Product Description

Nothing tastes as good as vegetables freshly gathered from the garden - but how can you ensure that the time and effort you put into growing them does not result in disappointment? "The Gardening Which? Guide to Growing Your Own Vegetables" has the answers. This practical and inspiring guide shows you in words and pictures how to grow some 50 types of vegetable, with selected varieties based on "Gardening Which?" trials and taste tests. The range includes some of the more unusual salad items and exotics now available in supermarkets, and around two dozen herbs. Symbols on each vegetable entry indicate which are easy to grow or high-yielding and a calendar takes you step by step through the planting and harvesting of each vegetable. And you don't need a dedicated vegetable plot or an allotment - many of the vegetables can be grown in containers, borders or raised beds. Pest control, routine soil care, fertilizers, watering, overwintering and the common problems affecting vegetables are covered throughout. Whether you want to be self-sufficient, or just save money on some of the pricier items available in the shops, this guide will help you get the most from your garden.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #521229 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 223 pages

Customer Reviews

Essential and sensible advice for any home grower
This new book from Which? is a very useful addition to my gardening library and I'd also recommend it as a manual for beginners. More than 50 vegetables are covered, with recommended varieties (the result of Which? independent trials) and all the cultural advice you need. It also has a very modern approach: recognising that many of its readers have only a small patch to devote to vegetables, most entries offer advice on container growing, or getting the most from a small space by growing baby veg rather than old-fashioned, prizewinning giants. Unlike the traditional gardening books the organic movement is catered for with plenty of especially resistant and easy to grow varieties. Finally, the photography is clear and attractive, and the whole book, with a general introduction to growing followed by a directory of veggies and herbs, is very easy to navigate. And on a cold and damp spring day, just looking at the front cover makes me want to get outside to check how my own crops are coming along...

Essential reading for making armchair dreams a reality
This is an excellent book covering everything a beginner needs to know written in a straightforward confident style familiar to 'Which?' readers. It gives clear advice but doesn't patronise or proscribe, and refers where appropriate to relevant 'Which?' tests such as which varieties crop best when planted at which times of year. It even tells you how to pick veg (eg. from the bottom up in the case of beans), and which veg should come up when ripe and which can sit outside until you're ready to pick. It shows you what the crop looks like and which ones double as ornamentals, essential for a small garden where aesthetics can be important, and gives suggestions for how veg, herbs and sometimes flowers can be eaten. It doesn't assume you will be an attentive saint/slave to your garden and gives realistic information if a crop can be tricky or hard work, or offers a banquet for pests. At first sight it seems to focus on the supermarket familiars but it also includes more unusual varieties should you wish to try them. Altogether inspirational.

A Great Begginers book
A great book and I'm not normally one for buying gardening books.
Each veg is listed a-z. For each veg information is given about problems, a planting calender and differnet varieties.
There is a full chapter on herbs. And even gives guidance on what to plant where. I am really looking forward to planting out a full herb bed. Very Engligsh Country Garden!
A really helpful book without being too wordy.
At the end of the book is a 12 month calender letting you know what to do in each month.
Highly recommended.