening Standard'Offers a fresh take on gardening in small spaces.' - Countryside Grow 5 reveals a brilliantly simple, fast way to make a beautiful garden, whether you have a small plot or a handful of pots. With 52 planting 'recipes' using a palette of just five plants, you can create:- a low-carbon flower garden for a changing climate- a micro-meadow in a city space- an urban garden inspired by an ancient woodland- high notes of colour in a tiny courtyard- a stylized slice of nature in a potThis practical and inspirational book by award-winning garden expert Lucy Bellamy and photographerJason Ingram includes more than 100 of the newest and best plants and how to use them through the seasons.

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Book Synopsis' How to Grow Plants from Seeds is a great little book - a hand-holding, step-by-step guide with clear pictures and instructions. It demystifies the process and covers flowers as well as vegetables and herbs. A most useful present for anyone wanting to get started on sowing seeds.' Country Living'Whether you want to grow a cutting garden or a harvest of fresh produce, discover the basic rules for success.' The Garden How To Grow Plants From Seeds does away, once and for all, with the idea that there's something difficult about growing direct from seed. There's no need to rely on the professionals to raise seedlings for you: seeds are not only cheap to buy and environmentally friendly but, if you follow a few basic rules, they're also fantastically rewarding, not least because a single packet will usually leave you with plenty of spares to swap with fellow enthusiasts.Whether you're a novice or an experienced gardener, if you want to nurture an impressive cutting garden or aim to have a bounteous harvest of fruit and vegetables, here's what you need to know, presented in a straightforward and accessible way. You'll discover the basic rules for different seeds, their sowing preferences (Indoor, under cover or direct- to-plot? Surface-sow or cover up? Water or spray?), how long they take to germinate, and how to prick out, pot on and raise your infant plants to become sturdy, productive adults.The book opens with a basic primer showing how seeds work, to give every grower the best chance at success. This is followed by extensive chapters on raising food and flowers from seed with plenty of detailed plant profiles included, and finally there's a guide to collecting seeds from your plants and how to save and swap - so that you, too, can become a seed evangelist.

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Book Synopsis***This easy Q&A format book is suited to both beginner and more experienced growers, and encompasses a wide range of subjects to take readers beyond the basics of fruit and vegetable growing. Taking into account the popularity for growing food from scratch among newbie gardeners, you'll find advice in this book whether you have a garden, an allotment, or even a balcony or other small space to work with-everyone can get involved with growing delicious edibles no matter what space they have available. Discover: - Which varieties to choose for gourmet home cooking, the most nutritious crops to grow, and how to grow unusual edibles like olives. - Techniques and tips to get the most out of each crop, from how to grow epic-size pumpkins to whether it's worth thinning beetroot. - Troubleshooting tips for pest problems: ways to work with wildlife rather than against it and providing an alternative viewpoint on traditional problems, such as eating the weeds as well! - How to make the most of your fruit and vegetable harvest, with information on the best time to pick produce and how to preserve it.

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Book SynopsisIn this truly innovative book Lucy Hutchings – aka She Grows Veg – proves that vegetable gardening doesn''t always require outdoor space.Through clever uses of space and containers, understanding of growing conditions and a unique, design-led approach, Lucy showcases how anyone can grow pretty much anything in their back garden, courtyard, balcony or kitchen. Lucy creates 19 projects, from living vegetable walls and hydroponics basics, to indoor greenhouses and hanging herb racks that have all the decorative style and visual interest of ornamental house plants.With step-by-step illustrations and stunning photography, with Get Up and Grow, you can go from gardening novice to growing pro in a matter of weeks. Lucy is blazing a trail for new-wave gardening with a mantra of anything is possible, for anyone.Clear, modern and inspiring – Alan Titchmarsh, gardener and broadcaster

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Book SynopsisIn these turbulent times, Britain is rediscovering a passion for gardening and home produce - and the nation's favourite gardener is here to provide the definitive book on the subject. Alan Titchmarsh's comprehensive guide will tell you everything you need to know about fruit and veg and how to grow it, from herbs, baby veg, salads, and every-day fruits to gourmet and unusual varieties. As well as providing the key facts needed to yield good results and what to do when things go wrong, the text is sprinkled with Alan's personal observations, anecdotes, culinary tips and quirky historical uses. Alan's practical approach starts from scratch for those who've never grown their own before, but is also ideal for those with some experience who might be growing edibles in a new way - perhaps in a small space that needs to look attractive, or on a new allotment. Lavishly illustrated throughout, Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg offers inspiration, in-depth knowledge and practical advice, whether you are looking to be self-sufficient or just to grow a few items on your patio or window box.Originally published as The Kitchen Gardener: Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg

