The Royal Horticultural Society The Half Hour Allotment (first published in 2005) has been a best-selling gardening title for many years. This new edition re-presents the classic in a fresh new illustrated format with hundreds of new photographs and a bright new cover design. The book shows you how to manage your allotment and enjoy fresh vegetables through the year on just half an hour’s work a day with weekends off. It combines expert advice from Lia Leendertz and the Royal Horticultural Society and time-saving ideas for planning the most effective use of your time and energy, giving you something to eat fresh every day of the year and ensure bumper crops in summer! Lia Leendertz, the best-selling author of The Almanac, is an organic gardener with a great sensitivity for the environment so the book is a gentle and thoughtful read as well as being a bible for productive and time-starved gardeners.

This practical and inspirational handbook is aimed at the new generation of gardeners who want to enjoy the taste and health benefits of growing their own food, but who have little time to spare. Expert advice and innovative techniques show you how to grow the right quantities of the fruit and vegetables you love, and enjoy the satisfactions of tending an allotment or vegetable garden without becoming a slave to your plot. Tested by fruit-grower Will Sibley and author Lia Leendertz on their own allotments, these methods will enable you to get the best results in half an hour per day, or even less. The book covers all aspects of allotmenteering and vegetable gardening, including the practicalities of obtaining and maintaining a site, choosing what to grow, designing the plot and advanced projects such as building paths and shelters. A section on harvesting, storing and cooking shows you what to do when your crop is ripe and ready.

Allotment Gardening For Dummies is a lively, hands-on guide to getting the most out of your allotment. Whether you're interested in eating fresh, saving money, getting exercise or enjoying wholesome family fun, this is the guide for you. The step-by-step advice takes you through all the stages in the process, from securing an allotment and preparing your plot, to choosing what to grow and enjoying the benefits of abundant fresh food and a sociable and healthy hobby. With over 50 handy line drawings, plus information on how to grow organic and advice on storing and cooking the food you grow, this guide really does have it all! Allotment Gardening For Dummies includes: Part 1: Getting to Grips with Allotment Gardening Chapter 1: What Are Allotments All About? Chapter 2: Getting hold of an Allotment Chapter 3: Getting Started Part 2: Preparing for Allotment Success Chapter 4: Deciding What to Grow, When Chapter 5: Preparing Your Plot Chapter 6: Keeping Your Soil Healthy Chapter 7: Keeping Your Plants Healthy Chapter 8: Growing Organic Part 3: Growing a Few of Your Favourite Vegetables Chapter 9: Going Underground Chapter 10: The Staples Chapter 11: Growing Leafy Greens Chapter 12: Planting Peas, Beans and Other Pods Chapter 13: Growing More Exotic Veg Part 4: Extending Your Allotment Repetoire Chapter 14: Growing Wholesome Herbs Chapter 15: Growing Fruitful Fruit Chapter 16: Nurturing Flowers on an Allotment Part 5: Getting the Most Out of Your Allotment Chapter 17: Involving Children Around the Allotment Chapter 18: Hobnobbing with Allotment Society Chapter 19: Growing Giant Veg Part 6: The Part of Tens Chapter Chapter 20: Ten Common Accidents and How to Prevent Them Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Revive a Flagging Allotment

A new edition of the bestselling guide to making the most of your allotment, with seasonal advice, essential to-do lists, and more than 60 fruit and vegetable crop planners. Grow fresh, seasonal produce in your allotment or kitchen garden all year round with the bestselling guide from Alan Buckingham. Allotment Month by Month takes the uncertainty out of your harvest with clear, reliable gardening advice for every month of the year. In-depth crop planners show you when to sow and how to cultivate more than 60 herbs, fruit, and vegetables, including kale, rhubarb, spinach, strawberries, and apples. Month-by-month alerts help you guard against the season's garden pests and diseases to ensure a top-quality harvest. Prioritise key garden tasks, learn crop rotation techniques, and try step-by-step garden projects, such as sowing peas in guttering and making your own compost bin. This new edition has updated recommendations for the best varieties to grow and all the latest advice on pesticide use. Ideal for both urban gardeners and seasoned allotment owners, or as self-purchase or gift for first-time vegetable growers, Allotment Month by Month has everything you need to know to make the most of your plot.

Written by the Royal Horticultural Society's foremost fruit and veg experts, RHS Allotment Handbook & Planner provides the lifestyle-changing advice that gardeners need for growing a year-round supply of healthy, edible crops for their garden. With RHS tried-and-tested varieties, this book covers what to grow, how and where to grow it. Exploring best practice growing advice, allotment life and its numerous benefits, this book also includes a month-by-month calendar of tasks to guide gardeners through the year.

