A colourful illustrated story about Elliot and his dad growing their own vegetables to make a delicious soup - and finding that a gardening adventure involves more than welly boots and sowing seeds. Digging for treasure, pirates, a friendly neighbour and hordes of wildlife intent on eating the crops. All for a small pot of broth... Dad suggests that Elliot can help in the garden to grow what they need to make a big pot of broth. Elliot, (aided by his mum, big sister and brother), sets out enthusiastically to give his dad assistance - clad, of course, in his welly boots, just like a proper gardener. But Elliot's good intentions begin to go astray as his imagination takes over from garden duties. Digging in the back garden leads to finding all sort of 'treasure', and he is soon picturing himself as a Victorian Gent complete with watch chain, a Roman Centurion, and a Pictish warrior. Helping Dad build the raised beds, Elliot becomes a pirate walking the plank. Weeds? These are dinosaur food. As the shoots begin to grow, they have hopes and dreams for a bumper harvest. And when the beans begin to sprout, Elliot pictures himself climbing a giant beanstalk. Elliot discovers the nest of a field-mouse, and when Robert Burns is duly quoted, we realise that the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley. As the garden flourishes, we discover that a variety of wildlife is just as interested in eating what is growing all around, as Elliot is. Perhaps this gardening project will not quite go according to plan ... To protect his crops from being is being eaten by the local birds, mice and rabbits, Elliot bravely volunteers to stand guard overnight in his homemade tent. Armed with his torch and a flask of cocoa, he soon finds the spooky noises of the evening send his imagination soaring again. The distant hooting owl, the cry of the fox, the cat rustling in the undergrowth - even the fluttering bats - quickly see him run for safety indoors. However with the garden protected by nets and windmills to scare off crows, the crops recover a little. The family harvest what is left to make the soup, including tiny beetroot, some thin-looking leeks and some wonky-shaped carrots. "They'll be fine once they're chopped up and in the broth!" declares Dad. Instead of the huge pot of broth that Elliot had imagined, there is just enough to fill their smallest pot. Dad remains upbeat: "Well, it's enough to give everyone a taste." However the day is saved by their next-door green-thumbed neighbour, who comes to rescue with an armful of carrots and leeks from her own garden. The family then gets busy cleaning the vegetables, chopping and stirring. The big pot is needed after all ... and Elliot sits down at last to enjoy his home-grown broth.

An Orchard Odyssey is a gloriously illustrated resource for fruit-lovers everywhere. Packed with inspirational ideas and practical advice, it shows how orchard living can be incorporated into every lifestyle, no matter how busy or short of space you are. Covering fruit in the environment, orchard heritage, and the role of the trees in garden and landscape design, An Orchard Odyssey shows you how to plant and care for your trees. Full of inspiring facts and promoting the 'five trees' orchard principle, it redefines what an orchard is.

In common with other titles in this series, this volume describes the scientific principles that are the bases of crop production practices. This volume focuses on the leafy salad vegetables: lettuce, endive and chicory. It opens with a review of world production data, crop uses, botany, taxonomy and evolution. It then describes the genetics and breeding of the crop, including cultivar development and germplasm resources. Physiological aspects, such as germination, growth and development, are then discussed. Production methods worldwide, including growing under cover in protected environments, are reviewed, before consideration of harvesting and seeds, pests and diseases, and economics and marketing. The book is written by one of the world 's leading authorities on the subject and will be indispensable for advanced students and growers in horticulture.

The two closely related species of Potato Cyst-Nematodes (PCN), Globodera rostochiensis (Woll) and Globodera pallida Stone have a worldwide distribution. Both are internationally recognized plant quarantine organisms of actual or potential major economic importance wherever potatoes are grown or traded. They occur in large soil masses and also adhere to potato tubers as microscopic cysts, which represent a complex of morphologically identical, but behaviourally different virulence groups, or pathotypes. This presents major problems for their detection, identification and management. This book is a synthesis of current practical knowledge and underpinning scientific research on PCN globally. It is arranged in five sections, comprising nineteen chapters by leading practitioners and research nematologists, in which the biology, detection, identification and control options (including plant resistance) for PCN are examined. In addition, its worldwide status is considered, including South America, where PCN co-evolved with its potato host. Essential information is provided for professionals and advanced students of plant nematology and crop protection.

The standard guide to fruit-growing success.

Despite the harsh climate that prevails in the Upper Midwest, even amateur gardeners can successfully grow fruit when armed with some basic information. Focusing on Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota, Growing Fruit in the Upper Midwest is a practical how-to guide to the cultivation of a wide variety of fruit including apples, pears, plums, apricots, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, grapes, currants, gooseberries, and brambles.

To assist readers ranging from home gardeners to small commercial growers, Don Gordon covers site selection, soil types, pruning, fertilization, harvesting, pests, and preventing winter injury as well as describing literally hundreds of excellent species for this region. Many technical aspects of pruning and planting are accompanied with illustrations. Growing Fruit in the Upper Midwest includes maps that indicate the fruit hardiness zones for each state, augmented by an easy-to-use guide to cultivar selection.

