KG Bookshelf: April 2011

A slice of the good life

At a time when allotments have made a huge comeback and enjoy a hitherto unheard of level of prestige as well as a strict code of conduct, a book of Quirky Tales of Allotment Life – Minding my Peas AND Cucumbers is well timed and a joy to read.

Written by Kay Sexton, this book comes from her own first-hand experience after she became the proud holder of an allotment and found herself in a different world – and not always a comfortable one.

She found a pecking order not reserved for the chickens, a battle to produce fruit and veg worthy of eating, never mind showing, and learned how to deal with creatures like keeled slugs ‘which go through a root crop like Attila the Hun through a sleeping village’. There was also the problem of the ‘glut’ and this brave allotment holder, wind-up torch in hand, would be reduced to tipping her roughly chopped glut veg into the compost heap under cover of darkness.

But through it all, she did it her way, as the song says; and this little book tells the story of one woman who found her slice of the good life – complete with some original and mouth-watering recipes.

Minding my Peas AND Cucumbers is published by Summersdale Publishers Ltd in hardback, priced £9.99.

ISBN 978-1-84024-135-1

WHO IS IT FOR?

Allotmenteers everywhere, and any gardener who likes a laugh.

The best of the best

Most gardeners are aware of and probably own a few of the Experts books which have dominated the gardening book world over the past 50 years.

Now in The Best of Experts the author has selected his personal favourites from every one of the 24 titles and produced a collection as varied as the subject of gardening itself.

In a successful format based on that of cigarette cards (as Jane Fearney-Whittingstall describes it) the aim is to get as much information as possible into the space available.

This is not a reference book but it is packed full of information and a great book to dip into at any time to increase your knowledge – every page a gardener’s treasure trove.

The first book in the series Be Your Own Gardening Expert by Dr D G Hessayon was staple-bound and priced 1/6 (71⁄2p) and it became the gardening best-seller of the year, starting an unrivalled success story.

The Best of Experts by Dr D G Hessayon is published by Expert Books in paperback, priced £7.99.

ISBN: 978-0-903-50593-2.

WHO IS IT FOR?

Fans of the gardening Experts books and anyone else interested in gardening.

Organic Gardening: The Whole Story

Here is the definitive volume on organic gardening from the leading experts in the field – Alan and Jackie Gear.

Organic Gardening: The Whole Story (with a foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales) traces its development from the 1940s to the present day in a delightfully personal yet fully informed narrative which gives straightforward answers to fundamental questions.

Alan and Jackie, former mainstream scientists, helped create the largest organic gardening organisation in Europe at Ryton Gardens and also presented the first UK television series on organic gardening All Muck and Magic.

Between them they have written numerous books and articles and have each been awarded an MBE for services to organic horticulture.
Here they bring to the reader the comprehensive story of the development and fundamentals of organic gardening and its rise in popularity to a point where interest is at an all-time high.

Organic Gardening: The Whole Story is published by Watkins Publishing, hardback, priced £16.99.

ISBN 978-1-906787-24-0

WHO IS IT FOR?

Gardeners, environmentalists, scientists, and all those interested in the history – and future – of organic gardening and our planet.

The lowdown on household remedies

In times past, doctors were expensive and most families dealt with everyday ailments and minor emergencies at home with what was to hand.
A fascinating book on the market, Kitchen Medicine - Household remedies for common ailments and domestic emergencies - responds to the renewed interest in using traditional, simple home-made cures.

An enormous bounty can be found in kitchen gardens and cupboards – and at a fraction of the price of health products and medicines on the market.

This volume is very down to earth, full of common-sense and deals with most of the staples to be found in any household – fruit and vegetables, condiments and dressings, herbs and spices, oils and vinegars etc, with lively and interesting chapters which include history, folklore, advice and recipes.

Beautifully presented and illustrated in full colour, in Kitchen Medicine, the authors of the successful Hedgerow Medicine move indoors to show the wealth of healing and emergency remedies which are often overlooked.

The ailments, common and otherwise, that can be helped are comprehensively listed.

Authors are Julie Bruton-Seal, a practising medical herbalist, iridologist (uses patterns and colours in the iris to help diagnose health problems) and natural healer and editor of The Herbalist, and eminent writer and editor Matthew Seal.

Kitchen Medicine is published by Merlin Unwin Books in laminated hardback, priced £16.99.

ISBN: 978-1-906122-18-8

WHO IS IT FOR?

A beautiful but practical book for anyone interested in traditional home-made remedies.

The story of you and your garden

A lovely present which you give and receive back full of treasure – that’s the idea behind the book Digging Up Memories – Gardening Experiences From You To Me.

It is a gardening journal asking for anecdotes and tips from family or friends which capture their experiences. Prompts on each page ask your loved one a question and they write their answers directly onto the pages of the book and give them back to you to keep for posterity, making a lovely keepsake to be passed down through the generations instead of being lost forever.They could also add photographs, sketches or cuttings.

Neil Coxon created the award-winning from you to me range which includes 15 titles, all priced at £11.99 and available from gift stores and bookshops or from www.fromyoutome.com.

ISBN 978-1-907048-15-9

WHO IS IT FOR?

Anyone with a love for gardening wishing to inspire furture family generations.

Allotment journal

The combination of a quick reference guide on keeping an allotment with journal pages in which to record personal experience is a winning one; especially when illustrated with stunning, atmospheric photographs that almost taste of allotment life. This is the format of The Three Year Allotment Notebook.

When author Joanna Cruddas took on her allotment, she decided to sketch plans, make notes of plantings, successes and disappointments, with friend and photographer Edwina Sassoon visually recording progress. They visited other allotment sites, finding enthusiasm, expertise and a willingness to share knowledge wherever they went.

Joanna says she finds keeping notes throughout the year simplifies the following one and means you can compare progress from year to year.
This reference book /journal includes useful features such as graph pages to help plan planting and crop rotation and space for contacts and suppliers.

The Three Year Allotment Notebook is a practical journal with space for year-on-year comparisons over a three-year period, month by month tips suggesting jobs to consider and themed illustrated spreads giving instant practical ideas for making the most of limited space in terms of planting, design and organisation.

The Three-Year Allotment Notebook is published by Frances Lincoln Ltd in softback, priced £11.05.

ISBN: 978-0-7112-3155-9

WHO IS IT FOR?

Allotmenteers – beginners and veterans and all in between

For more reviews, see this months issue, available to buy online!