Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Njal on January 16, 2009, 17:21
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I know there is a lot of information on the internet but I like to have a book for reference.
Since I started growing veg about 5 years ago I have managed with The Vegetable Expert by Hessayon which seems woefully out of date.
Now that I have an allotment to fill I thought of getting a better book.
A search on "allotment" or "vegetable" on amazon lists dozens of decent looking books and I'm overwhelmed.
What I need is one with information about what can be grown when, with info about varieties and if possible on how to make the most efficient use of space i.e. planting early maturing crops in and amongst later maturing ones.
Please help!
Thanks,
Nial.
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Before someone else posts it:
http://www.allotment-garden.org/book/index.php
Personally I like Dr. Hessayon's (and in fact requested another one for Christmas as my brother-in-law has snaffled my old one) but yes it is a bit dated (even the updated version).
Andi Clevely's "The Allotment Book" is very good.
I'd pop into Waterstone's and browse - and then order online :oops:
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johns book is defenitly a good one to start with it has everything you need to get you going
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My first book was a bargain from a charity shop - John Seymour's Gardening Book (for kids). Great illustrations - but harking back to 1978! My all-time favourite (another bargain, old stock sold by library) is Your Kitchen Garden by Andrew Bicknell, 1995 edition. It is laid out very well, with all the pertinent information under subheadings, and includes how to cook/freeze each veg, and how to grow it (if poss) in a container, plus varieties. In my opinion it is excellent. I expect you can do a search on Amazon and get a 2nd hand copy.
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Before someone else posts it:
http://www.allotment-garden.org/book/index.php
Ah yes, I'd seen that one on amazon and it was in my "top two" although I haven't ordered yet.
May buy one online and then browse the charity shops next time I'm in town, as the more the better, usually.
By the way, Hessayon also includes cooking tips but this is the most out-dated aspect of the book!
He even says garlic is a stranger to our kitchens!
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my fave reference books -
Grow your own veg by Carol Klein
The Allotment handbook by Caroline Foley
and Composting by Liz Ball
All full of usefull info,i dont really look any further than these.
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Apart from John's, I've got "the organic allotment" from chase orgaincs, and the Readers Digest "food from your garden" which is so well read it's starting to fall to bit's if you can get the older version it's got the section on poultry, bee's brewing pickling etc and I know poultry and bees is missing from the new one. It's also very good for telling you how much to expect from your crop, and has loads of lovely recipes too.
I've also got the Veg expert which is good but after that all the ones I've got cover nearly everything. An inspirational read is "cost effective self sufficiency or the middle class peasant" oldish book out of print but available at amazon, it's brill. :D
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Hessayon is a bit too keen on chemicals for my liking too.
Don't know whether I'll be able to maintain 100% organic but he recommends reaching for the bottle for everything!
Anyone read this one?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grow-Your-Own-Vegetables-Larkcom/dp/071121963X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232126178&sr=8-5
Seems like a decent one?
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By the way, Hessayon also includes cooking tips but this is the most out-dated aspect of the book!
He even says garlic is a stranger to our kitchens!
I know. Always makes me laugh too.
Hessayon is a bit too keen on chemicals for my liking too.
Oh I agree but I was suprised by how much I missed it after BIL swiped it!
I've also got the Readers Digest book Richy recommends but without the bees and poulty bit. I wouln't be without that one either. I've got a "Vegetables for Small Gardens" by Joy Larkhom which is very good for me. I haven't got the "Grow your own Vegetables" one ought to be decent.
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I have a shelf full of gardening books incl those inherited from my father and my father in law. But which one is always out on the kitchen table and a constant source of information and guidance ------ John's. The others are all on the shelf somewhere
The only other one that gets much use is Dr Hessayon's simply because it is so quick to use for spacings, depths etc. It is up in the tool shed.
Enuff said
R
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I have a shelf full of gardening books incl those inherited from my father and my father in law. But which one is always out on the kitchen table and a constant source of information and guidance ------ John's. The others are all on the shelf somewhere
The only other one that gets much use is Dr Hessayon's simply because it is so quick to use for spacings, depths etc. It is up in the tool shed.
Enuff said
R
we just bought johns book and vegetable gardening by joy larcomb - between them they pretty much cover everyting we need , although my old dear did give me a copy of hessayon also
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I'v got loads of gardening books. Before i took an interest in lotte and gardening [only 5 years] I used to get socks and pants for chrissy/birthday pressies. Now , you've guessed it
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Vegetable Garden Displayed (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vegetable-Garden-Displayed-Horticultural-Society/dp/0900629134/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232143457&sr=1-2)
Joy LArkom updated this book for the RHS I however prefer and still use this old edition from 1942 I also have a couple of other prints of it. It has surprisingly not really dated at all and is very straightforward and as you can see can be got for 1p. A brilliant book that shows all techniques from preparing the ground, sowing, manuring quantities etc.
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I got both Klein's 'Grow your own veg' and Titchmarsh's effort for Christmas and like them both, although they're quite, hmmm, introductory, i guess.
I also really like Allotment Gardening by Susan Berger (Green Books, 2005)
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I believe John is bringing out a further book, this one is much more about allotment gardening so it's worth keeping an eye open for that when he puts information on the site nearer the time :wink:
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It's great to see that some of us still use older versions of their reliable reference guides. I'll be trawling ebay for some of those recommendations.
