This volume is a lunar calendar and descriptive text that guides the novice planter through the world of planting, sowing, tending and harvesting vegetable and fruit plants according to the lunar and zodiacal cycle.

Orchard fruits can be some of the most enjoyable crops that come from the garden. Fruit trees can be decorative, grown either individually or trained as fans and espaliers. In this book, the main types of tree fruits are described and illustrated, and there is key advice on preparing the soil and making compost, choosing, planting and supporting fruit trees, and harvesting and storing the fruit. A section on practical cultivation details essential information on growing and caring for each type of tree fruit, including when and where to plant trees, and how to keep fruit in good condition. The book is perfect for all gardeners who would like to grow their own fruit.

Ever wanted to grow your own food but don't have the time, the space, or even know where to start? Alice Holden, one of Britain's most pioneering female growers, has spent her life outdoors working on small and large scales - from kitchen gardens to commercial farms. In Do Grow, she'll help optimise the space and time available to you - even if it's just a window box and 10 minutes a week - with simple-to-follow guidance, plus advice on: - The basics for your gardening tool kit - How to make your own compost - Common garden pests to watch out for - How to keep your soil fertile With delicious recipes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and others that Alice has worked with over the years, Do Grow is an accessible and inviting guide to growing, harvesting, and preparing farm-to-table meals from your very own edible garden.

With over 400 recipe ideas and many wonderful stories from the cook's garden, Tender: Volume I - A cook and his vegetable patch, is the definitive guide to cooking with vegetables from the presenter of BBC One's Simple Cooking. 'I would like to think I know more now than I did before I picked up my trowel and dug that first furrow of red and white radishes. How to get the best out of a vegetable yes, but also what are the different ways to treat it in the kitchen, which seasonings will make it sing, what other ingredients is it most comfortable or most exciting with. What are the classic recipes not to be missed by a newcomer and what new ways are there which might be of interest to an old hand.' In his inimitable, unpretentious style Nigel Slater, the presenter of BBC One's Simple Cooking, elevates vegetables to the starring role in his latest cook book, whether that means enjoying vegetables for their own sake or on the same plate as a piece of meat or fish. From crab cakes and crushed peas to broccoli and lamb stir-fry, luxury cauliflower cheese to a delicious broad bean salad, 'Tender' has everything a cook could want from a recipe book.

SowHow 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.

Enter a world of tents, tea, and terrifically good jam with RHS Great British Village Show. Written by Thane Prince and Matthew Biggs, and with a foreword by Alan Titchmarsh, this is the ultimate illustrated guide to a unique British tradition. Every year, hundreds of country shows and village fairs take place across the UK. Celebrate this tradition and step behind the scenes of the British country show with insider facts and beautiful photographs that show you every aspect of preparing, presenting, and prize-winning on the big day. Discover how judges reach their nail-biting decisions by using official RHS guidelines for over 100 fruit, vegetable, and flower categories. Learn the secrets behind growing perfect produce, preparing show-quality preserves and bakes with tips from the experts. RHS Great British Village Show tells you exactly what the judges are looking for - and what to avoid. Packed with staging tips, expert guides, photo diaries, and prize-winning recipes, RHS Great British Village Show is a unique insider's look behind the scenes of a wonderful British tradition.

