I do try to be fairly organised when it comes to my vegetable garden but, reading The Vegetable Grower’s Handbook, it seems there’s a lot more I could do. Forget a list of crops to grow and a rough idea of which bed they will go in, Huw Richards’ planning starts long before the first seed is sown.
Indeed, the first step, he tells us, is to set a ‘mission statement’; decide what it is you want from your garden space and use it to help keep you on track.
I was given a copy in return for a fair review.
He has one for his garden and even set one for writing The Vegetable Grower’s Handbook: “To inspire you, the reader, to garden more efficiently and develop your own growing style so you can realise your goals.”
And that’s the basis of the book, efficient gardening be it use of space, or time spent.
It starts with soil preparation – he favours the no dig method – and encompasses everything from the best way to compost, and how to set up a propagation site to storing seeds so individual packets can be easily found, and how to avoid gaps in cropping.
Lists and note-taking underpin his methods and he likes to work with a laminated checklist of routine tasks, while his notebook is always with him in the garden.
Motivation is helped by doing ‘boring’ or unpleasant tasks first, leaving favourite jobs as a treat for the end. He also divides up big projects into smaller, less daunting steps.
In the same way, The Vegetable Grower’s Handbook is set out in easy to digest sections, each with highlighted tips and quotes and plenty of photographs. The ‘How to Grow’ information is laid out in a way that makes it perfect for dipping into and there are handy growing charts – both annual and monthly.
Advice is the result of years of experimentation and includes much that I had not read before: how to make a high calcium feed from eggshells; using planks to germinate seeds in a bed; making brassica collars from old wellies.
Some that I will be adopting are thinning seedlings by snipping rather than pulling out – it avoids disturbing the roots of those seedlings that are left – using bramble cuttings to deter slugs, and pre-germinating squash seed – I do this with parsnip but will now try it on other things.
Above all, we’re told the book is “a guide, not a rulebook” as he believes everyone needs to develop their “own gardening style” and “the beauty of gardening is that there is always space for flexibility”.
That said, the book is a good starting point for that style to develop.
The Vegetable Grower’s Handbook by Huw Richards is published by Dorling Kindersley with an RRP of £16.99. You can buy it for £12.31 here. (If you buy using this link, I get a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.)
Enjoyed this? You can read more of my gardening and garden-related book reviews here.
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