The introduction is a basic botany lesson, covering plant classifications, growth and development. The section on apple growing, by far the most widely adapted fruit species in this region, will help growers decide which types of trees will thrive on their land. Gordon also provides an overview of interesting and overlooked historic and economic aspects of fruit production across the Upper Midwest.

This practical guide is essential reading for home gardeners, small commercial growers, and anyone who has considered this rewarding and fascinating hobby.

"The concise information about plant care will assist even the most inexperienced gardener. This book is an excellentreference tool, and I would recommend it highly to anyone growing fruit in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota or South Dakota". Rochester Post Bulletin

This book presents a directory of varieties and how to cultivate them successfully. It is an illustrated gardener's guide to the different varieties of shoots, peas and beans, their history and cooking uses. It includes step-by-step instructions for preparing the soil, sowing under glass, and harvesting and storing. It offers practical advice on cultivating asparagus, celery, celeriac, globe artichokes, rhubarb, seakale, peas, runner beans, French (green) beans and broad beans. It includes helpful hints on how to avoid pests and diseases, and what to do when problems occur. Shoots, peas and beans are some of the choicest and most delicious of the many vegetable crops available to the kitchen gardener. In this book, the main types are described and illustrated, with useful information about the varieties that can be grown, their history, cultivation requirements and cooking uses. There is key advice on improving your soil, making compost and preparing the vegetable bed. A section on practical cultivation explains how to grow and care for each type of vegetable, from sowing to harvest.A must for the novice grower, the book also provides information for the experienced gardener who wants to experiment with new varieties.

Many of us want to increase our self-sufficiency, but few have access to the ideal five sunny, gently sloping acres of rich, loamy, well-drained soil. Jenni Blackmore presents a highly entertaining, personal account of how permaculture can be practiced in adverse conditions, allowing anyone to learn to live more sustainably in a less-than-perfect world. With a rallying cry of "If we can do it, you can too," she distills the wisdom of twenty years of trial and error into a valuable teaching tool. The perfect antidote to dense, high-level technical manuals, Permaculture for the Rest of Us presents the fundamental principles of this sometimes confusing concept in a humorous, reader-friendly way. Each chapter focuses on a specific method or technique, interspersing straightforward explanations with the author's own experiences. Learn how to successfully retrofit even the smallest homestead using skills such as: No-till vs. till gardening, composting, and soil-building Natural pest control and integrating small livestock Basic greenhouse construction Harvesting, preservation, and more Ideal for urban dreamers, suburbanites and country-dwellers alike, this inspirational and instructional "encouragement manual" is packed with vibrant photographs documenting the author's journey from adversity to abundance. Jenni Blackmore is a farmer, artist, writer and certified Permaculture Design Consultant who built her house on a rocky, windswept island off the coast of Nova Scotia almost twenty-five years ago and has been stumbling along the road to self-sufficient living ever since. A successful micro-farmer, she produces most of her family's meat, eggs, fruit, and vegetables, in spite of often-challenging conditions.

' How to Grow Plants from Seeds is a great little book - a hand-holding, step-by-step guide with clear pictures and instructions. It demystifies the process and covers flowers as well as vegetables and herbs. A most useful present for anyone wanting to get started on sowing seeds.' Country Living 'Whether you want to grow a cutting garden or a harvest of fresh produce, discover the basic rules for success.' The Garden How To Grow Plants From Seeds does away, once and for all, with the idea that there's something difficult about growing direct from seed. There's no need to rely on the professionals to raise seedlings for you: seeds are not only cheap to buy and environmentally friendly but, if you follow a few basic rules, they're also fantastically rewarding, not least because a single packet will usually leave you with plenty of spares to swap with fellow enthusiasts. Whether you're a novice or an experienced gardener, if you want to nurture an impressive cutting garden or aim to have a bounteous harvest of fruit and vegetables, here's what you need to know, presented in a straightforward and accessible way. You'll discover the basic rules for different seeds, their sowing preferences (Indoor, under cover or direct- to-plot? Surface-sow or cover up? Water or spray?), how long they take to germinate, and how to prick out, pot on and raise your infant plants to become sturdy, productive adults. The book opens with a basic primer showing how seeds work, to give every grower the best chance at success. This is followed by extensive chapters on raising food and flowers from seed with plenty of detailed plant profiles included, and finally there's a guide to collecting seeds from your plants and how to save and swap - so that you, too, can become a seed evangelist.