Forest Gardening (or agroforestry) is a way of growing edible crops with nature doing most of the work. A forest garden imitates young natural woodland, with a wide range of crops grown in vertical layers. Species are chosen for their beneficial effects on each other, creating a healthy system that maintains its own fertility, with little need for digging, weeding or pest control. The result of this largely perennial planting is a tranquil, beautiful and productive space. This book is a bible for permaculture and forest gardening, with practical advice on how to create a forest garden, from planning and design to planting and maintenance. It explains how a forest garden is designed from the top down: the canopy layer first, then the shrub layer, the perennial ground-cover layer, the annuals & biennials next, the climbers and nitrogen fixers and finally the clearings, living spaces and paths. Whether in a small back garden or in a larger plot, the environmental benefits of growing this way are great. Forest Gardens are a viable solution to the challenge of a changing climate: we can grow food sustainably in them without compromising soil health, food quality or biodiversity. Forest gardens: store carbon dioxide in the soil and in the woody biomass of the trees and shrubs. enable the soil to store more water after heavy rains, minimizing flooding and erosion. boost the health of the ecosystem, ensuring a balance of predators and beneficial insects because mixed planting is crucial to the scheme. allows the soil to thrive because it is covered with plants all year round. Creating a Forest Garden includes a detailed directory of over 500 trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, annuals, root crops and climbers. As well as more familiar plants such as fig and apple trees, blackcurrants and rosemary shrubs, you can grow your own chokeberries, goji berries, yams, heartnuts, bamboo shoots and buffalo currants. Forest gardens produce fruits, nuts, vegetables, seeds, salads, herbs, spices, firewood, mushrooms, medicinal herbs, dye plants, soap plants, and honey from bees. This book tells you everything you need to create your own forest garden with beautiful illustrations and helpful tips throughout.

Just how productive can one small vegetable garden be? More productive than one might think! Colin McCrate and Brad Halm, former CSA growers and current owners of the Seattle Urban Farm Company, help readers boost their garden productivity by teaching them how to plan carefully, maximize production in every bed, get the most out of every plant, scale up systems to maximize efficiency, and expand the harvest season with succession planting, intercropping, and season extension. Along with chapters devoted to the Five Tenets of a Productive Gardener (Plan Well to Get the Most from Your Garden; Maximize Production in Each Bed; Get the Most out of Every Plant; Scale up Tools and Systems for Efficiency; and Expand and Extend the Harvest), the book contains interactive tools that home gardeners can use to assist them in determining how, when, and what to plant; evaluating crop health; and planning and storing the harvest. For today's vegetable gardeners who want to grow as much of their own food as possible, this guide offers expert advice and strategies for cultivating a garden that supplies what they need.

For decades, gardeners have approached vegetable gardening the same way: planting in square or rectangular beds or in straight rows, keeping vegetables separate from flowers, and definitely not mixing perennial plants with annual ones. According to these old rules, every insect must be killed, the garden must be tidy, and nothing should ever be allowed to go to seed. It's time to break the rules! Today's gardeners are re-envisioning the vegetable garden as a creative, playful space where the beds may be circles or spirals, beneficial insects are invited to the party, flowers for cutting grow right next to annual vegetables (which might be chosen for their curb appeal as much as their flavor), and a bit of "untidiness" simply creates a garden that more closely mimics the natural world. With The Creative Vegetable Gardener, lifestyle editor and master gardener Kelly Smith Trimble encourages readers to widen their focus, be playful, and imagine a vegetable garden that reflects their own unique aesthetic and offers a meditative sanctuary as well as a source of fresh, homegrown food. From seed selection to garden layout and regenerative gardening practices, gardeners of all levels will find Smith Trimble's liberating advice a pathway to making the garden a place of nourishment for the soul and creative spirit, while also feeding the body.

An informative and inspirational guide aimed at anyone who fancies giving chilli growing a go. From 'Hungarian Hot Wax' to 'Red Savina', and 'Scotch Bonnet' to 'Elephant's Trunk', chillies come in dozens of shapes, colours and degrees of spiciness - from sweet and succulent to blow-your-head-off hot. RHS Red Hot Chilli Grower provides everything you need to grow your own chillies from scratch, with step-by-step instructions for sowing seeds, caring for the plants, harvesting the fruit and troubleshooting common problems. Chilli-lovers will also find plenty of background information, such as a short history of the chilli and a guide to Scoville heat units (the official measurement of spicy heat), as well as tasty tips for enjoying the fruits of your work. Packed with charts, checklists, photographs and illustrations, this is the perfect guide to the world of grow-your-own chillies.