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Book SynopsisA fresh approach to gardening by bestselling author and the nation's favourite gardener Monty Don.'Think of your garden like a meal. When you select a recipe, you're choosing it based on inclination, experience and circumstance. Making a garden, big or small, uses exactly the same process.'If you are new to gardening, it can seem daunting - with Latin names, various soil types and seasonal requirements, it feels like a lot to learn. But with Monty Don's new book as a guide you will discover just how joyful and rewarding gardening can be.Whether you want to grow your own veg, create a child-friendly garden, connect with nature, or make the most of houseplants, Monty will help you unlock your space's potential, showing you what, where and when to plant. The Gardening Book gives you the basics to grow over 100 popular flowers, foods, shrubs, houseplants and more - each one has a clear, concise, format: what you need, timing, method, and step-by-step photos, all on one spread. It's a refreshingly accessible approach that will help you build a garden which best serves your needs and enhances your lifestyle.

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Book SynopsisThe team at Gardeners' World bring you the ultimate guide to your gardening year, from planning and planting to troubleshooting tips and gardening discovery. Organised by month, this book includes lists, timetables, step-by-step guidance and expert advice for year-round gardening, as well as an informative guide on what to plant when and projects for every season. Complemented by beautiful hand-drawn illustrations and tips from your favourite gardening personalities, The Gardeners' World Almanac will help you make your garden look its very best throughout the year.

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Book SynopsisIn this practical and personal book, Gardeners' World presenter Adam Frost takes you through his process for getting the most out of a garden space whatever its size, whether it's a window box, a terrace with a few pots or a bigger space with dedicated veg plots and borders.Enjoying your garden is about more than just what you grow; it's also about why you grow it. As well as spending time outdoors, the meaning of a garden lies in what you bring inside, from vegetables and herbs to make a family meal to flowers and seedheads to decorate the house. Adam explores how his own garden has allowed him to enjoy the simple pleasures in life and create precious memories - whether it's coming down in the morning and seeing that single flower in a vase or teaching your kids how to make the runner bean chutney that reminds you of your nan. Adam's inspiring book will guide you through all you need to make your garden thrive, and to use it to develop your own traditions and meaningful moments.

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Book SynopsisA vegetable garden is not an option for everyone, and so container growing has become desirable for people with little outside space Many have discovered the love of growing houseplants and want to take their skills to another level; others are inspired by the idea of growing their own food organically and sustainably. The book covers all the essentials of growing a range of edible plants in pots, and meeting each crop's specific needs.Author Claire Ratinon brings her urban food growing expertise to this popular subject, in a book designed to appeal to new gardeners and anyone who would like to take on the rewarding challenge of growing their own dinner, even if they've only got a window box or balcony to work with.

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Book SynopsisThis collection of wow-factor vegetable dishes can all be enjoyed by flexitarians, vegetarians and non-veggies alike. It’s time to turn foods that used to be relegated to side dishes into the stars of the show. In this book, chef Mat Follas uses his culinary skill and understanding of flavour to bring together a selection of wow-factor plant-based recipes to be enjoyed by flexitarians, vegetarians, vegans and non-veggies alike. Organized by produce type, there are delicious ways to enjoy everything from roots, squash and brassicas to shoots, stems and funghi. Choose from Smoked Parsnip, Pear & Stilton Salad, Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower, Kale Gnocchi with Kale Crisps, Goat’s Cheese & Marjoram Ravioli Marinara, Rainbow Chard & Comté Quiche, Artichoke Frittata and Champagne Mushrooms. Vegan substitutions are suggested wherever possible and Mat’s ingenious recipes for Dairy-free Cheese and Cream and No-egg Mayonnaise make switching out the dairy easy. Mat also shares the secrets of his Chef’s Storecupboard — tasty recipes for sauces, relishes, pickles and dressings — designed to give your veggie dishes a flavour boost.

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Book SynopsisGet the best out of any type of garden without spending a fortune, whether it’s a small window box or a hard patio, with Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell’s brilliant guide to growing crops in pots. Using containers or pots as a base for your gardening is so versatile. Try making an eye-catching design feature by growing nasturtiums in a metal bucket, or grow wild arugula on your window ledge in a kitchen colander. Growing your own crops is not only rewarding and fun, but you’ll be doing your bit for the environment too, as well as being able to ensure that all your crops are produced organically, whilst saving money at the same time. This book is packed with tips and techniques, from companion planting to deter pests, to choosing the right container for the right crop, along with a wealth of other gardening advice. Grow Your Own Food tempts the novice gardener to get growing and the more experienced gardener to grow organically, producing crops that are a pleasure to grow, harvest, and eat.Trade ReviewIt's time to grow your own and this is a good starting point - Easy Gardens

