I'm SO going to be into fruit growing this coming year so I decided to invest in a comprehensive guide. My garden designer recommended this one as one of the best on the market and she's not wrong. It's very thorough and great for a fruit beginner.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37826 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-28
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

Synopsis
Taking a fresh look at kitchen gardens, this definitive guide provides the latest advice and specialist tips from the RHS team of experts on growing healthy and tasty crops. Using a blend of cutting-edge, organic and traditional techniques specifically chosen for their simplicity and reliability, this accessible volume is essential for all kitchen gardeners. Whether you want to grow celeriac, basil or sweet cherries, the step-by-step images show exactly how to plant, care for and harvest a wide range of crops. Clear explanations of the basics of kitchen gardening describe everything from planning and crop rotation to composting and weeding. Also included is a calendar to make month-by-month planning simple, together with information on average crop yields, sowing and harvesting times, and pest and disease control. This is a valuable handbook on successful growing for everyone who wants to sample the delights of fresh, home-grown produce.

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Customer Reviews

A truely excellent book, worth every penny
What a great book! Loads of detail about the things you really need to know. So much better than the average glossy 'picture' book about gardening. I reckon this book would pay for itself in no time in increased yields of a better quality crop from your allotment or kitchen garden.
It gives you the knowledge and confidence to try things you wouldn't otherwise tackle. I'm going to try to espalier some apple saplings based on this book. And also try growing other vegetables than the usual spuds, onions and carrots.
Excellent, can't recommend it highly enough.

Another RHS book to recommend
As a novice allotment holder, I went searching for books on vegetable growing to complement the RHS Encyclopedia of Gardening that I already had. This book turned up, and has a lot to recommend it if you want good solid information on what to grow where, and how to grow it. It also tells you when to sow or plant, and problems you may encounter, with extra information over and above what is in the previous more general book.
Another good point is that there are sections with up to date recommended varieties in, and the problem solving section is more geared to giving both organic solutions and our more and more restricted choices of pesticides and herbicides, which is where the older RHS books now show their age.
It's only drawback could possibly be that it's more text-oriented than a lot of modern books, having relatively few photographs in it. I found this useful, as you are buying information rather than glossy pictures. If it's pics you are after, then there are other books around which would probably suit better, and this stops me giving it a 5.