Best allotment 'how to' book?

**alldigging** · 19-06-2015, 09:16 AM

John Harrison's are good.
Vegetable Growing, Allotment, Cookery, Low Cost Living Books by John + Val Harrison<

I have several.

See what the library has got if you're on a budget though as you might think some are better than others.

TBH what you really need is a vegetable planner to tell you when to sow and plant out.

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...nfo_43622.html

**1Bee** · 19-06-2015, 09:21 AM

Oooh, I used to spend a lot of time on his website, so that's a recommendation in itself. Thanks!

**muddled** · 19-06-2015, 09:33 AM

Joy Larkom's 'grow vegetables' is very easy to refer to and gives excellent information on how to grow most veg you can think of, spacings (both for rows and block planting), there is a chapter on how to fill the 'hungry gap', what to grow for winter and so on.

It's very 'no nonsense' a few line drawn illustrations here and there, no glossy pictures or chit chat. I find it very useful and refer to it often. It's a smallish paperback and gets chucked in my tool bag to be whipped out when needed at the plot.
It would be a rubbish coffee table book though....

**nerobot** · 19-06-2015, 09:43 AM

I keep coming back to "Food from your Garden". Great book, if a bit "old fashioned".

**Guest** · 19-06-2015, 11:44 AM

I don't think there is anyone good book. It is all too easy to experiment and have preferences etc. Lasagna beds, square foot gardening, permaculture, planting by the moon etc. etc. My recommendation would be get a 1p + �2.80 p&p rhs garden diary or similar off amazon which will give an idea of when to sow, plant, harvest plus other bits and bobs. Then for everything else check out car boots, yard sales, charity shops and amazon. Also pick books up at the library to see if more expensive books would be worth having on your christmas list

**noviceveggrower** · 19-06-2015, 12:15 PM

I have a couple I like to look at. One is Readers Digest Food from your garden & allotment and the second is allotment month by month by Alan Buckingham.
Think I got those from charity shops

I agree with Norfolk grey when it comes to Amazon and their �1 books. My sister has got some good bargains that way.

**Thelma Sanders** · 19-06-2015, 06:09 PM

Originally posted by muddled View Post

Joy Larkom's 'grow vegetables' is very easy to refer to and gives excellent information on how to grow most veg you can think of, spacings (both for rows and block planting), there is a chapter on how to fill the 'hungry gap', what to grow for winter and so on.

It's very 'no nonsense' a few line drawn illustrations here and there, no glossy pictures or chit chat. I find it very useful and refer to it often. It's a smallish paperback and gets chucked in my tool bag to be whipped out when needed at the plot.
It would be a rubbish coffee table book though....

I like this book well

**WPG** · 19-06-2015, 10:46 PM

I like the RHS Allotment Handbook, which covers site planning, techniques, fruit, veg, herbs, bee-keeping and allotment flowers etc. and has loads of nice photos. I'd also recommend the RHS Pests and Diseases book which I've found really helpful for diagnosing problems.

**bobbin** · 19-06-2015, 11:39 PM

(Which reminds me - Botanico Wooden Raised Bed Garden Grow Vegetables Planter Cloche Herbs NEW!! | eBay Is it me, or did they buy a bunch of spring onions from the supermarket and push them in the compost?!? And the carrots are actually longer than the bed is deep.....

Anyway. Please recommend a good allotment book!

[/QUOTE]

Ha ha just looked at the Botanico raised beds on eBay. Hilarious. Not only are the carrots as you say bigger than the depth of the bed but the spring onions appear to grow with trimmed tops and roots in their beds too. Now that's progress!

**kris1960** · 20-06-2015, 08:28 AM

Joy Larkcom for me- Grow Your Own- for allotment advice. I have been collecting her other books which are all great but that's the one that lives in the allotment shed.

**mothhawk** · 20-06-2015, 08:59 AM

it really depends on how you like your information. Some people like a "what to grow" month by month guide, I prefer "plant by plant" divvied up into sections by type e.g. brassicas, roots etc, some prefer an A - Z type guide. Some folk like lots of pictures, others prefer word descriptions. You can get books with pests and diseases next to each plant, or as a separate section at the end, some tell you how to condition the soil and make compost, others assume you know.

Best thing is to go to a good bookshop and browse all the books on the shelf, to see which you prefer, then raid charity shops and online second-hand book sites to buy. Like others, I find Amazon is the bargain basement, especially for gardening books.

**sparrow100** · 20-06-2015, 09:41 AM

It depends what you want to know - I like and have John Harrison's books, and Joy Larkom's. I keep John Harrison's allotment guide in my shed for speedy reference and Joy's book at home for planning, along with trawling the internet for info on more unusual things that aren't covered in those books.

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