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Book Synopsis''Crisp and refreshing'' Pen Vogler, The SpectatorSin, cider and apple crumble the 10,000-year story of the world's most tempting fruit.The Apple: A Delicious History takes the reader on an extraordinary journey, from the apple's prehistoric beginnings in the Tian Shan mountains of Kazakhstan to the explosion of commercial apple-growing in twenty-first-century China. Zigzagging across the centuries and straddling the globe, Sally Coulthard explores how the apple travelled along the Silk Road from Central Asia to Europe, appearing as an erotically charged symbol in Greek myth and poetry and even featuring in the shopping list of a senior Roman officer stationed on Hadrian's Wall. She samples the cider that flowed from the emperor. Charlemagne's orchards in the early Middle Ages, and relishes the crispness of the yellow sweeting, the first new apple variety to be cultivated in seventeenth-century America. And she discovers why, despite the existence of more than 7500 varieties of apple from the ubiquitous Granny Smith to the purple-skinned Black Diamond of Tibet only a handful of cultivars are available in modern supermarkets. Amplified by mouth-wateringly appley recipes and the stories behind them, The Apple: A Delicious History embraces not only culinary, horticultural, social and commercial history but also age-old traditions in mythology, folklore and religion. It is the perfect gift book for gardeners and nature lovers and for anyone who enjoys a drop of cider or a slice of apple pie.

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Book SynopsisCelebrating 40 years of the Ballymaloe Cookery SchoolWinner - Gourmand World Cookbook Awards: Best World Gourmand Cookbook 2017Growing your own food is exciting but, when it comes to knowing how to make the most of your produce, it can be daunting. In Grow, Cook, Nourish, bestselling author Darina Allen draws on more than 30 years of experience gardening at Ballymaloe to take you through an extensive list of vegetables, herbs and fruits. Each entry includes explanations of different varieties, practical information on cultivation, growing and maintenance, plus instructions for the best ways to cook produce as well as preserve and utilise a glut. With more than 500 recipes, including dishes for every ingredient, Darina shows how to use your harvest to its full potential. Vegetables range from annual crops such as chicory, radishes and kohlrabi to perennials like asparagus and spinach. Fruits cover apples, currants and peaches as well as the more unusual and interesting myrtle berries, loquats and medlars. Plus a comprehensive list of herbs, edible flowers and foraged foods such as samphire, wild garlic and blackberries.'There's not much this gourmet grande dame doesn't know.' Nigel Slater, Observer Food Monthly'No matter how many new or recherché ingredients Allen uses, her recipes are grounded and she writes with good sense.' Diana Henry, Guardian

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Book SynopsisMore than ever, organic food is becoming a desirable option for those who are concerned about the safety of their food. A growing consumer awareness of chemically enhanced produce means that more people are turning to growing their own, however small their gardens. "Growing Food in Small Gardens" is the definitive book on growing organic fruit and vegetables in small urban spaces, including rooftops, patios and balconies. It provides the basics of planning your garden, what to sow and, where necessary, soil conditions and ideal climate considerations. It includes useful information on the varieties of dwarf and ornamental vegetables that can be grown in window boxes, growing bags or hanging baskets as well as advice on chemical-free pest and disease control. Finally a number of garden plans with detailed planting information show you how you can make the most of your space, however small.

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Book SynopsisA colourful illustrated story about Elliot and his dad growing their own vegetables to make a delicious soup — and finding that a gardening adventure involves more than welly boots and sowing seeds. Digging for treasure, pirates, a friendly neighbour and hordes of wildlife intent on eating the crops. All for a small pot of broth… Dad suggests that Elliot can help in the garden to grow what they need to make a big pot of broth. Elliot, (aided by his mum, big sister and brother), sets out enthusiastically to give his dad assistance – clad, of course, in his welly boots, just like a proper gardener. But Elliot’s good intentions begin to go astray as his imagination takes over from garden duties. Digging in the back garden leads to finding all sort of ‘treasure’, and he is soon picturing himself as a Victorian Gent complete with watch chain, a Roman Centurion, and a Pictish warrior. Helping Dad build the raised beds, Elliot becomes a pirate walking the plank. Weeds? These are dinosaur food. As the shoots begin to grow, they have hopes and dreams for a bumper harvest. And when the beans begin to sprout, Elliot pictures himself climbing a giant beanstalk. Elliot discovers the nest of a field-mouse, and when Robert Burns is duly quoted, we realise that the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley. As the garden flourishes, we discover that a variety of wildlife is just as interested in eating what is growing all around, as Elliot is. Perhaps this gardening project will not quite go according to plan … To protect his crops from being is being eaten by the local birds, mice and rabbits, Elliot bravely volunteers to stand guard overnight in his homemade tent. Armed with his torch and a flask of cocoa, he soon finds the spooky noises of the evening send his imagination soaring again. The distant hooting owl, the cry of the fox, the cat rustling in the undergrowth – even the fluttering bats – quickly see him run for safety indoors. However with the garden protected by nets and windmills to scare off crows, the crops recover a little. The family harvest what is left to make the soup, including tiny beetroot, some thin-looking leeks and some wonky-shaped carrots. “They’ll be fine once they’re chopped up and in the broth!” declares Dad. Instead of the huge pot of broth that Elliot had imagined, there is just enough to fill their smallest pot. Dad remains upbeat: “Well, it’s enough to give everyone a taste.” However the day is saved by their next-door green-thumbed neighbour, who comes to rescue with an armful of carrots and leeks from her own garden. The family then gets busy cleaning the vegetables, chopping and stirring. The big pot is needed after all … and Elliot sits down at last to enjoy his home-grown broth.

