Gardening Books

[nickdub]

I don't know myself about any of the books, but if what you describe comes to pass you could do worse than looking at some French gardening books, as that sounds like how their climate used to be.

[veggiechicken]

That's another 3 books ordered.............£6.43
The Eccentric Gardener - Hart Dyke
A Year of living on Wild food - Lewis-Stempel
RHS Herbs

Just finished reading A Year of living on Wild food - Lewis-Stempel . Wow!!
He buys a 40 acre smallholding with a derelict farmhouse in a Herefordshire valley on the Welsh border.
Because money is tight, he challenges himself to spend a year living solely off the wild food he can find on his land (with the exception of salt and honey).
Each month, he details what he picks or catches and gives recipes. Meanwhile, his family are shopping at W@itrose and eating alongside him. How he remains strong willed, whilst losing weight and being ill from eating the wrong fungi, amazes me. I wanted to send him a food parcel!
Its beautifully written and captures the changing seasons perfectly. Didn't want to finish the book.
I will not be following him with his challenge - it would be a step too far in all sorts of ways.

[Greenleaves]

I think your first listing is more you VC

[veggiechicken]

Haven't read that one yet - but he's creating a "World Garden" at Lullingstone Castle. That is also a challenge too far!

[veggiechicken]

All this talk of books - ordered 11 more last night, including Richard Mabey's Flora Britannica - which I've wanted ever since it was first published in 1996 at £40 -a lot of money then!
Last night I bought a used copy for £3.39 and, because I bought 4+ books it was discounted by a further 20%. (AWESOME books - code FESTIVE). in total, 11 books for £22. I'm a very happy chicken.

[nickdub]

I didn't think there was anyone out there worst than me about old books - but I'm beginning to think VC that you may have a legitimate claim to the "nuttiest crown".

[Small pumpkin]

Just finished reading A Year of living on Wild food - Lewis-Stempel . Wow!!
He buys a 40 acre smallholding with a derelict farmhouse in a Herefordshire valley on the Welsh border.
Because money is tight, he challenges himself to spend a year living solely off the wild food he can find on his land (with the exception of salt and honey).
Each month, he details what he picks or catches and gives recipes. Meanwhile, his family are shopping at W@itrose and eating alongside him. How he remains strong willed, whilst losing weight and being ill from eating the wrong fungi, amazes me. I wanted to send him a food parcel!
Its beautifully written and captures the changing seasons perfectly. Didn't want to finish the book.
I will not be following him with his challenge - it would be a step too far in all sorts of ways.

Thanks VC. Given me some great ideas for Bob's ******mas present

All this talk of books - ordered 11 more last night, including Richard Mabey's Flora Britannica - which I've wanted ever since it was first published in 1996 at £40 -a lot of money then!
Last night I bought a used copy for £3.39 and, because I bought 4+ books it was discounted by a further 20%. (AWESOME books - code FESTIVE). in total, 11 books for £22. I'm a very happy chicken.

I'll go have another look at them

[veggiechicken]

SP, if you don't mind a pre-read copy, you can have mine. I'd be happy to de-clutter it on you.

[Small pumpkin]

SP, if you don't mind a pre-read copy, you can have mine. I'd be happy to de-clutter it on you.

Thank you VC. I'd love to help you de-clutter . You're a very generous lovely chicken .

[veggiechicken]

My pleasure! I was going to send it to you anyway as it seemed like your sort of book.
Not sure your wild food includes rooks and snails though.

[Small pumpkin]

Book has arrived VC and an extra one . I'll be reading that this afternoon. Thank you so much. Postman might be paying you a visit soon .

[veggiechicken]

I had 2 copies of the salad one.

A parcel of 11 books has just arrived
Can't start them until I finish "Garden in the Clouds" by Antony Woodward. Its subtitled "From Derelict Smallholding to Mountain paradise" and tells the true story of Antony Woodward, who had always dreamed of living somewhere remote, finding the house of his dreams - on a 5 acre, bracken-strewn plot high in the Black Mountains, just a few valleys away from the setting of the last book I read.
Despite knowing absolutely nothing about gardening, he sets himself the challenge of creating a garden which will appear in the Yellow Book the following year.

Even I'm not daft enough to take on a challenge like that. How about you, SP

[Small pumpkin]

It does sound a little familiar

[Aunty Social]

For knowledge I've found Success with Seeds by Chris & Valerie Wheeler brilliant, being a bit of a newbie. Helpful to know how germination works.

For romance, Dirk Bogarde's wonderful letters are full of gardening, plus a chicken recipe using endive.

For laugh-out-loud humour - he's terribly snide & dismissive but in a hilarious way - you can't beat Doc Hessayon's 'Expert' books. The diagrams for timings and sowings are *excellent*.

[nickdub]

Inevitably I've succumbed to the temptation of buying more old books . A four volume set of 'GARDENING FOR AMATEURS' edited by H.H Thomas arrived today and contains some lovely illustrations.

Anyway one nugget of advice I've culled from it already is that the author writing on veg growing considers that 80 tons per acre of farmyard manure is too much in any one year - so for any of you with gardens of around an acre who are getting two lorry loads delivered annually, it might be time to consider cutting back a bit :-)