Home Harvest: Your Pocket Guide to Kitchen Gardening is a practical, fun and easy-to-read deck of cards that will help you plant and grow your own kitchen garden. Growing vegetables sounds like a daunting task if you've never done it before, but it's actually very simple. Including gardening 101 tips plus instructions for growing vegetables, herbs and flowers, Home Harvest breaks down the basics of growing your own food. The deck is divided into four sections: Gardening 101, Veggies, Herbs and Flowers. The gardening 101 cards help you start your garden from scratch, offer advice on keeping it healthy and abundant, and introduce you to the common garden enemies with tips on managing them. You will also learn how to entice all the friendly critters needed for a healthy ecosystem. Each veggie, herb and flower card has growing and planting information, plus handy cooking tips and fun facts. In Home Harvest the farmers behind Kinsfolk Farm guide you through the process of planting, growing and eating veggies from your very own patch of soil - as simple as that! The card format is perfect for gardening because you can take one card out to the garden at a time instead of lugging a book around. Each card is beautifully illustrated by the phenomenal Edith Rewa, making this a stunning gift for every gardener in your life.

Allotments are places to grow food - but they are so much more than that. They are also places that encourage spontaneity, exploration, learning, sharing, restful activity and camaraderie. This book is a celebration of the allotment hut and the wonderful invention and resourcefulness that makes each one unique. The original illustrations offer inspiration for how to create your own, very special shed. This is the ideal gift book for allotment folk, gardeners or those curious about the quirkier side of life.

*Winner of the Garden Media Guild's The Peter Seabrook Practical Book of the Year Award 2022 From the creator of the wildly popular website "Vertical Veg" and with over 200k people in his online community of growers, comes the complete guide to growing delicious fruit, vegetables, herbs, and salad in containers, pots, and more--in any space, from window boxes to garden yards, no matter how small! "[A] thorough and enthusiastic guide to vegetable gardening . . . both handy and hefty...Aspiring urban gardeners will want to give this a look."--Publishers Weekly If you long to grow your own tomatoes, zucchini, or strawberries, but thought you didn't have enough space, Mark Ridsdill Smith, aka the "Vertical Veg Man," will show you how to make the most of walls, balconies, patios, arches, and windowsills. Ridsdill Smith has spent over ten years teaching people to grow bountiful, edible crops in all kinds of containers in small spaces. Inside The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening, you'll find: Mark's "Eight Steps to Success" How to make the most of your space How to draw up a planning calendar so you can grow throughout the year Planting projects for beginners Compost recipes and wormery guide for the more experienced gardener Troubleshoots for specific challenges of growing in small spaces How growing food at home can contribute to wellbeing and the local community With quick, proven results from his own tests, failures, and successes, Mark will show you how gardening in containers is not just a hobby, but a way of creating a significant amount of delicious, low-cost, high nutrition food. Don't be confined by the space you have--grow all the food you want with Mark's Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening.

In this truly innovative book Lucy Hutchings – aka She Grows Veg – proves that vegetable gardening doesn't always require outdoor space.

Through clever uses of space and containers, understanding of growing conditions and a unique, design-led approach, Lucy showcases how anyone can grow pretty much anything in their back garden, courtyard, balcony or kitchen.

Lucy creates 19 projects, from living vegetable walls and hydroponics basics, to indoor greenhouses and hanging herb racks that have all the decorative style and visual interest of ornamental house plants.

With step-by-step illustrations and stunning photography, with Get Up and Grow, you can go from gardening novice to growing pro in a matter of weeks. Lucy is blazing a trail for new-wave gardening with a mantra of anything is possible, for anyone.

There are twenty million acres of lawns in North America. In their current form, these unproductive expanses of grass represent a significant financial and environmental cost. However, viewed through a different lens, they can also be seen as a tremendous source of opportunity. Access to land is a major barrier for many people who want to enter the agricultural sector, and urban and suburban yards have huge potential for would-be farmers wanting to become part of this growing movement. The Urban Farmer is a comprehensive, hands-on, practical manual to help you learn the techniques and business strategies you need to make a good living growing high-yield, high-value crops right in your own backyard (or someone else's). Major benefits include: Low capital investment and overhead costs Reduced need for expensive infrastructure Easy access to markets Growing food in the city means that fresh crops may travel only a few blocks from field to table, making this innovative approach the next logical step in the local food movement. Based on a scalable, easily reproduced business model, The Urban Farmer is your complete guide to minimizing risk and maximizing profit by using intensive production in small leased or borrowed spaces. Curtis Stone is the owner/operator of Green City Acres, a commercial urban farm growing vegetables for farmers markets, restaurants, and retail outlets. During his slower months, Curtis works as a public speaker, teacher, and consultant, sharing his story to inspire a new generation of farmers.

Jean-Marie Lespinasse and Evelyne Leterme, fruit tree specialists based in France, explain the unique conditions and requirements of fifteen different types of trees almond, apple, apricot, cherry, chestnut, fig, grape, hazelnut, kiwi, olive, peach, pear, plum, quince, and walnut. From understanding climatic limitations and tree morphology to selecting rootstock varieties and mastering fertilization technique, principles of training, and proper harvesting methods, this manual provides an in-depth study of fruit tree cultivation for landscape designers, arborists, horticulturalist, and serious gardeners alike. By respecting the natural characteristics and habits of the trees, you will learn sensitive, effective interventions to ensure strong, healthy fruit tree development. Technical details are elegantly and clearly illustrated in more than 300 full-color photographs and drawings, supplemented by a comprehensive glossary and resource list."