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Book SynopsisWhat would a greengrocer say if you were to ask for half a dozen Grenadiers and a couple of Catsheads? In the course of the past century we have lost much of our rich heritage of orchard fruits, but with taste once again triumphing over shelf-life and a renewed interest in local varieties, we are rediscovering the delights of that most delicious and adaptable fruit: the apple. This book features apples from the Herefordshire Pomona that are still cultivated today. The Pomona – an exquisitely illustrated book of apples and pears – was published at the height of the Victorian era by a small rural naturalists’ club. Its beautiful illustrations and authoritative text are treasured by book collectors and apple experts alike. From the familiar Blenheim Orange and Worcester Pearmain to the less fêted yet scrumptious Ribston Pippin, Margil and Pitmaston Pine Apple, Heritage Apples is illustrated with the Pomona’s stunning paintings and tells the intriguing stories behind each variety, how they acquired their names, and their merits for eating, cooking or making cider. Also including practical advice on how to choose and grow your own trees, this is the perfect book for apple-lovers and growers.Trade Review'A hundred historic and heritage culinary and dessert apples are showcased in this beautifully presented book, illustrated with Victorian apple paintings.''Savour the core of British history - from the crisp, aromatic Parker's Pippin to the exotic D'Arcy Spice - with a new illustrated tome featuring colourful paintings first seen in a Victorian botanical volume.''Whether your preference is for a Queen or Schoolmaster, a Stirling Castle or Beauty of Kent, this book is both record and guide to a heritage that I would recommend planting.''Heritage Apples is a book to relish, fascinating browsing for the solitary diner who completes his repast with morsels of a preferred cheese and - but don't expect to find it in your local supermarket - a scarce, much-loved fruit.''The sheer beauty of the paintings from The Herefordshire Pomona, reproduced in this new book, are simply delightful and serve for easy identification of the apples, making it easier to identify a Yorkshire Greening from a Tom Putt or Striped Beefing. ... The book is a rich source of information both for someone who wants to grow or grows heritage apples and for those who are interested in them both for their taste and in this instance their botanical beauty.''Now is a good time of year to plant a young apple tree and if you'd like to plant a variety that originates from your area, Heritage Apples by Caroline Ball is a good place to start. It features 100 apples dating back to the 1800s with notes about where each originated, and they're all still possible to find today.' * Waitrose Weekend *'From the heart-shaped Adams Pearmain and buxom Beauty of Kent, to the rich-tasting Wyken Pippin, here are 100 traditional apples of all shapes and sizes, with beautiful illustrations from a 19th-century catalogue, "The Herefordshire Pomona". Forget supermarket staples such as Gala and Pink Lady, here are native varieties, still with us, and advice on how to grow them.' * Saga Magazine *'Depicting original 19th-century illustrations, Caroline Ball tells the stories behind more than 100 types of apple from the Victorian era that are still available today.' * Period Living *

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Book SynopsisClose-up photos of plump apricots, juicy mangoes, crisp lettuce … these are familiar to us all through cookery books and garden guides. But seeing fruit and vegetables as detailed art, viewed through eighteenth-century eyes, is something very different – and more interesting. Thanks to intrepid explorers and plant-hunters, Britain and the rest of Europe have long enjoyed a wide and wonderful array of fruit and vegetables. Some wealthy households even created orangeries and glasshouses for tender exotics and special pits in which to raise pineapples, while tomatoes, sweetcorn and runner beans from the New World expanded the culinary repertoire. This wealth of choice attracted interest beyond the kitchen and garden. In the 1730s, a prosperous Bavarian apothecary produced the first volume of a comprehensive A to Z of all available plants, meticulously documented, and lavishly illustrated by botanical artists. 'A Cornucopia of Fruit & Vegetables' is a glimpse into his world. It features exquisite illustrations of the edible plants in his historic treasury, allowing us to enjoy the sight of swan-necked gourds and horned lemons, smile at silkworms hovering over mulberries and delight at the quirkiness of ‘strawberry spinach’ … a delicious medley of garden produce and exotics that will capture the imagination of gardeners and art-lovers alike.Trade Review"A mouth-wateringly beautiful collection of 18th-century botanical engravings, featuring both common and unusual fruits and vegetables. Of great historical and artistic interest, gardeners will also find plenty of inspiration." * The Bookseller *Table of ContentsContents Introduction Fruit and Vegetables Further Reading Index of Plates

