In this book, beginners will learn the best way to use a mushroom kit, as well as how to maintain the sterile procedures and controlled environment that cultivation requires. Novices and the more experienced will learn how to create grain spawn or sawdust spawn and how to use liquid cultures and fruiting chambers. Advanced readers will gain a thorough knowledge of how to work with large-scale grain spawn, agar, bag cultures, bulk substrates, and large fruiting chambers to produce mushrooms consistently and in greater quantity.

Having an allotment, or at least growing some of your own fruit and vegetables, is currently very popular. This book features the non-growing side of allotment gardening; the more practical and functional elements of a typical plot. Clearly defined by season the projects are further broken down into twelve monthly chapters with appropriate projects and techniques in each. All projects are illustrated by step-by-step photography and artwork. Projects range from very basic and intermediate to more complex tasks, such as building a shed.

What would it take to grow mushrooms in space? How can mushroom cultivation help us manage, or at least make use of, invasive species such as kudzu and water hyacinth and thereby reduce dependence on herbicides? Is it possible to develop a low-cost and easy-to-implement mushroom-growing kit that would provide high-quality edible protein and bioremediation in the wake of a natural disaster? How can we advance our understanding of morel cultivation so that growers stand a better chance of success?For more than twenty years, mycology expert Tradd Cotter has been pondering these questions and conducting trials in search of the answers. In Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation, Cotter not only offers readers an in-depth exploration of best organic mushroom cultivation practices; he shares the results of his groundbreaking research and offers myriad ways to apply your cultivation skills and further incorporate mushrooms into your life whether your goal is to help your community clean up industrial pollution or simply to settle down at the end of the day with a cold Reishi-infused homebrew ale.The book first guides readers through an in-depth exploration of indoor and outdoor cultivation. Covered skills range from integrating wood-chip beds spawned with king stropharia into your garden and building a trenched raft of hardwood logs plugged with shiitake spawn to producing oysters indoors on spent coffee grounds in a 4x4 space or on pasteurized sawdust in vertical plastic columns. For those who aspire to the self-sufficiency gained by generating and expanding spawn rather than purchasing it, Cotter offers in-depth coverage of lab techniques, including low-cost alternatives that make use of existing infrastructure and materials.Cotter also reports his groundbreaking research cultivating morels both indoors and out, training mycelium to respond to specific contaminants, and perpetuating spawn on cardboard without the use of electricity. Readers will discover information on making tinctures, powders, and mushroom-infused honey; making an antibacterial mushroom cutting board; and growing mushrooms on your old denim jeans.Geared toward readers who want to grow mushrooms without the use of pesticides, Cotter takes organic one step further by introducing an entirely new way of thinking one that looks at the potential to grow mushrooms on just about anything, just about anywhere, and by anyone."

A brief, invaluable guide to the art of growing vegetables around the year and saving money in the process. Vegetable Growing is a practical guide to frugal allotmenteering, including planning your plot, looking after the plants and practical tips for keeping your costs down, such as clever ways of making freebie alternatives to common growing tools. An additional handy section offers advice on which fruit and veg will save you the most money, as well as a season-by-season guide and ideas for boosting your savings with foraged and wild food. Written by Jonathan Stevens of the Real Men Sow blog, who recently embarked on a mission to find out how much he could save by growing his own fruit and vegetables on a half-sized allotment plot.

Fifteen people--plus a class of first graders--tell how local food, farms, and gardens changed their lives and their community . . . and how they can change yours, too.
"Urban Farming Handbook" includes:
- Fifteen first-person stories of personal and civic transformation from a range of individuals, including farmers and community garden members, a low-income senior and a troubled teen, a foodie, a food bank officer, and many more
- Seven in-depth "How It Works" sections on student farms, community gardens, community-supported agriculture (CSA), community education, farm work therapy, community outreach, and more
- Detailed information on dozens of additional resources from relevant books and websites to government programs and national nonprofit organizations
- Seventy full-color photographs showing a diverse local food community at home, work, and play
Read "Urban Farming Handbook" to learn how people like you, with busy lives like yours, can and do enjoy the many benefits of local food without having to become full-time organic farmers. Gain the information you need to organize or get involved in your own "growing community" anywhere across the country and around the world.

