{"id":294,"date":"2010-02-06T15:43:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-06T15:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gsu.eventmedialabs.com\/?p=294"},"modified":"2015-07-21T00:00:03","modified_gmt":"2015-07-20T23:00:03","slug":"gardening-books-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greensideup.ie\/gardening-books-review\/","title":{"rendered":"My Favourite Gardening Books"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

In my quest to keep learning as much as\u00a0possible\u00a0about growing fruit and veg I’m always on the look out for good gardening books. There are so many out there it can be difficult to choose which ones to spend our hard-earned cash on.\u00a0 I’d planned to make this a blog of my top five but found some of them\u00a0really hard to weed out (couldn’t resist).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The following are therefore my current\u00a0favourites.\u00a0 If anybody has any comments, recommendations\u00a0or further suggestions I’d love to hear them.<\/p>\n

This week I’m\u00a0raving about my latest buy:<\/p>\n

“How Does Your Garden Grow” by Chris Beardshaw (published 2007 Dorling Kindersley).\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is\u00a0a fantastic book for anybody who wants to learn a bit more about the science of plants and soil,\u00a0written and laid out in an easy to read fashion with sketches, photos and anecdotes from Chris’ own experiences.\u00a0 Covering topics ranging from plant cells, light and shade through to seasons and ageing, the book covers all the basics of horticulture. I can’t recommend this enough for anybody who wants to learn more about the gardening world,\u00a0subsequently helping them\u00a0to improve their skills.<\/p>\n

Grow Your Own Vegetables by Joy Larkcom (paperback published 2002 Frances Lincoln Ltd).<\/strong><\/p>\n

A guru of fruit and veg, Joy shares her knowledge in this handy sized book packed full of practical information on everything you need to know about growing vegetables.\u00a0 A no-nonsense book (there are\u00a0no glossy photos to be found here) Joy covers all aspects of growing from site, sowing, planning as well as a comprehensive vegetable directory.\u00a0\u00a0I wish I’d known about this book when I started out.<\/p>\n

The New Self-Sufficient Gardener by John Seymour (published 2008 by Dorling Kindersley). <\/strong><\/p>\n

We were bought the original Complete book of Self-Sufficiency as a wedding gift and have often referred to it over the years (although sadly not living by it yet!).\u00a0 The new Self-Sufficient Gardener is a beautifully\u00a0illustrated guide to\u00a0producing your own food.\u00a0 More general and basic than Chris Beardshaw’s book in terms of science, John\u00a0covers the important topics such as the ecology of soil, the edible parts of plants as well as gardening through the year and planning a food-producing garden organically.<\/p>\n

The Plant Propagator’s Bible by Miranda Smith (published 2009 by The Reader’s Digest Association).<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’d love to grow your own plants from seeds, cuttings or division but aren’t sure how, this book has it all.\u00a0 Taking you step by step with illustrations and photo’s\u00a0on\u00a0many\u00a0propagating\u00a0techniques, including grafting, budding and\u00a0layering, this book will save you heaps of cash as you start rearing your own young plants.<\/p>\n

The RHS Pests & Diseases – The Definitive Guide to Prevention and Treatment by Pippa Greenwood & Andrew Halstead (published 2009 by Dorling Kindersley).<\/strong><\/p>\n

A long title but the best book\u00a0I’ve found to date on pests and diseases.\u00a0\u00a0This book has a gallery of colour photos that help to identify problems, as well as\u00a0a comprehensive A – Z of pests, diseases and disorders,\u00a0including the symptoms, cause and control of each problem.\u00a0 Although we garden organically, the section on chemicals\u00a0made interesting reading\u00a0and the chemical-free and biological control\u00a0chapters covered many of the methods used by organic gardeners.<\/p>\n

The Vegetable & Herb Expert by Dr D G Hessayon (published 2002, Transworld Publishers).<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was my first gardening bible and one that was carried to my plot every time I ventured out. I was also given a diary version of this by a close friend but for some reason keep losing it!\u00a0 Although the pages are now falling out I think it’s a must have for beginners, containing illustrations of recommended seed sowing distances, expected yields and soil preparation for each crop.\u00a0 The only downside I’ve found with it is that some of the varieties recommended haven’t always been available in the garden centres (so if you do use it to help you choose a variety suitable for your garden, make sure you write down a second and third choice too!)<\/p>\n

The Garden Expert by Dr D G Hessayon (published 2005, Transworld Publishers).<\/strong> A<\/p>\n

nother handy Hessayon book, this introduction to gardening covers many aspects including putting a name to your soil, improving drainage, digging, fertilising and\u00a0liming amongst many things.\u00a0 A useful reference book, particularly when starting out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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