Organic Gardening http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Organic-Gardening-Charles-Dowding/9781900322812

By Charles Dowding

Table of Contents

Foreword by Patrick Holden Introduction Part 1: Letting Nature Nurture your Garden 1 The art of not digging 2 The basics 3 Deciding what to grow 4 What's in season? 5 Living with pests 6 Sowing seeds, raising plants 7 Making compost 8 The moon part 2: Healthy Harvests 9 Summer salads 10 Winter salads 11 Alliums 12 Choice of roots 13 Savouring summer 14 Brassicas 15 Tomatoes, greenhouse vegetables and unusual vegetables 16 Perennial vegetables 17 Herbs and edible flowers 18 Tree fruit and nuts 19 Soft fruit (berries) Postscript Appendix: Dig/no-dig experiment at Lower Farm Resources Bibliography Main index Index of recipes

About the Author

Charles Dowding is a veteran organic grower, having practised no-dig gardening for 30 years. From 1982 to 1990 he grew on nine acres for local and London markets, then ran a small farm in France, followed by a long spell of producing salad on an acre of surface-composted, undisturbed clay soil (no-dig for 15 years), which grew bountiful crops and few weeds, and included two polytunnels for winter salad and summer tomatoes and basil. In this garden he ran an experiment for six years to compare differences in growth between vegetables on dug and undug soil. He discovered different patterns of growth in most seasons, with slightly lower yields and more weeds and slugs on the dug beds. He is currently establishing a new half-acre garden to illustrate no-dig practice and form the basis for a new experiment. Charles has written four books on vegetable growing, contributes articles to many magazines, including Gardeners' World, Gardens Illustrated and Grow It!, gives regular talks, advises many gardeners on best practice, including the National Trust at Sissinghurst, and runs day courses at home and other venues. He has appeared on radio and television, including Radio 4's The Long View on the Peckham Experiment and BBC TV's Gardeners' World with Sarah Raven in 2008. His books for Green Books are:

Foreword by Patrick Holden Introduction Part 1: Letting Nature Nurture your Garden 1 The art of not digging 2 The basics 3 Deciding what to grow 4 What's in season? 5 Living with pests 6 Sowing seeds, raising plants 7 Making compost 8 The moon part 2: Healthy Harvests 9 Summer salads 10 Winter salads 11 Alliums 12 Choice of roots 13 Savouring summer 14 Brassicas 15 Tomatoes, greenhouse vegetables and unusual vegetables 16 Perennial vegetables 17 Herbs and edible flowers 18 Tree fruit and nuts 19 Soft fruit (berries) Postscript Appendix: Dig/no-dig experiment at Lower Farm Resources Bibliography Main index Index of recipes

Reviews

"Whether you dig or not this contains a wealth of personal knowledge about growing vegetables from a man who pioneered vegetable boxes and impressed Joy Larkcom - the doyenne of vegetables." Oxford Times - November 2010 "The revised edition, Organic Gardening features new photographs, new varieties and more tips and advice on growing delcious vegetables and tasty fruit the no-dig way. It also includes inspiring recipes by Charles' wife, Susie." Positive News - Winter 10/11 "This book works as a brilliant introduction to growing your own, but is also an encyclopaedia of fruit and veg varieties, with practical advice on sowing, planting and growing." Bristol Evening Post / Western Daily Press