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Book SynopsisBeans are easy to grow, easy to cook, delicious, nourishing and beneficial for us and the planet. Growing your own beans not only helps you build healthy soil in your garden, it also provides you with a nutrient-rich diet. Beans can play a role in reducing the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer – they are good sources of protein, fibre, folate, iron and potassium – and they can reduce your carbon footprint and food miles as well! This fascinating book brings together Susan Young’s 10 years of experimentation with multiple varieties of beans. She clearly explains how to sow, grow, harvest, dry, store and cook them, and shares her six ‘must grow’ varieties. Go on a tasty culinary journey around the world and discover a range of colourful and historic beans, from the pink ‘Fagiolo di Lamon’ of Italy to the black and white ‘Bosnian Pole’ bean. Learn which varieties are best for eating fresh from the pod and those that are best for drying and storing for later use. Beans offer year-round nutritious meals, and dried beans can be the star of the show with their fabulous diversity of flavours, colours and textures.

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Book SynopsisAward winning author and self-sufficiency practitioner Liz Zorab takes readers on a highly entertaining and joyful celebration through the seasons. Following on from her hugely popular debut book, Grounded, Liz returns with The Seasoned Gardener, inviting you on a personal and yet totally relatable journey of growing and learning through the gardening year. Illustrated with a delicious selection of Liz's own photos, The Seasoned Gardener provides an abundance of friendly advice and hundreds of top tips on what to and what not to do as she inspires gardeners of all levels to have a go at growing tastier and healthier food for themselves and to benefit the natural world. The Seasoned Gardener inspires you to connect with your garden and surroundings and explains how the veg garden sits within the wider context of the landscape, highlighting the importance the seasons, weather, microclimates, water cycles and light levels play on growing successful and healthy crops. Liz's down-to-earth writing style has been likened to having a helpful neighbour chatting over the garden fence. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and every chapter is filled with plenty of advice on what to grow, when to seed and plant out, what pitfalls to avoid - having learned from her own mistakes - and how to be creative with what you have around you.

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Book SynopsisGrow your own beautiful multilayered food forest in your own backyard. Pippa Chapman is an RHS trained gardener who designs, plants and maintains abundant, biodiverse, edible and beautiful forest gardens. Here she shares her practical tips for realistically transforming your own plot, whatever its size, and with limited time, money and resources. A forest garden doesn't have to be big; you can grow a productive edible paradise in pots and containers too. Pippa explains how to create multiple layers on a small-scale to maximise your growing area, using polycultures and guilds for healthy, low-maintenance food. She shares how to use perennials for structure and for year-round food, and how to incorporate flowers for beauty, wildlife and for the kitchen. Chapters on permaculture design and forest gardening give practical advice on how to plan and plant your own garden, with guilds and plant profiles to give real-life examples to help you get started. Useful tips on propagation and seed saving help keep plant costs low and a handy chapter on the soil-food web will help you understand your own soil and how to keep it healthy.

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Book SynopsisGrow your own seasonal food in a low maintenance, nature-friendly garden that feels like a woodland glade. Scottish plant expert Alan Carter shows you how to plan and plant a temperate forest garden for any sized plot-from a small terrace garden to an allotment or smallholding. Learn how to successfully layer root crops, fruit, perennial vegetables and edible shrubs below tree crops, cultivating an edible garden that doesn't look like a traditional vegetable plot. A forest garden is wildlife friendly, provides nutrient-dense and often unusual food through every season, and requires minimal work to maintain. The first part of this in-depth, practical guide explains how a forest garden works, how to map your climate and design your own plot, and how to manage it with mulching, weeding and pruning. What's not to like about Alan's motto of "the more you pick, the more you get," and intriguing concepts such as the Panda Principle? The second half of the book is a detailed directory of more than 170 plants and fungi suitable for a wide range of temperate climates, complete with growing, harvesting and cooking tips based on over a decade of Alan's own experience. Learn how to incorporate traditional fruit and vegetable crops, such as strawberries and beans, into your forest garden, and how to weave in more unusual crops, such as shiitake mushrooms and ferns. Techniques from agro-ecology bring regenerative farming into the backyard, helping you to work towards greater self-sufficiency. Useful tips on seed saving and propagation help keep plant costs low, and there is practical advice on soil health, compost-essential for all no dig, organic gardeners-and pests and disease. A Food Forest in Your Garden will help you create your own productive forest gardens even in cooler climates.

