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.

Work in partnership with nature to nurture your soil for healthy plants and bumper crops - without back-breaking effort! Have you ever wondered how to transform a weedy plot into a thriving vegetable garden? Well now you can! By following the simple steps set out in No Dig, in just a few short hours you can revolutionise your vegetable patch with plants already in the ground from day one! Charles Dowding is on a mission to teach that there is no need to dig over the soil, but by minimising intervention you are actively boosting soil productivity. In fact, The less you dig, the more you preserve soil structure and nurture the fungal mycelium vital to the health of all plants. This is the essence of the No Dig system that Charles Dowding has perfected over a lifetime growing vegetables. So put your gardening gloves on and get ready to discover: - Guides and calendars of when to sow, grow, and harvest. - Inspiring information and first-hand guidance from the author - "Delve deeper" features look in-depth at the No Dig system and the facts and research that back it up. - The essential role of compost and how to make your own at home. - The importance of soil management, soil ecology, and soil health. Now one of the hottest topics in environmental science, this "wood-wide web" has informed Charles's practice for decades, and he's proven it isn't just trees that benefit - every gardener can harness the power of the wood-wide web. Featuring newly- commissioned step-by-step photography of all stages of growing vegetables and herbs, and all elements of No Dig growing, shot at Charles's beautiful market garden in Somerset, you too will be able to grow more veg with less time and effort, and in harmony with nature - so join the No Dig revolution today! A must-have volume for followers of Charles Dowding who fervently believe in his approach to low input, high yield gardening, as well as gardeners who want to garden more lightly on the earth, with environmentally friendly techniques like organic and No Dig.

A journal with a perpetual diary, a manual of gardening to inform and inspire, packed with illustrations and an introduction by Darina Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery School Three quarters Charles's advice on how to grow great crops, one quarter writing space for each day. Use it year after year to make the best decisions, with your notes alongside Charles's suggestions, for future reference. Advice in the diary section is linked to each week of the season and takes you through the whole process, from clearing weeds, feeding soil and sowing to harvests and storing vegetables. * Advice on sowing and planting methods, plus raising plants at home * Best sowing dates - seeds neither fail in cold nor start too late * Advantages of no dig, saving time, giving fewer weeds and bigger crops * How to maintain control of weeds through timely mulching and hoeing * How to feed soil just once a year, for strong and healthy growth * When and how to make all the harvests, with advice on storing produce too.

For a beautiful, productive, and edible paradise, transform your approach to growing with The Permaculture Garden

• Create a thriving garden inspired by nature's patterns that is better for the soil, local wildlife and your plants
• Design your space sustainably, factoring in climate, landshape, resources, energy and your goals so all elements work together in harmony
• Grow a diverse mix of plants together – from fruit trees to flowers and vegetables to herbs – for year-round harvests and a more resilient, ecological and attractive garden

The tomato is a popular and versatile choice in the garden. It is vibrant, nutritious and delicious. It can be grown from hanging baskets with herbs, can yield prolific crops, and can cheer up a summer salad with its red, yellow, orange or green hues.

Originally published in the 1930s. This comprehensive book will provide under one head and at a glance all that vast amount of essential information required by the ever increasing numbers of enthusiasts who wish to derive pleasure or profit by living off the land. The illustrated contents include advice on: Poultry - Vegetable Culture - Fruit Growing - Flower Culture - Holding and Farm - Pigs - Cattle - Sheep - Land - Rabbit Keeping - Bee Keeping - Organic Methods etc. Many of the earliest farming books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

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.

In this book, Sharon Amos explains how to design and create a beautiful garden for little or no money, offering tips on bartering for clippings, getting a bargain at garage sales or neighbourhood fairs, digging up suckers or adapting wild species and controlling them in a garden environment. She provides a comprehensive directory of 80 plants including detailed advice on where and how to grow a wide variety of garden favourites, from snowdrops to poppies. With beautiful illustrations, Plants for Free is the perfect gift book for cultivating your garden on a budget of next-to-nothing.

A 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.

Beans 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.

Grow your way to happiness with this practical handbook for a more sustainable life. Whether you have a large country garden or a small backyard in the city, this essential guide to the 'Good Life' will help you on your journey to becoming more self-sufficient - which is something we all need to be thinking about. Climate change, industrial farming with its reliance on chemicals, rising food prices, fears over food security or just a desire to spend more time outdoors - there are many reasons driving people towards homegrown food and self-sufficiency. Growing your own fruit and vegetables, preserving your produce and generating your own energy are all covered in this thrifty guide by the original 'Tom and Barbara', Eve and Terence McLaughlin, who wrote the first edition of this book in 1979. This information-packed book has expert advice on growing, harvesting, storing and preserving your produce. You can brew your own beer and learn how to bottle, cure, smoke and pickle your produce to make it last longer. The book features easy-to-follow instructions for DIY tools and equipment to save money, reduce energy consumption and cut back on waste. Learn how to plan your site, explore the best planting times and methods, discover how to grow a variety of vegetables, fruit and nuts, and how to deal with pests and diseases. As well as growing your own food, the book also covers the basics of keeping livestock - including chickens, ducks, goats and pigs - and how to harness alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power. Putting your own food on the table and playing your part in creating a more sustainable future is hugely rewarding and also has health benefits - the physical exercise of planting and harvesting, the mental wellness that comes with spending time in nature, and the reduction in chemicals in the food you eat - there is so much in this activity that fosters greater wellbeing. Whether you're planning a move to full-blown self-sufficiency or are just curious about what's involved and want to take your first steps to growing your own food, this essential guide has everything you need to know.