Live sustainably with style - grow fruits and vegetables, cook them, create natural dyes, then make your own clothes with five full-size pattern sheets. Focused around five crops (blackberry, nettle, onion, red cabbage, and rhubarb) that can be foraged or grown in an allotment, planter, or container, Bella Gonshorovitz - fashion designer, dressmaker, and writer - shows you how to embrace a holistic garden-to-garment lifestyle. - Learn how to forage, sow, and harvest with straightforward grow guides - Enjoy your produce with advice on the best vegan pantry ingredients and recipes - Create natural dyes from your food waste to upcycle fabrics in beautiful seasonal shades - Transform your fabrics into five exclusively designed, essential pieces of clothing, including a shirt dress and duster coat Swap food waste and fast fashion for homegrown produce, delicious vegan dishes, and a contemporary capsule wardrobe with the help of Bella's friendly, accessible approach to sustainable living.

This comprehensive new textbook takes a scientific approach to explaining the principles of modern conventional and sustainable commercial vegetable production. The book describes the basic botany of vegetables, environmental requirements for successful growth and development, mineral nutrition, field establishment, harvesting methods and post-harvest handling practices. Professor Gregory E. Welbaum is a former commercial vegetable grower whose family farm has been involved in crop production for several generations. He has taught both classroom and online vegetable crop classes at Virginia Tech for over two decades. Vegetable Production and Practices has been specifically designed to accompany courses in vegetable crop production, so is ideally suited to inspire students in crop and horticultural sciences, as well as provide a useful reference for experienced practitioners.

Squashes and pumpkins come in many shapes and sizes, and they are particularly tasty when home-grown and eaten soon after harvesting. In this book, the main types are described and illustrated, from marrows and pattypan squashes to butternut squashes and cucumbers. There is key advice on growing and caring for each type, how to harvest and store them, and how to keep plants in good condition by dealing with any pests and diseases. There is also advice on how to carve squashes and pumpkins to make lanterns and other decorations. The book provides reliable information for all gardeners who would like to experiment with new varieties.

Upclose shots capture the distinctive shapes and features of heirloom varieties, including the curling pretzel bean, the vibrant fushcia 'Jackson wonder' lima bean, and the rare 'Nanticoke' winter squash. From the 'Dark Roden' red lettuce to golden beets, green tomatoes, lavender chive blossoms, and purple artichoke flowers, the rich sunlit colours of luscious garden-fresh produce saturate every card. The back of each card features a short description of each variety along with intriguing facts, like how the D'Avignon radish pushes up out of the soil when it's ready to harvest. A flip-top keepsake box completes this perfect gift for fresh-from-the-garden food lovers, gardeners, and nature enthusiasts.

Simple Pleasures Throughout the Year "Simple Pleasures has become my go-to book for remembering to slow down and enjoy the little things in life." -Becca Anderson, bestselling author of Badass Affirmations, The Book of Awesome Women, and more An abundant sourcebook of ideas, encouraging quotes, recipes, and soothing activities, Simple Pleasures of the Garden shows you how to appreciate the simple things within your daily activities. The secret to living well year round can be found in the abundance of your home garden, so get to planting those seeds of simple joys and herbal healing! Nurture your mind, body, and soul. Sometimes finding the positive can be hard, but it doesn't have to be. From the recipe for a homemade herbal bath for a spa day to quick and easy recommendations for an instant room makeover, the suggestions and home recipes collected in this book offer a new appreciation for the everyday activities that nurture and comfort you. Simplify your emotional self care. Taking care of yourself doesn't have to be expensive, unrealistic, or inaccessible. It can be as easy as tending to a green garden, making healing herbal tonics, sipping calming teas, or spending time with other natural energy boosters. Pleasures are made, not bought, so unlock new secrets to happiness with these touching stories, practical tips, and satisfying crafts. Inside this positive attitude book you'll find: Ways to decorate your home with nature crafts, growing herbs, and an air of magic Advice on how to foster a routine for a rejuvenating self care year Tips on how to become the gardener of your moods and emotions If you liked seasonal self care books like A Year of Self-Care, Grow Your Own Medicine, or A Woman's Garden, you'll love Simple Pleasures of the Garden.