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Book SynopsisLearn how to create your own no dig, organic garden with permaculture design and techniques. Vera's 15 years of experience as a no dig gardener provides a vast amount of knowledge on growing fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers. The book is divided into two sections, container gardening and permaculture kitchen gardening. Part One shares knowledge especially useful to urban gardeners and those with little space. Part Two advises on starting and maintaining a garden. Vera's speciality is creating beautiful and delicious polycultures and she offers a range of examples to get you started and the knowledge to experiment. She also includes recipes for your fresh harvests. Chapters on making compost, building raised beds, and a monthly job guide make this useful for all levels of gardener. Vera demonstrates that gardens can look beautiful and be productive, and her advice and examples encourage us to look at our own growing spaces in a different light. We no longer need to hide our veggie patches; they can take centre stage. Why not incorporate cut flowers with herbs, brassicas and peas? Or plant a pottager garden? These examples will help people create edible paradises everywhere, like patios, balconies, windowsills, allotments, community and school gardens, front and back gardens and anywhere else we can grow.

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Book SynopsisGrapes are the most popular and widely grown fruit in the world. From the tropics to Alaska, grapes will grow successfully in almost every climate. Whether you raise them for fresh eating, or for making wine, juice, or jellies and preserves, the right grapes will reward you with abundant crops for a modest investment of time and effort. Now for the first time comes a book for grape growers who wish to use organic growing methods to raise healthy, thriving vineyards in the backyard or on a small commercial scale. The Grape Grower distills the broad knowledge and long-time personal experience of Lon Rombough, one of North America's foremost authorities on viticulture. From finding and preparing the right site for your vineyard to training, trellising, and pruning vines to growing new grapes from seeds and cuttings, The Grape Grower offers thorough and accessible information on all the basics. The chapters on grape species, varieties, and hybrids are alone worth the price of a college course in viticulture. Technical information on the major (and minor) insect pests and diseases that affect grapes, as well as their organic controls, makes this book an invaluable reference that readers will turn to again and again. Rombaugh also provides a wealth of information on hardy but little-known grapes that are native to North America, and on a wide range of topics, including: pruning neglected or overgrown vines growing grapes on arbors and in greenhouses controlling animal pests in the vineyard bunch grapes and muscadine grapes for the South winter protection, and how to increase the hardiness of grapes creating your own new varieties Trade Review"A great how-to book. The only reference you need if you want to raise a few grape vines."--Rocky Mountain News "It would be difficult to find a book covering any aspect of growing grapes that is not included here."--Gardening Newsletter "Packed with useful information, this book benefits from the author's personalized writing style. Immensely enjoyable."--Choice MagazineTable of ContentsForeword: Seed Matters / Roger B. Swain 1. Structure of the Vine 2. Getting Started: Site, Soil, and Planting 3. Pruning and Training 4. Growing Grapes Organically 5. Diseases of Grapes 6. Insects of Grapes 7. Animal and Bird Pests 8. Propagation 9. Rootstocks 10. Varieties 11. Grape Species 12. Grapes in Cold Climates and the Tropics 13. Breeding Grapes

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Book SynopsisA guide on how to start your own community orchard - from getting support and tackling legal issues to organising working parties and selling produce. Since the 1950s we have lost 63 per cent of our orchards through development or neglect, and even though we have been able to grow 3,000 varieties of apple in England, almost 70 per cent of apples we buy are imported. Common Ground has worked to interest local communities in creating and saving orchards to provide fruit and nuts, havens for wildlife and places of beauty. The Community Orchards Handbook shows how to start your own Community Orchard, from getting support and tackling legal issues, to organising work, selling produce and enjoying the fruits of your work together. It gives suggestions on ‘apple mapping’ and saving local varieties, and practical advice on planting, harvesting and safeguarding your orchard. It also includes a comprehensive resources section and is full of examples of diverse Community Orchard projects across the UK.Trade ReviewAnyone thinking of establishing a community orchard would be foolish not to pay close attention to the points made, and will find helpful resources abound, both as website links within the text and in an appendix bursting with legal and policy documents, ideas for funding, sources of equipment, and contact details of national and local groups. * Smallholder *This new, revised edition has sections on how to get started with planning an orchard, gaining support, writing a consultation, talking leases and other legalities such as insurance, securing access, dealing with health and safety and organising work parties. * The Landsman *The new editiom reflects the increased interest in community food growing and will be invaluable help for communities and schools wanting to establish an orchard. * This Is Dorset *The idea of Community Orchards is so good, so obviously right, that I think it's fair to describe it as vital. It will bring so much benefit to so many, in such an upbeat and positive way. I can't wait to see it happen more and more widely. Congratulations to Common Ground for their inspirational leadership and whole hearted good sense. * Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall *Common Ground's Community Orchards Handbook is a rich and diverse eco-system in itself, at once practical and lyrical, with elegy and energy intertwined. It's a handbook to be revelled in as much as dipped into for the handy hints. * Jonathon Porritt *The Community Orchards Handbook sits within arm's reach of my desk, along with one or two other Common Ground publications. It is an indispensable and inspiring reference for anyone wanting to enrich the meaning of where they live and introduce biodiversity and delight into their locality. * Kevin McCloud, presenter of Grand Designs *This wonderful book is an invaluable source of information for anyone interested in community, locally-produced food, and preserving and planting orchards. It is a 'must' for anyone who cares about these things. * Rosie Sanders, artist and author of The Apple Book *This book is aimed at anyone who wants to establish a local community orchard. It is an infectious well-judged mix of the inspirational and the practical. If you are thinking of setting up a local community orchard, the first thing you should do is buy this book. * Richard Borrie, editor of www.orangepippin.com *Community Orchards Handbook is a delicious book. It argues that we need orchards around us not just because they reconnect us to culture, our sense of place and our history, and not just because they can boost our food security, but because they have a great potential for bringing us closer together, to form a focus point for community. A new social and cultural renaissance based on apples? Why not... * Rob Hopkins, Transition Towns Network *We used Common Ground's Community Orchards Handbook when we started The London Orchard Project, and it has proved invaluable ever since. It is a must-have for the aspiring orchard leader. * Carina Dunkerley & Rowena Ganguli, founders of The London Orchard Project *Common Ground has made thousands of people aware of the value of the local, the ordinary, the commonplace, and the everyday in their lives... It has renewed interest in the English apple and created a feast for it (Apple Day in October). For speaking to a part of our hearts that no one knew how to speak to before, Common Ground is the best green charity in these islands. * Michael McCarthy, The Indepedent *This book encourages and celebrates the community spirits, social health and wellbeing that can be generated by fruit trees and orchards. * Reforesting Scotland *Table of ContentsForeword 1. Orchards and Local Distinctiveness 2. What are Community Orchards? 3. The place of orchards in our landscape and culture 4. Some success stories: land and orchards saved as Community Orchards 5. Community Orchards – how to start 6. Finding out more 7. Planting a Community Orchard 8. Adopting an old orchard 9. Conserving and attracting wild life 10. What to do with the harvest 11. Celebration 12. Safeguarding your orchard 13. Orchard fruits and wild fruits Appendices 1) Choosing the right legal structure for your Community Orchard 2) Model Constitution, Draft Tenancy Agreement, Draft Donations Policy and Example Risk Assessment 3) Orchard groups and support organisations 4) National contacts

