This revised, updated and expanded edition Joy Larkcom's classic guide to growing your own vegetables contains everything you need to know to create a highly-productive vegetable plot. It covers every aspect of vegetable gardening, including preparing soil; manures, composts and fertilizers; growing techniques; protection; pests, diseases and weeds; and making good use of space. The second half of the book provides cultivation information for over 100 vegetables, including site and soil requirements, cultivation, pests and diseases, and cultivars.
Eating vegetables is good for you. Growing your own is even better. "You are what you eat" may be a timeworn adage, but it makes a valid point. When you grow your own vegetables, you'll not only eat better food, but you'll also regain your connection to the seasons and the natural rhythms of life. Growing your own will change what's on your dinner table, and it will change you. That's the philosophy behind Carol Klein's impeccably thorough guide to home vegetable gardening. In its pages, she reveals all the tricks to becoming a successful small-plot gardener, from preparing the soil, to deciding what to grow (and when to plant and harvest), to coping with pests, weeds, and other common problems. The book's second half is a veritable encyclopedia of the various vegetables-delicate salad greens, hardy root vegetables, and everything in between-that you might choose to grow.
Self-sufficiency doesn't have to mean getting off the grid entirely. That level of independence isn't practical for most people. A backyard farm can provide an abundance of inexpensive food as well as additional income which can bring you real independence. Whether you're a first-timer who wants to start growing vegetables or an experienced gardener looking to expand a small plot into a minifarm, The Everything Backyard Farming Book has all you need, from growing fruits and vegetables to raising animals to preserving and storing food. With this common-sense guide, you will be able to take control of the food you eat - in an urban or suburban setting.
Take your love of plants to the next level and start growing some food with this modern, easy-to-follow guidebook that shows you everything you need to know to grow edible plants all year round! Did you know you could grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs in containers? Well, now you can take your houseplants to the next level by growing home-grown produce and seasoning that will taste delicious in all of your favorite dishes. How to Grow Your Own Food identifies 50 common, easy-to-grow edible plants from herbs to vegetables, along with detailed care instructions and beautiful illustrations of each plant. You’ll find everything you need to know about building your container garden including: -How to choose the right size container for each plant -How to water (and feed!) your plants for optimal growth -When to harvest your crops for the best flavor -And much more! It’s time to turn your decorative plants into ones that will keep you happy and healthy! No matter how much or how little space you have in your apartment, you can enjoy everything—from basil to onions to strawberries—with this practical guide to container gardening.
Complete instructions for growing over 190 vegetables, herbs, berries, fruits, nuts, and tropical fruits in the ground and in containers. Plans and design ideas for kitchen gardens of all sizes, as well as easy-to-follow guidelines for composting, building raised beds, and more. Growing season details for all regions of the West, including Alaska and Hawaii. Timely tips from edibles experts around the West-British Columbia to New Mexico. More than 300 pages of color photographs, practical advice, and inspiration from the editors of Sunset magazine, the West's authority on gardening.
For anyone who has ever wanted to tend a little piece of ground but wasn’t sure where to begin, GrowVeg offers simple recipes for gardening projects that are both attainable and beautiful. Benedict Vanheems, editor of the popular website GrowVeg.com, guides aspiring green thumbs to success from the start, no matter what size gardening space you have. Get recommendations for veggie varieties for your first edible garden, plant a miniature orchard, and grow an edible archway, or keep your efforts contained by cultivating a rustic crate of herbs on a sunny balcony, a crop of carrots in a basket, or nutritious and delicious sprouts in a jar on the kitchen counter. The beginner-friendly instructions and step-by-step photography detail more than 30 approachable, small-scale gardening projects that will inspire and empower you to get growing!
A perfect companion to The Encyclopedia of Country Living, this is a complete gardening manual for setting up your own vegetable garden—whether it’s just a few rows of lettuce or a year-round field Drawn from, and a continuation of, the bestseller The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Growing Your Own Vegetables is informed by years of hands-on experience and the wisdom gathered from a generation of homesteaders and small farmers. Starting with planning the garden (plot size, seasonal considerations, getting the most from a small plot) and laying it out (rows, beds, plowing), this book addresses the planning and growing issues for all North American climate zones. Gardeners need to understand (and love) their soil, and the Growing Your Own Vegetables explains it in simple terms, with advice on composting and testing for contamination (so important since this is going to be your food source!). Author Carla Emery was a very early advocate of gardening without chemical fertilizers, so the approach here is organic all the way. Much of the book is the crop-by-crop guide to planting, cultivating, and harvesting the delicious vegetables we love to eat: onions, leafy greens, stems and flowers (rhubarb, artichoke, broccoli), roots (spuds, radishes, jicama), grasses & grains (just imagine: your own wheat field!), legumes, gourds, and the nightshade family (that would be tomatoes, peppers, eggplant).
This book is aimed at the majority of us who live in terraced houses, high rise flats, town houses and semi-detached properties with a small garden and often nowhere to grow but the patio. It shows how to make the most of pots and planters; how to plan for a reasonable yield; and how never to run out of at least something to special eat. You might not have all the space in the world, but you can enjoy all the flavour in the world. With the step-by-step instructions in this book you will be able to grow, nurture and harvest your own fruit, vegetables and herbs in a range of pots and containers, including recycled ones such as plastic milk bottles, and kitchen sinks.
Enjoy food that’s fresh from plot to plate, not flown halfway round the world The sweetest carrots, the juiciest tomatoes, the most tender green beans – all these and many more delicious vegetable varieties can be yours: sown in your own garden, reared with your own hand, and savoured by all. Growing your own vegetables provides delicious food fresh from the soil without costing the earth. Packed with natural goodness, newly pulled carrots, freshly picked peas or potatoes dug straight from the ground are a healthy and inexpensive alternative to tasteless supermarket fare. And it couldn’t be easier. Discover how planning and preparation, basic tools and the most rudimentary gardening ability can transform an allotment, garden, patio, or even an urban balcony into a homegrown haven. Choose your crop from easy-to-grow varieties that require minimum effort but deliver excellent results. You don’t need green fingers to grow great food.
The Editors of Reader’s Digest present the definitive A-Z guide to vegetables and how to grow and use them. This complete illustrated guide to vegetables unlocks the secrets of nature’s bounty with comprehensive information on the planting, harvesting, and storing of vegetables, together with a wealth of great ideas for using them in cooking, healthcare, crafts, vegetable dyes, home products, beauty treatments, and more.
