Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26067 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Review
I would recommend this book to anyone who is tempted to take on an allotment, whether they are short of time to spend on it or not. . . good value for money and will be referred to again and again. (Gardens Illustrated )

Full of ideas for how to cut down the time you need to spend on your plot while still aiming for top-class results. (Pippa Greenwood Daily Mirror )

Easy to follow and eminently practical. (BBC Countryfile )

Cleanslate, 2006
Great for the first time allotmenteer.

About the Author
Lia Leendertz studied horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, and writes for various publications including the Guardian and The Garden.

Customer Reviews

Different ideas but I like it
Most modern veg gardening books tend to go over the same stuff and offer the same old advice but this one looks at things from a different angle. It gives good basic information for new growers and plenty of encouragement but some of the advice (buying plants as opposed to sowing seed yourself for instance) is fairly unusuall and it shows the pros and cons of both the old and their new methods.
Interesting, even though I don't agree with a few of their ideas

Best gardening book I've read in ages
I liked this book lots. It's full of practical advice, principally for allotment holders, but the ideas can be applied to your garden.
Some of it so obvious you think 'why didn't I do this before?'
The crux of the book is that you dedicate 30 mins, 5 days a week to your allotment/garden, with weekends off. Or you dedicate the same time, 2.5 hours at weekends.
It advises that you plan what you do with your time, and you grow high value crops, as opposed to the run of the mill variety you can get in your local shops.
I've been gardening for years, but haven't done much with fruit and veg, so this year I'm applying what I've read. So far, the results have been encouraging with far less guilt, stress and strains.
Almost anyone can find 30 mins, and on a regular basis it can make a big impact on almost any plot.
Great book.

the best investment a new plotholder can make
We had an allotment previously for five years which we had to give up for various reasons - not least the amount of work involved. We now have a new plot and even with all our previous experience - or perhaps because of it- I have found this book an invaluable resource. I know we want to get it right from the start this time and I have a pretty good idea where we went wrong last time, but even so seeing it all explained so clearly and in such a well structured way as it is in this book has really given me a lot of confidence in the systems we're putting in place and the information I need to do it.

Yes, the bit about using plug plants is a bit controversial but eminently sensible arguments are given for doing so. If you don't want to follow every word of advice in the book of course you don't have to - but at least you're asked to think through the decisions you're making in terms of effort put in and what you'll get back. We've put gooseberries in which aren't recommended but we love them and are happy to put in a bit more effort for that particular crop.

Thank you! I cannot recommend this book highly enough to a new or returning plotholder.