This book is the first comprehensive critical analysis of the cultural politics of a new kind of British heritage discourse. Based on texts ranging from tweets to restaurant menus that tell the story of heritage vegetables, this book explores what it means to think about our food systems, and their future, through the lens of 'heritage'. From town hall seed swaps to restaurant menus and coffee table books, it has become hard in recent years for consumers to avoid the idea of 'heritage' fruit and vegetables. The British counterpart of North American heirlooms, their varied colours, strange shapes and endearing names are charming. Yet their proponents claim far more for them, arguing it is vital that we safeguard our crop heritage for global food security, social justice and consumer choice. This book examines how heritage fruits and vegetables are adopted to subvert corporate food production and take food back into our own hands, while supermarkets are eagerly adding them to their luxury ranges. The book also discusses the practice of heritage seeds being stored in secure facilities where most of the world's growers cannot reach them. Written in an accessible style, this book will appeal to those studying, and those interested in, food studies and food politics; heritage studies; geography and environmental studies; the sociology of consumption and cultural studies.

"Grow Now is an earth manual that applies to everyone, everywhere. Regenerating life begins with our hands, the soil, and our heart. Take this book and go outside, stay outside, and transform." --Paul Hawken, author of Drawdown and Regeneration Did you know you can have a garden that's equal parts food source and wildlife haven? In Grow Now, Emily Murphy shares easy-to-follow principles for regenerative gardening that foster biodiversity and improve soil health. She also shows how every single yard mirrors and connects to the greater ecosystem around us. No-dig growing, composting and mulching smartly, and planting a variety of edible perennials that attract bees and butterflies are all commonsense techniques everyone can use to grow positive change. You'll also find detailed advice on increasing your nature quotient, choosing plants that cycle more carbon back into the soil, selecting a broader variety of vegetables and fruits to improve overall soil fertility, rethinking space devoted to lawns, and adding companion plants for pollinators to rewild any plot of land. Exquisitely photographed and filled with helpful lists and sidebars, Grow Now is an actionable, hopeful, and joyful roadmap for growing our way to individual climate contributions. Gardening is climate activism!

The interest in organic fruit and vegetables has never been greater. As people grow ever more suspicious of the chemicals used in food production, more and more gardeners are keen to grow their own vegetables and fruit while steering away from synthetic insecticides and pesticides. In this book John Fedor draws on both his training as a biochemist and his extensive gardening experience to explain exactly why and how to garden organically. He includes ground plans for gardens of all sizes, all the information you need on organic techniques such as soil care and composting, and an extensive illustrated directory of fruit and vegetables, with cultural information and recommended varieties. This is a book for beginners and experienced gardeners alike and set to become the standard reference manual on organic gardening.

Fruit production is one of the most challenging areas of organic growing, and those wanting to grow fruit organically have often found it difficult to obtain the necessary technical information. Essential reading for serious gardeners, smallholders, small-scale organic growers and farmers wishing to diversify their crop range, this book covers the organic cultivation of all of the most popular pome and stone fruits, strawberries, cane and bush fruits. For each fruit crop, advice and information is given on the latest suitable varieties and rootstocks, growing systems, pruning and training, crop care, harvesting, storage, pest and disease management. Individual chapters cover organic principles and conversion, soil fertility, crop nutrition, weed and habitat management, and protected production. Also the market for organic fruit, retail opportunities and other important outlets is analysed. A chapter by Roy Cook is provided on the important subject of viticulture.

Drawing directly from his experience as an acclaimed climate-change gardener, and of setting up a kitchen garden from scratch for River Cottage, Mark explains the practical aspects of organic growing, introduces us to a whole world of vegetables we may not have previously considered, and does away with alienating gardening jargon once and for all. Mark begins with a catalogue of vegetables that will grow in this country, explaining for each their benefits, what varieties to go for, dos and don'ts, and popular culinary uses. He then invites us to create a wish list of foods, and shows us his own list from his early gardening days. Next, he explains how to turn this wish list into a coherent kitchen garden plan appropriate for our space, whether it be a patch of acidic soil, a roof-top garden or an allotment, whether we put on our wellies in every free moment or are 'time-poor' gardeners. Then he puts all the theory into practice, showing us how to look after nutrients in the soil, how to resist pests and diseases, and how to make our garden sustainable and organic. In clear, concise sections we learn about seed trays, supporting plants with climbing structures, mulching, composting, companion planting, irrigation and promoting pollination, and there are additional tables showing sowing and harvesting times, plant sizes, and alternative varieties of plants for different sites.About thirty recipes and a directory of useful addresses finish the book, and the handbook is complemented by bright colour photography throughout. Practical and inspiring, with a textured hard cover and an introduction by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, "Veg Patch" is destined to join Handbooks No. 1, 2 and 3 as an indispensible household reference.