Allotments 4 All

Hi all,

Does anybody have any good soft fruit and veg book recommendations?  I would like something with a reference guide and a what to do when listing by month or season if possible.

The local bookshop will order anything but I'm a bit touchy feely and prefer to either work on a recommendation or have a thumb through before buying.

Thanks.

Hi bagpuss

I bought Joy Larkam's Grow Your Own which was recommended by quite a lot of people on here.  Its really comprehensive and covers lots of stuff.  I also bought a gardening calendar from Organic Gardening Catalogue which lists what jobs you have to do each month - the calendar lasts for subsequent years (see link http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2089)

HTH

And look at all the links on this board. Some good homespun stuff - & some professional.
But I don't think you can get many books which adequately cover fruit and veg. Hamilton's Organic Gardening came close. For soft fruit, go to Ken Muir's site?

Anything by Joy Larkcom.

Her 'Organic Salad Garden' & 'Oriental Vegetables' are, in my humble opinion, indispensable.

Why not have a pootle round the library, I'm a bit of a skinflint and do it all the time, that way you can cross reference too ;D  But, despite the lack of fruit info Joy Larcombe is great, that one I did buy all the info you need for a tenner!  ;)

    Hi      Try "The fruit expert" and "The vegetable expert"
by Dr D G Hessayon, both about £5. Should be available from your local garden centre, where you can get a free look at the books before deciding whether to buy or not
   LesH

Id be careful tho. Im sure many will attest to the fact that planting dates etc seem to have been thrown out of the window etc !!

Still useful for techniques etc.

This place is the best tool I find

I'd reccomend the "The fruit expert" and "The vegetable expert" by Dr D G Hessayon aswell. Very good books, but its always handy to have a real expert to ask - luckily my dads had his allotment for 30 years.

They're worth having, but they recommend every chemical under the sun; the author's philosophy appears to be 'if it moves, spray it'. Take that aspect with a large pinch of salt!

Alan Titchmarsh's allotment book isn't bad, basic but the important stuff is there. The RHS vegetable & fruit book is very good, covers everything in great detail, excellent for a beginner. Anything by Joy Larkcom is a winner, she's a veg goddess as far as I’m concerned. Geoff Hamilton's laid back style is very encouraging & he knew his stuff.
It's difficult to pick a single book to cover everything but Joy Larkcom's Grow your own vegetables and the RHS one are what I find myself referring to more than any others and I do have a big selection to choose from