Telling the food story of spring, summer, autumn and winter, this is the definitive guide to cooking the right things all through the year. When it comes to the tastiest food, keeping in touch with the rhythm of nature allows us to cook the most delicious recipes with the freshest, most flavoursome ingredients. Each dish is a celebration of the best of local British produce, from Fishcakes with Wilted Chard, Red Pepper and Feta Fritters, Rocket Pesto with Sirloin and Panna cotta with Poached Rhubarb, The Allotment Cookbook follows seasonal produce to restore a natural way of eating. You don't need to have an allotment or big kitchen garden to enjoy this book; although all the ingredients can be found in the shops, have a go at growing your own in the garden, in a scrap of ground or in a pot on a windowsill - it's so easy and is one of life's most satisfying pleasures. The Allotment Cookbook is a joyful guide to a sustainable and nourishing way of life.

The ultimate guide for all keen gardeners and allotmenteers - The Allotment Almanac by BBC Radio 2 gardener Terry Walton gives key advice on what to do each month, key crops, main tasks and top tips of varieties and is shot through with distilled hard-won experience. Entertaining and informative, you won't need anything else! 'The perfect companion for any allotmenteer, and with Terry Walton, you can't go wrong. His friendly advice will guide you each month, with exactly what you should do on your plot' -- English Garden 'This super little book... for all keen gardeners, especially allotmenteers, who will appreciate the tales but also get some useful tips' -- Kitchen Garden 'What a lovely little book. Takes you through month by month and really well illustrated. Really pleased with it' -- ***** Reader review 'The only companion you will need in the allotment' -- ***** Reader review 'A VERY good book, written from the heart, by a knowledgeable gardener' -- ***** Reader review 'A must-have for gardeners' -- ***** Reader review 'As you read this book you feel Terry at your side chatting to you as if on the plot together - a real joy' -- ***** Reader review **************************************************************************************** From a gardener who has been working on his allotment for over 50 years, this is a brilliant guide to organic vegetable growing and allotment life in general. Month-by-month BBC Radio 2 gardener Terry Walton give us invaluable advice on: - things to do each month - what to watch out for - key crops for the month - top variety tips In addition to this, he peppers this with tales of life on his allotment, creating a charming and heart-warming guide. Taking the gardening reader by the hand and leading them through the gardening year, Terry is the perfect companion, giving technical help, quick tips, reassurance, and plenty of entertainment along the way. What are you waiting for?

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 revolutionize 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 minimizing 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.

With hardly any previous veg-growing experience and even less time, when Gardener's World design guru Joe Swift decided to take on a 250 sq metre allotment in north London, some people thought he was mad. But with hard work and dedication, in less than a year Joe created his very own urban oasis and a source of delicious, fresh, organic produce for himself and his family. In this book Joe takes us through every stage of his education as an allotment gardener, from putting his name on the council waiting list to harvesting his first crops. He reveals everything he's learned about acquiring a plot, clearing the site, planning the beds, and planting, nurturing and protecting his fruit and vegetables. All the techniques he has mastered are described and illustrated, step by step. Joe also introduces us to his Veg Heroes like Monty Don and Geoff Hamilton - fellow plot-holders with years of experience and the crops to show for it - who inspired Joe to take up veg growing in the first place. And he shares with us his enjoyment of allotment gardening, the combination of hard work, fresh air and a sense of community that makes his plot such a special place to be. Whether you are an established allotment gardener or are thinking of putting your name down for a plot, Joe's Allotment will provide you with a wealth of advice and inspiration.

'Clever... valuable introduction to the study of plant science.' - Gardeners Illustrated RHS Botany for Gardeners is more than just a useful reference book on the science of botany and the language of horticulture - it is a practical, hands-on guide that will help gardeners understand how plants grow, what affects their performance, and how to get better results. Illustrated throughout with beautiful botanical prints and simple diagrams, RHS Botany for Gardeners provides easy-to-understand explanations of over 3,000 botanical words and terms, and show how these can be applied to everyday gardening practice. For easy navigation, the book is divided into thematic chapters covering everything from Plant Pests, and further subdivided into useful headings such as 'Seed Sowing' and 'Pruning'. 'Botany in Action' boxes provide instantly accessible practical tips and advice, and feature spreads profile the remarkable individuals who collected, studied and illustrated the plants that we grow today. Aided by this book, gardeners will unlock the wealth of information that lies within the intriguing world of botanical science - and their gardens will thrive as a result. This is the perfect gift for any gardener. Contents Includes... The Plant kingdom Growth, Form and Function Inner Workings Reproduction The Beginning of Life External Factors Pruning Botany and the Senses Pest, Diseases and Disorders Botanists and Botanical Illustration ... And Much More!