Perfect for the complete beginner or the experienced allotmenteer, this handy reference will ensure your crops thrive and your table is laden year round. Allotment gardening is in the grip of a renaissance: there are now more than 300,000 allotments in the UK, and there are more young professionals on allotments than ever before, alongside the mainstays of families and even groups of friends. Advice is provided for picking crops and instructions highlight how to properly water and tend them, how to prepare for extreme weather, and such essential techniques as composting and crop rotation. This is the perfect book for those with a passion for the outdoors and a taste for food warm from the sun.
A new edition of the bestselling guide to making the most of your allotment, with seasonal advice, essential to-do lists, and more than 60 fruit and vegetable crop planners. Grow fresh, seasonal produce in your allotment or kitchen garden all year round with the bestselling guide from Alan Buckingham. Allotment Month by Month takes the uncertainty out of your harvest with clear, reliable gardening advice for every month of the year. In-depth crop planners show you when to sow and how to cultivate more than 60 herbs, fruit, and vegetables, including kale, rhubarb, spinach, strawberries, and apples. Month-by-month alerts help you guard against the season's garden pests and diseases to ensure a top-quality harvest. Prioritise key garden tasks, learn crop rotation techniques, and try step-by-step garden projects, such as sowing peas in guttering and making your own compost bin. This new edition has updated recommendations for the best varieties to grow and all the latest advice on pesticide use. Ideal for both urban gardeners and seasoned allotment owners, or as self-purchase or gift for first-time vegetable growers, Allotment Month by Month has everything you need to know to make the most of your plot.
With hardly any previous veg-growing experience and even less time, when Gardener's World design guru Joe Swift decided to take on a 250 sq metre allotment in north London, some people thought he was mad. But with hard work and dedication, in less than a year Joe created his very own urban oasis and a source of delicious, fresh, organic produce for himself and his family. In this book Joe takes us through every stage of his education as an allotment gardener, from putting his name on the council waiting list to harvesting his first crops. He reveals everything he's learned about acquiring a plot, clearing the site, planning the beds, and planting, nurturing and protecting his fruit and vegetables. All the techniques he has mastered are described and illustrated, step by step. Joe also introduces us to his Veg Heroes like Monty Don and Geoff Hamilton - fellow plot-holders with years of experience and the crops to show for it - who inspired Joe to take up veg growing in the first place. And he shares with us his enjoyment of allotment gardening, the combination of hard work, fresh air and a sense of community that makes his plot such a special place to be. Whether you are an established allotment gardener or are thinking of putting your name down for a plot, Joe's Allotment will provide you with a wealth of advice and inspiration.
Telling the food story of spring, summer, autumn and winter, this is the definitive guide to cooking the right things all through the year. When it comes to the tastiest food, keeping in touch with the rhythm of nature allows us to cook the most delicious recipes with the freshest, most flavoursome ingredients. Each dish is a celebration of the best of local British produce, from Fishcakes with Wilted Chard, Red Pepper and Feta Fritters, Rocket Pesto with Sirloin and Panna cotta with Poached Rhubarb, The Allotment Cookbook follows seasonal produce to restore a natural way of eating. You don't need to have an allotment or big kitchen garden to enjoy this book; although all the ingredients can be found in the shops, have a go at growing your own in the garden, in a scrap of ground or in a pot on a windowsill - it's so easy and is one of life's most satisfying pleasures. The Allotment Cookbook is a joyful guide to a sustainable and nourishing way of life.
A wonderfully illustrated celebration of the blood, sweat and joy to be had 'growing your own' in an allotment - with the in-depth, practical gardening know-how Collins is renowned for.
This practical and inspirational handbook is aimed at the new generation of gardeners who want to enjoy the taste and health benefits of growing their own food, but who have little time to spare. Expert advice and innovative techniques show you how to grow the right quantities of the fruit and vegetables you love, and enjoy the satisfactions of tending an allotment or vegetable garden without becoming a slave to your plot. Tested by fruit-grower Will Sibley and author Lia Leendertz on their own allotments, these methods will enable you to get the best results in half an hour per day, or even less. The book covers all aspects of allotmenteering and vegetable gardening, including the practicalities of obtaining and maintaining a site, choosing what to grow, designing the plot and advanced projects such as building paths and shelters. A section on harvesting, storing and cooking shows you what to do when your crop is ripe and ready.
