' 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.

When it comes to fresh vegetables, nothing comes close to growing your own - but where to start? For those of us that crave the crisp taste of home-grown tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and more but lack the crucial experience and know-how, it can be difficult to make those first steps to transform a barren patch into a luscious kitchen garden - even for experienced gardeners, the move from decorative gardening to practical vegetable growing can prove tricky. Gardeners' World: First Time Veg Grower can help you make that journey, with simple and practical expert advice from the moment you first don your wellies right up until you're harvesting your own crops. With step-by-step guides and clear colour illustrations helping you to get the most out of your plot all year round, this compact guide is an essential addition to any gardener's shelf. From preparing your ground to sowing, nurturing and maintaining your plants, let the practiced hands at the UK's best-selling gardening magazine help you create the vegetable patch of your dreams.

Dig into eco-gardening and cultivate your green thumb. Discover how to care for the planet while you care for your garden. This is your no-fuss guide to planet-friendly gardening. Do you want a beautiful and productive garden that won't cost the earth but don't know where to start? This wildlife gardening book for beginners will introduce you to all aspects of sustainable gardening. It includes a wide selection of recommended plants including trees, climbers, and wildflowers, to help encourage local biodiversity in your garden. Whether you're growing in pots on your patio or have a fully-fledged garden, this organic gardening book explores everything you need to know to create your own eco-garden. Discover how to minimise garden waste and make soil-building compost. Learn how to do your bit to reduce your carbon footprint and make a positive contribution to slowing down climate change. You don't have to be a horticulture expert to get started, this indispensable reference book will take you through every single step! It includes: - Tips on how to turn your outdoor space into a refuge for local wildlife - Packed with practical, jargon-free know-how and simple gardening techniques - Easy-to-follow format to help grow your gardening knowledge Let It Grow! Gorgeous, full-colour photography provides plenty of inspiration and environmentally-friendly ideas. Expert tips and step-by-step instructions on every page guide you on how to be more sustainable and why it's important. Grow Eco Gardening covers everything you need to work in harmony with nature. It's the perfect book for beginner gardeners who want to do their bit for the climate. Complete the Series: Make your green-fingered dreams a reality with the Grow series from DK. Learn how to brighten up even the trickiest areas in Grow Containers, or discover how to prune your garden in Grow Pruning & Training. Alternatively, there are more titles to explore such as Grow Easy Veg and Grow Houseplants.

Selected as a Book of the Year 2017 in You Magazine 'A lavish monthly guide to getting the most from your garden' Daily Mail A punnet of plums from your tree, a handful of gooseberries; home-grown nuts and herbs, and a few freshly laid eggs from your hens - all enjoyed in your own small plot. What could be more satisfying? The Garden Farmer is an evocative journal and monthly guide to getting the most out of your garden throughout the year. Whether you are a keen gardener looking for inspiration, or just starting out and wanting to rediscover and reclaim your patch of earth, Sunday Telegraph garden-columnist Francine Raymond lays the groundwork for a bountiful year of garden farming. Maybe you would like to get outside more, grow a few essential vegetables, some fruit trees or bushes for preserving, and create a scented kitchen garden to provide for you year round. Or perhaps you will raise a small flock of ducks or geese, or even a couple of pigs? Could this be the year you decorate your home with nature's adornments, encourage wildlife back to pollinate your trees and plants, and spend celebratory hours in a haven of your own creation? Each chapter of The Garden Farmer offers insight into the topics and projects you might be contemplating that month, along with planting notes and timely advice, and a recipe that honours the fruits of your labour. With just a little effort and planning, every garden can be tended in tune with nature, and every gardener can enjoy a host of seasonal delights from their own soil. Keep up-to-date with Francine's gardening adventures on her blog at kitchen-garden-hens.co.uk.