Let Paul and Robin, aka Two Dirty Boys, take you through the process of reusing items to grow plants from kitchen cuttings otherwise bound for the waste bin. Vegetables have the extraordinary ability to regenerate themselves without fertilization - even your everyday kitchen scraps. With step-by-step illustrations, this guide shows you how to grow twenty vegetables that are every bit as delicious as their first incarnations. Ranging from fruits and herbs that will sprout in a matter of days, to vegetables that will delight in later seasons, Regrown is an easy-to-follow guide to growing new plants, with a focus on repurposing produce found in any supermarket. The projects include everything from carrot tops and mushroom stalks to ginger, avocado and even pineapple, with tips on how to use them in the kitchen, too. Grow new plants from your cooking scraps - all you need is a jar and a tapful of water... then just let nature do its thing.

This book provides all the skills and techniques you need to grow your own crops. There is advice on designing your garden, selecting the right tools, understanding your soil, crop rotation, propagating, pruning, harvesting and storage. A section on common problems explains how to deal with bad weather, pests and diseases. A plant directory covers a wide range of vegetables, herbs and fruit, with information on cultivation, harvesting, sowing, planting and harvesting times, crop varieties, and photographs of growing and mature plants. With its beautiful images and clear practical advice, this is the perfect reference guide for every kitchen gardener

The Land Where Lemons Grow is the sweeping story of Italy's cultural history told through the history of its citrus crops. From the early migration of citrus from the foothills of the Himalayas to Italy's shores to the persistent role of unique crops such as bergamot (and its place in the perfume and cosmetics industries) and the vital role played by Calabria's unique Diamante citrons in the Jewish celebration of Sukkoth, author Helena Attlee brings the fascinating history and its gustatory delights to life.

Whether the Battle of Oranges in Ivrea, the gardens of Tuscany, or the story of the Mafia and Sicily's citrus groves, Attlee transports readers on a journey unlike any other.

There is nothing quite like growing your own strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries and currants to provide a reliable crop of the finest taste and quality. In this informative kitchen garden handbook, all the most popular soft fruits are illustrated, with useful information on their origins, growing habits, nutritional content and culinary uses. A techniques section explains how to train and support fruit bushes, pruning, sheltering plants from the weather and harvesting and storing crops. Whether you have a large kitchen garden, a small garden plot with some space in the borders, or room for a few containers, this book is a must for all fruit growers.

This comprehensive introduction contains everything you need to know about the history, botany and cultivation of apples, from planting, pruning and propagation to harvesting, storing and cooking. A stunning identification guide features 800 original photographs and provides detailed information. It is packed with over 60 inspirational and scrumptious recipes for a fabulous selection of breakfasts, appetizers, main courses, salads, side dishes, sauces, preserves, drinks and desserts.

Over the past four or five years in the UK, the grow-your-own phenomenon has meant that more and more people have been producing their own food. From salads and root crops to apples, cucumbers, squashes and strawberries, home-grown food is enjoyed in ever-increasing quantities. And why not? Growing your own provides exercise, nutritious food, and gardeners can choose their favourite varieties for taste or yield. But what about those who want to grow their own, but perhaps have a small garden, and do not want to lose its decorative appeal? How can they combine growing their own food with flowers and colour? Growing for Food and Colour shows that it really is possible to cultivate fruits, vegetables and herbs alongside flowers - and that the beauty of the garden can be enhanced rather than compromised by productive plants. Following the advice in this book will enable the reader to enjoy home-grown food that is fresher, healthier and tastier - but which also looks fantastic.