Written by the American Horticultural Society's foremost fruit, vegetable and herb experts, Homegrown Harvest provides lifestyle-changing advice that gardeners need for growing a year-round supply of healthy edible crops for their table. Specific local and regional advice enables gardeners to decide how and what to grow wherever they live in North America. The book starts with planning what to grow, then how to grow it- whether in an allotment, containers, a raised bed or vegetable patch- as well as information on how to get the best from your soil. Next, over the course of 12 seasonal chapters, from early spring to late winter, the book shows how to go from sowing to harvesting with clear instructions that help you stay on top of the joys and challenges of a productive garden. From apples and asparagus, raspberries to radishes, this book shows how to apply age-old techniques in a timely fashion, to get the most from your plot.
Grow your own organic fruit and vegetables with this practical guide to setting up and maintaining an allotment garden. Allotments provide a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature and become more self-sufficient, growing fresh produce to cook with. But getting started on your plot can sometimes feel a bit daunting. Written by garden designer Susan Berger and illustrated throughout with drawings and photographs, Allotment Gardening is packed with advice on growing and maintaining your allotment garden – from choosing and planning your allotment through to harvesting and storing your produce. The first half of this handy guide discusses allotment basics, such as what tools to buy and how to plan and clear your site. Susan then shares useful information on crop rotation, planting and how to protect plants against pests and harsh weather. She also looks at design and growing techniques, including feeding plants, mulching, saving seeds and supporting plants, and how to prevent and cope with common problems. The second half of the book focuses on the cultivation of individual fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs, along with recommendations for particular varieties chosen for their flavour, and ideas for companion planting. There are detailed instructions on how to store produce efficiently, as well as tips on herb usage. Each fruit and vegetable entry features an easy recipe to help you make the most of your fresh produce, such as pea soup, Frizzled Brussels Sprouts, Sautéed Kohl Rabi, jam and pudding. Ideal for beginner gardeners growing on their first site, Allotment Gardening also includes a gardener's calendar with monthly activities, and a directory of seed suppliers and useful organisations.
Allotment Gardening For Dummies is a lively, hands-on guide to getting the most out of your allotment. Whether you're interested in eating fresh, saving money, getting exercise or enjoying wholesome family fun, this is the guide for you. The step-by-step advice takes you through all the stages in the process, from securing an allotment and preparing your plot, to choosing what to grow and enjoying the benefits of abundant fresh food and a sociable and healthy hobby. With over 50 handy line drawings, plus information on how to grow organic and advice on storing and cooking the food you grow, this guide really does have it all! Allotment Gardening For Dummies includes: Part 1: Getting to Grips with Allotment Gardening Chapter 1: What Are Allotments All About? Chapter 2: Getting hold of an Allotment Chapter 3: Getting Started Part 2: Preparing for Allotment Success Chapter 4: Deciding What to Grow, When Chapter 5: Preparing Your Plot Chapter 6: Keeping Your Soil Healthy Chapter 7: Keeping Your Plants Healthy Chapter 8: Growing Organic Part 3: Growing a Few of Your Favourite Vegetables Chapter 9: Going Underground Chapter 10: The Staples Chapter 11: Growing Leafy Greens Chapter 12: Planting Peas, Beans and Other Pods Chapter 13: Growing More Exotic Veg Part 4: Extending Your Allotment Repetoire Chapter 14: Growing Wholesome Herbs Chapter 15: Growing Fruitful Fruit Chapter 16: Nurturing Flowers on an Allotment Part 5: Getting the Most Out of Your Allotment Chapter 17: Involving Children Around the Allotment Chapter 18: Hobnobbing with Allotment Society Chapter 19: Growing Giant Veg Part 6: The Part of Tens Chapter Chapter 20: Ten Common Accidents and How to Prevent Them Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Revive a Flagging Allotment
A low-cost, sustainable approach to cultivating out-of-season vegetables in small spaces, using the age-old technique of growing in hot beds. The ancient method of growing vegetables in hot beds, used by the Victorians and by the Romans, harnesses the natural process of decay to cultivate out-of-season crops. In this easy-to-use guide, Jack First shares essential tips on how to reap the rewards available from modernizing and adapting this remarkable technique. With just stable manure (or alternatives), a simple frame and a small space to build your bed, you can be harvesting salads in March and potatoes in early April. This accessible, illustrated guide has everything you need to understand how to use this highly productive, low-cost, year-round, eco-friendly gardening system. Straightforward explanations and diagrams show how you too can grow early veg without fossil-fuel energy or elaborate equipment.
