– Customer review on 23/10/2010

This book wasn't quite what i expected (i.e. another 'How to grow......)- but the more I read, i started thinking "this is a really good book". It is divided into nine section - Getting Started, Cultivating, Propagating, Extend the Season, Harvesting and Storing, Using Herbs, Eat the Garden, Herb Directory and Vegetable Directory.
There is definitely a large focus on herbs - 'Herb Garden Design, Herbs for Topiary, Herbs as companions, Using herbs in cosmetics, potpourri and making the most of their fragrance, and yet it talks about compost, mulch, how to construct a raised bed, companion planting, worm farms, how to control pests and diseases, and much more. It even covers aquatic and moisture-loving vegetables eg. watercress, waterchestnuts, lotus.
Their is a great section at the back on herbs both familiar and uncommon on how to grow, conditions, harvesting, uses and storage. There is also an equivalent section on vegetables, and really useful tables on how to store and/or freeze herbs and vegetables.
I loved that there were also lots of pictures of plants, herbs and seeds, both familiar and unfamiliar, and it is the first garden/vegetable book that I've come across (and i've read many) that actually talks about moisture when sowing seeds (as though we should all just know) with a tip to use the top of the refrigerator as an alternative to a heat pad for germinating seeds.
Overall, I think this is a book definitely worth buying since it is not your standard "How to grow veg".