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.

Many people want to grow fruit on a small scale but lack the insight to be successful orchardists. Growing tree fruits and berries is something virtually anyone with space and passionate desire can do - given wise guidance and a personal commitment to observe the teachings of the trees. A holistic grower knows that producing fruit is not about manipulating nature but more importantly, fostering nature. Orcharding then becomes a fascinating adventure sure to provide your family with all sorts of mouth-watering fruit.

The Holistic Orchard demystifies the basic skills everybody should know about the inner-workings of the orchard ecosystem, as well as orchard design, soil biology, and organic health management. Detailed insights on grafting, planting, pruning, and choosing the right varieties for your climate are also included, along with a step-by-step instructional calendar to guide growers through the entire orchard year. The extensive profiles of pome fruits (apples, pears, asian pears, quinces), stone fruits (cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums), and berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, and elderberries) will quickly have you savoring the prospects.

Phillips completely changed the conversation about healthy orcharding with his first bestselling book, The Apple Grower, and now he takes that dialogue even further, drawing connections between home orcharding and permaculture; the importance of native pollinators; the world of understory plantings with shade-tolerant berry bushes and other insectary plants; detailed information on cover crops and biodiversity; and the newest research on safe, homegrown solutions to pest and disease challenges.

All along the way, Phillips' expertise and enthusiasm for healthy growing shines through, as does his ability to put the usual horticultural facts into an integrated ecology perspective. This book will inspire beginners as well as provide deeper answers for experienced fruit growers looking for scientific organic approaches. Exciting times lie ahead for those who now have every reason in the world to confidently plant that very first fruit tree

Winner of The 2008 Jane Grigson Award, issued by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). Winner of the 2008 Cordon d' Or Culinary Literature - History Culinary Academy Award. This is the story of the bean, the staple food cultivated by humans for over 10,000 years. From the lentil to the soybean, every civilization on the planet has cultivated its own species of bean. The humble bean has always attracted attention - from Pythagoras' notion that the bean hosted a human soul to St. Jerome's indictment against bean-eating in convents (because they "tickle the genitals"), to current research into the deadly toxins contained in the most commonly eaten beans. Over time, the bean has been both scorned as "poor man's meat" and praised as health-giving, even patriotic. Attitudes to this most basic of foodstuffs have always revealed a great deal about a society. Beans: A History takes the reader on a fascinating journey across cuisines and cultures.

It's wonderful to grow your own fruit and vegetables but what do you do when it all ripens at once? How do you cope with the glut which threatens to overwhelm you? Will help all those who grow their own fruit and vegetables to store their produce properly so that it will last for months and feed the family when the garden's bare. Easy and practical advice on how to bottle, dry, freeze and even salt home grown fruit and vegetables. Discover the taste of your delicious homemade jams, chutneys and ketchups. John and Val Harrison reveal just what you can do with that bountiful harvest and share their 30 years' experience of growing fruit and vegetables and you'll never waste another tomato or courgette again. Praise for John Harrison: 'Britain's greatest allotment authority'. Indpendent on Sunday.

From Minnesota to Moscow - how to grow fresh figs in cold climates Growing Figs in Cold Climates is a complete, full-color, illustrated guide to organic methods for growing delicious figs in cold climates, well outside the traditional hot, arid home of this ancient fruiting tree. Coverage includes: Five methods for growing figs in cold climates including overwintering Cultivar selection for cool and cold climates Pruning techniques for a variety of methods of growing figs in cold climates Pest problems and solutions Harvesting, including ways to speed ripening, identify ripe fruit, and manage an overabundance Small-scale commercial fig production in cold climates. Fresh figs are juicy, full-bodied, and filled with a honey-sweet flavor, and because truly ripe figs are highly perishable, they are only available to those who grow their own. By choosing the right cultivars and techniques, figs can be grown across cool and cold growing zones of North America, Europe, and beyond, putting them within reach of almost every gardener. Easy and delicious - if you can grow a houseplant, you can grow a fig.