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Book SynopsisThis practical guide explains the techniques you need to grow a variety of vegetables in any available space. Along with methods, tips and horticultural expertise there are lots of inspirational ideas to keep you eating your own crops all year round, particularly in the Scottish climate.

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Book SynopsisEat Your Front Garden, which could be called the ?invisible allotment,? offers suggestions for edible plants which are easily grown in ornamental gardens. The book gives detailed advice on how to grow and eat the produce from these plants, many of which you may already be growing. Your front garden won?t look like an allotment, but you?ll still get a significant amount of food out of it.

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Book SynopsisGardening in the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 grew exponentially as a hobby, particularly amongst those who have a good plot of land. Richard Brown is a horticultural teacher in a college, up in the North of England, in Yorkshire. The fact that he has been successfully growing melons for several years is a credit to his powers as a gardener. Melons, squash, pumpkins and cucumbers are members of the same botanical family, and you will learn how to grow them all. Richard Brown will teach the aspirant gardener all they need to know about propagation, technique, germination, compost and growing conditions, so that the reader can successfully grow melons and bring them to the table. He will also discuss growing cucumbers and other members of the cucurbit family. All in all, if you wish to amaze your friends by the end of the summer, this is the book you need. In fact, if you have a small front garden with a metal fence, you can grow pumpkins there and delight passers by, and maybe ripen some treasured home grown melons there also. There are also recipes for impressing your guests, showing how versatile the melon can be, from jellies and jams, to salsa and sauces.

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Book SynopsisThis practical guide, an updated edition of Growing Your Own Vegetables, draws on the experience and knowledge of the RBGE's Edible Gardening team to provide simple and concise instructions that will have you eating your own crops all year round.

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Book SynopsisWhether you're looking to farm a balcony, backyard, an allotment or an acre, My Tiny Home Farm is bursting with ingenious ideas and savvy solutions to help you transform any plot or planter into a super smallholding. Practical project ideas for potato buckets, hen baths, bee hotels and more will ensure your plot reaches peak productivity.

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Book SynopsisSowHow is an innovative grow guide for every modern gardener. With its fresh, bright design and clear-cut know-how, the sleek reissue of this little book provides expert advice and encouragement to get growing whether you’re looking to fill a garden, allotment, or a patio pot. When you’re growing veg for the first time it can be hard to know where to start and even more difficult to find inspiring advice that isn’t completely incomprehensible… You’ll find entries on 30 easy-grow vegetables to sow throughout the seasons, from kale to runner beans and carrots to cucamelons, plus ideas for herbs, edible flowers and advice on cultivating your own cocktail garden. SowHow breaks down the key steps of sowing, planting and harvesting each featured vegetable into understandable bite-sized chunks using straightforward language and smart infographics. Plus, the essential start-up advice covering everything from top tools and cunning crop rotations, to uncomplicated compost and the lowdown on mulches, will make you a pro in no time. Complete with simple cooking suggestions, shrewd storage info and creative gardening hacks, this unique, comprehensive companion will transform your grow space into a hot bed for leeks, beets and all your other veggie friends. So whether you are looking to fill a garden, an allotment, or a patio pot, get going and grow with SowHow.

