Congratulations all of you who have just got your keys - welcome to the great world of getting covered in mud, watching robins dive-bomb the just-dug ground, the frustrations, the triumphs... and the satisfaction of growing your own food.
There's nothing like it.
If you're organic, I can also recommend the HDRA Organic Encyclopedia, and if you're not intending to be (I wasn't initially!) then the Bob Flowerdew Organic Bible, which just explains why it's a good idea. If you're not, at least you'll know what is on your veg, which is still better than not knowing at all.
I can't really recommend the Foley book. I had got an old, second hand Percy Thrower (definitely not organic!!!) what to do each week book before I got the Foley, and his was heaps better. (In Your Garden with Percy Thrower - there are several on Ebay for a pittance - here's one (may not be the cheapest!)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11112&item=4534080444&rd=1The Foley book is expensive for just 96 pages, and doesn't tell you the current varieties or anything. If you want one of those, then go for the RHS book Fruit and Vegetable Gardening. It's not full of pretty pics, just facts and how-to-grow instructions.
My real favourite is an AGL Hellyer one, which is also a week-by-week book, and was published in the 1940s for people who had been Digging for Victory!
AGL Hellyer: Your garden week by week. Collingridge 1947.
Ebay has a 1958 edition for (currently) £1.99!