Allotments are a much-loved part of every British city, town and many villages. At the height of their popularity around the Second World War, allotments were increasingly neglected towards the end of the twentieth century, but are now in the throes of a full-scale revival. Many allotments now have long waiting lists, and allotment keeping has become a fashionable hobby. This book explores the fascinating story of the allotment, from its roots in the Diggers of the seventeenth century to the influence of 'food miles' and GM. It includes insights into quirky rules and regulations, murder and looting, and even art and opera on the allotment. Drawing on archival and contemporary material, this richly illustrated book considers both the history and the future of the not-so-humble allotment. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with allotments in all their variety.

The sweet potato is at present grown in more than 100 of the independent countries of the world. Most of the producer nations are situated in the tropical developing world where a high proportion of the poorest people live. Increasing recognition of the potential which sweet potato holds for combating food shortages and malnutrition has resulted in intensified research efforts to enhance production and consumption. This book reviews our knowledge about the varied aspects of the sweet potato as a human food and animal feedstuff. This volume will be found practical and informative by all those involved in food and nutrition sciences, especially but not exclusively in developing countries. These include research workers in food or agriculture, dieticians, nutritionists, food technologists, students, planners and policy makers.

Join the food revolution with this beautifully illustrated diary of a year in the vegetable patch. Month by month you will learn how to create a space that gives you fresh, wholesome fruit and veg that tastes far better than anything you can find in the shops. Michael Kelly's down-to-earth, informative accounts of his own growing year impart hard-earned wisdom and inspiration for you to do the same. His expert advice will guide you whether you are a complete beginner or a more experienced grower, and regardless of the amount of space you have. From feeding your soil and saving seeds, to taking cuttings and preserving your produce, you will learn how to get it right in an Irish climate. And, best of all, each month features delicious recipes so that you can feast on the results of your work.

Growing Self-Sufficiency is a practical and inspirational guide for both the beginner and the experienced gardener. It explains how you can enjoy the satisfaction and pride of providing food for yourself and your family, whether you have just a small balcony or back yard, a large garden, or a homestead or smallholding. Learn how to: Enjoy fresh and tasty vegetables in season Grow delicious fruit for eating all year round Produce your own chicken, eggs and lamb, guaranteed free from harmful chemicals and additives Preserve your produce - from freezing and drying to making jams, chutneys and pickles Make your own drinks: juices, cordials, cider, wine and liqueurs Grow medicinal herbs and make your own herbal remedies Provide more food from your plot than you ever thought possible!

Books on container gardening have been wildly popular with urban and suburban readers, but until now, there has been no comprehensive "how-to" guide for growing fresh food in the absence of open land. Fresh Food from Small Spaces fills the gap as a practical, comprehensive, and downright fun guide to growing food in small spaces. It provides readers with the knowledge and skills necessary to produce their own fresh vegetables, mushrooms, sprouts, and fermented foods as well as to raise bees and chickens--all without reliance on energy-intensive systems like indoor lighting and hydroponics.

Readers will learn how to transform their balconies and windowsills into productive vegetable gardens, their countertops and storage lockers into commercial-quality sprout and mushroom farms, and their outside nooks and crannies into whatever they can imagine, including sustainable nurseries for honeybees and chickens. Free space for the city gardener might be no more than a cramped patio, balcony, rooftop, windowsill, hanging rafter, dark cabinet, garage, or storage area, but no space is too small or too dark to raise food.

With this book as a guide, people living in apartments, condominiums, townhouses, and single-family homes will be able to grow up to 20 percent of their own fresh food using a combination of traditional gardening methods and space-saving techniques such as reflected lighting and container "terracing." Those with access to yards can produce even more.

Author R. J. Ruppenthal worked on an organic vegetable farm in his youth, but his expertise in urban and indoor gardening has been hard-won through years of trial-and-error experience. In the small city homes where he has lived, often with no more than a balcony, windowsill, and countertop for gardening, Ruppenthal and his family have been able to eat at least some homegrown food 365 days per year. In an era of declining resources and environmental disruption, Ruppenthal shows that even urban dwellers can contribute to a rebirth of local, fresh foods.