For me Dr. Hessayon is less of a book and more of a bible.
The best thing about it is that you can pop it in your bag and take it to the allotment with you. My copy is covered in dirt and has, on occasion, been held open with trowels and house bricks.
Carole Klein's Grow your Own Veg is excellent and a handy-ish size. Anything RHS related is always a winner for me.
Allan Titchmarsh 's book is huge. It's much prettier than the others but it's size makes it impractical to take to the plot. OK it's a coffee table book. I've only ever read it with my feet up in when it was cold and dark out side. Which is a good thing.
Both of these books are excellent for a novice like me.
John Harrison's book is great. Another one that will fit in your bag.
To help with this years projects I have also recently bought Dr Hessayon's three books on Green houses pests and fruit. Currently all three books cost less than £7 each new on the mighty Amazon. Used they are even cheaper.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=flatten%3D1%26search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Hessayon&x=22&y=24
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Organic Gardening by HDRA, Fruit and Vegetable Garening RHS book, The Complete Book of Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit by Matthew Biggs (a fascinating read too) or Organic Gardening by my hero Geoff Hamilton are all good. I find that every good book has bits that you can learn from and also each one has a bit of info that you haven't read before. Just read as many as you can find (charity shops are good for bargains) and go with your instinct as to which is the method that best suits you. Good luck and happy reading!
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We have this;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grow-Your-Own-Vegetables-Larkcom/dp/071121963X
Which has become our bible;we also have some others by Bob Flowerdew(the better half even got one of them signed :roll: ),Monty Don and Geoff Hamilton.We also have some good old wartime books which are very readable but do mention loads of chemicals long since banned.
Might be worthwhile having a look in your local library to see what they have.
Oh and Alan Titchmarshes latest is quite good,easily readable with a lot of common sense;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Gardener-Grow-Your-Fruit/dp/1846072018/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232293801&sr=1-2
And Carol Kleins book is good too,our WH Smiths has it on offer with her veg cookery book as well(can't remember how much though)
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An inspirational read is "cost effective self sufficiency or the middle class peasant" oldish book out of print but available at amazon, it's brill.
Thanks Richy ordered this from Amazon @ £4.99 S/H. Arrived this morning been dipping in and out all day.......will read a bit more this eve.....lot of common sense in there....looks a good un :)
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I've got loads of books, mostly good:
Andi Clevely - Allotment Book + Planner
Food from your garden/allotment - Readers Digest (modern update as well as the original 1974 version!)
The Kitchen Gardner - Alan Titchmarsh
Grow your own (Veg and Fruit) and Journal - Carol Klein
Self Sufficient Gardner - John Seymour
Hessayon...endless, including Veg/Fruit/Greenhouse expert
worth trawling for these ont net, I've just got the Titchmarsh one for £8 and the Carol Klein "Grow your Own Fruit" is currently £4.99 on The book People.co.uk
All recommended for these long winter nights...
Phill
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An inspirational read is "cost effective self sufficiency or the middle class peasant" oldish book out of print but available at amazon, it's brill.
Thanks Richy ordered this from Amazon @ £4.99 S/H. Arrived this morning been dipping in and out all day.......will read a bit more this eve.....lot of common sense in there....looks a good un :)
:D I love that book, when I start loosing my way, I just pick it up and get fired up again, like I said old but still very valid esp in todays economic climate.
Hope it brings you as much pleasure as my copy has me.
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I've got Johns book, John Seymores New Guide to self sufficiency, Vegetable gardeners bible and a load of others including enough gardening mags to fill a doctors waiting room but I've just ordered another book from Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grow-Your-Food-Week-week/dp/1905862113/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232574196&sr=8-1).... can't wait for it to arrive - I know that most of the books have the same or similar advice, I just love reading about different things in different writing styles!
One of the old fellas at the allotment said that you can't learn anything from a gardening book; I'd say that he is wrong because the books are full of useful tips but this site is the best place to get the best advice from! :D
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I would say that the Joy Larkcom is definitely the way to go. It's certainly the most comprehensive information wise. Like John's book - which is also excellent - it's not a coffee table book and has no colour pictures, just heaps of great advice. These are the two books I actually take down the plot to refer to. I have lots of other gardening books - just bought another huge tome today actually - but usually just admire the pretty pictures in them! I'm an absolute bookaholic - I have hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of cookery books and I can see the gardening books going the same way! Hope this helps :)
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Well Joy Larkham's book arrived two days ago and I have been glued to it ever since.
I love the way it is set out, with a stron emphasis on organic or at least minimal chemical intervention.
It had some really good advice on soil and made me realise that one of the main problems in our veg patch is drainage - I dug a spade and a half deep and found solid clay!
So will be removing some of that and putting in drainage measures.
That does explain why our entire garden gets waterlogged despite me digging the whole thing over when I moved in - I just didn't go deep enough!
This book has really got me itching to get at the plot, and I managed an hour there yesterday but the rains have come today unfortunately!
I think Hessayon's book is more useful in terms of sowing and harvesting times, though. I even have The Vegetable Jotter which is even more at-a-glance.