![Fruit and Vegetable Gardening]( "Fruit and Vegetable Gardening")
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About this book
Contents
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About this book
Taking a fresh look at kitchen gardens, this definitive guide provides the latest advice and specialist tips from the RHS team of experts on growing healthy and tasty crops. Using a blend of cutting-edge, organic and traditional techniques specifically chosen for their simplicity and reliability, this accessible volume is essential for all kitchen gardeners. Whether you want to grow celeriac, basil or sweet cherries, the step-by-step images show exactly how to plant, care for and harvest a wide range of crops. Clear explanations of the basics of kitchen gardening describe everything from planning and crop rotation to composting and weeding. Also included is a calendar to make month-by-month planning simple, together with information on average crop yields, sowing and harvesting times, and pest and disease control. This is a valuable handbook on successful growing for everyone who wants to sample the delights of fresh, home-grown produce.
Contents
Part 1 Growing fruit and vegetables: climate and location; shelter from wind; soil types and structure; essential nutrients; lime and soil acidity; fertilizers and manures; making compost; planning your garden; crop rotation; the bed system; using containers; soil preparation; mulching; protected cropping; weed control; keeping your garden healthy; watering and irrigation; tools and equipment. Part 2 Vegetables: vegetable seed; sowing seed under cover; sowing seed outdoors; planting out; routine care; winter storage; visual index of vegetables; brassicas; root crops; the onion family; legumes; salad crops; fruiting vegetables; cucurbits; stem vegetables; leafy vegetables; perennial vegetables. Part 3 Culinary herbs: growing culinary herbs; visual index of culinary herbs; A-Z of culinary herbs. Part 4 Fruit: visual index of fruit; growing tree fruits - planning, tree fruit forms, rootstocks, grafting tree fruits, pollination, planting tree fruits, general care, pruning and training principles, pruning different tree forms; tree fruit crops; growing soft fruits - planning, planting soft fruits, general care; soft fruit crops; grape vines - planning, grape vines under cover, grape vines outdoors; growing tender fruits; crop planner; average cropyields; seasonal tasks; plant problems.
Customer Reviews
Out of Print
Edited By: Michael Pollock
272 pages, colour photos
THE definitive guide to fruit and vegetable growing and an essential for every gardener old and new. Acknowledged experts on the subject such as Jim Arbury, Guy Barter, John Edgeley, Jim England and Michael Pollock give comprehensive advice on choice of cultivars, cultivation, harvest and pest and disease control for every fruit and vegetable imaginable. From soft fruits, top fruits, root crops, brassicas and cucurbits, all are given the renowned RHS attention to detail to provide a fool-proof guide to this increasingly popular form of gardening. Whether you have an allotment or just a small back yard - even just a balcony - there are fruit and vegetables to suit. Containers, ideal for strawberries and herbs, raised beds for the more serious gardener or even just leaf crops grown as much for their ornamental value as their culinary, interspersed in herbaceous borders for extra summer interest. Under glass or outdoors, against a wall or in an orchard, all aspects of this form of horticulture are covered in comprehensive detail. Basic gardening skills such as composting, bed preparation and pruning are included to give a rounded picture for the novice and to help them on the path to success. When to harvest and how to store to ensure crops are not wasted and last as long as possible are carefully explained and the whole is gloriously illustrated and laid out in typical Dorling Kindersley style. An essential book for every gardener's bookcase.An authoritative practical refere nce on cultivation requirements and techniques for fruit and vegetables. Shows how to grow more than 150 kitchen garden crops with step-by-step instructions and full colour illustrations. - Lucy Watson