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Book SynopsisDiana Yates shares her guide to creating a flower and veg garden from scratch, and how it turned out to be larder, source of home decoration and a place of restoration and healing, too. From planting for pollinators to growing a pumpkin patch and storing your homegrown produce, Diana takes us through the growing year at her home, Greenfields. Growing at Greenfields follows a year with Diana Yates in her garden in the picturesque Scottish Borders. She shows that anyone can raise their own veg, create a plant theatre, cook seasonally and decorate their home using home-grown dried or fresh flowers. You don’t need a grand house or huge plot, by the way – her veg are all grown in a raised bed, her potatoes are in sacks, and her plant theatre created using pots. Guided by the seasons, there are helpful checklists of essential garden tasks, advice on seeds and cuttings, how to store your precious produce, planting for wildlife and more. Also included are projects for indoors and out, such as making a potager, crafting an autumn wreath, growing peas in guttering and making your own calendula balm. Diana also shares her favourite garden-to-table family recipes so you can show off your produce, from Garlic Scape Pesto to Comforting Cauliflower Soup. By growing, crafting and cooking, make a place that you can truly call home. Contents include:SpringSeed-sowing guideHow to Grow: Peas in gutteringRecipe: Caper linguineSpring garden tasks SummerKitchen garden careHow to Grow: PumpkinsRecipe: Creamy new potato saladHarvesting, curing and storing AutumnBulbs, glorious bulbsRecipe: Butternut and prosciutto saladHow to make: Calendula balmCreating an autumn porch display WinterHow to grow: Sweet peasRecipe: Immune-boosting chickenThe winter cutting gardenLate winter garden tasks

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Book SynopsisAbout two-thirds of Britain's small, traditional orchards have been lost since 1960. This is a loss in ecological diversity, in community knowledge and the intricacy of local distinctiveness. In 2007 the pomologist Liz Copas and cidermaker Nick Poole began a quest to find and identify old varieties of cider apple trees around Dorset. The search lasted more than a decade, taking them across the county, searching in forgotten orchards, hedgerows and the corners of gardens. The Lost Orchards follows the journey they took to find, propagate and make cider with Dorset's forgotten apple varieties: Golden Ball, Kings Favourite, Yaffle, Dewbit, Golly Knapp, Tom Legg, Best Bearer and Symes Seedlings. The book is also an illustrated guide to the apple varieties they discovered and an important history of West Country Orchards. This hopeful story will resonate far beyond Dorset and will encourage readers to look closely at their surroundings and conserve their local orchards.

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Book SynopsisDiscover the transformative power for you and for wildlife of building an outdoor sanctuary for all species to thrive in and enjoy. In a hidden valley tucked into an unspoiled corner of Northumberland lies a naturalist''s garden, developed from scratch by award-winning gardener and author Susie White, her husband and friends. This is the story of how they created a remarkable oasis, a place as alive as it is beautiful.Susie''s vision and passion unfold as she transforms a patch of untended ground into a wildlife-friendly haven, planted with flowering perennials, trees, herbs, vegetables, and a wildflower meadow. The spaces teem with life: owls and blackbirds, bats and mice, butterflies and bees, all drawn by pollen-rich flowers, ponds, and nesting sites. Second Nature takes us through the planning and construction, and describes how she designed the garden to blend harmoniously with her natural environment. From the plants and wildlif

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Book SynopsisCIAO ITALIA: PLANT, HARVEST, COOK! takes the reader on a seasonal home garden vegetable journey focusing on simple growing tips for anyone interested in growing their own vegetables and how to cook them Italian style. In simple language, anyone interested in growing their own vegetables whether on a grand or small scale will find this book filled with helpful gardening advice. No former green thumb necessary.Over 30 years of trial and error and getting down and dirty, have been the foundation for this book, as well as a love for fresh homegrown food. The book highlights what's growing in the early spring garden, featuring such cool weather crops as lettuce, radishes and peas and as the pages turn, progresses to what's growing during the hot summer months with crops like tomatoes, eggplant and peppers.Over 100 healthy and delicious recipes from soup to dessert are featured. Accompanied by beautiful food photography and photos from the author's personal collection, this book will make you want to plant, harvest and cook!

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Book SynopsisWhen you plant the right varieties of heirloom vegetables, you can harvest huge volumes of fresh food from small garden plots and container gardens. Self-sufficiency expert Caleb Warnock provides step-by-step directions for designing, planting, and harvesting a tiny garden for big harvests that can really feed your family.

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