Research

For the novice allotmenter there is a wealth of advice to help you along your way. This comes in many different forms, whether it be the internet, fellow plot holders (particularly those of advancing years it would seem!) or good old fashioned books. We have been making use of all of these sources of information but I thought I would share with you those books that we have purchased and found to be helpful so far.

1. Grow Your Own Veg by Carol Klein

For those of you who are avid viewers of ‘Gardeners’ World’ on BBC 2 you will already be familiar with Carol with her magical green fingers and voice of a navvy. This book immediately won points with me for the lovely feeling cover. I have a particular, some may say weird, penchant for those slightly matt and smooth book covers you occasionally get on a hardback and this one fits the bill. But for those of you who are more interested in reading the  contents  of a book than fondling the cover, let me tell you that this book comes highly recommended. As the title suggests it is all about growing veg, whether in a small garden or a full size allotment. It comes with a very useful preparation section which advises how to make the most of the space available, prepare the area and deal with common problems.

The book then moves on to chapters on the vegetables you may want to grow. Each vegetable is dealt with over a page or double page spread with plenty of colourful photographs showing seedlings right the way through to the harvested product. The text addresses the best times to sow and harvest each vegetable, how to sow and cultivate your crop and most importantly how to harvest it. There is also useful advice on pests and diseases. What I found particularly interesting was the information on recommended varieties of each vegetable. When choosing your seeds it is amazing how many varieties are available and for a novice it can feel almost impossible to differentiate between them, so sections like these can identify those that will suit your individual growing space or indeed your tastes.

2. Cook Your Own Veg by Carol Klein

The sister book of the one above and again the title is pretty self explanatory. There is a degree of duplication in these two texts regarding planting and cultivating but not so much that I would only advise buying one of them. This book is organised into seasonal chapters for ease of use in finding recipes for those crops you find yourself with a glut of. There are at least two recipes for each vegetable which include delicious offerings such as roast pumpkin gratin, caramelised onion jam and tandoori celeriac. Certainly one for those who get weary of the same old vegetable side dishes as this will definitely inject some imagination into tea time.

3. Your Organic Allotment by Ian Spence and Pauline Pears

Points are awarded for Pauline’s amusingly appropriate surname! This one caught our eye as we were keen for a book about growing organically. Not having grown anything aside from some mould on our granary loaf we don’t yet know whether we are being realistic in our organic aspirations. We do know that Val who has a plot on the other side of the site grows organically and she seems to do very well out of it but she is quite experienced and has an established plot so it is difficult to compare to ours. This book is really all you need to get started as it has a wealth of information on planning and preparing your plot. It includes a practical section which demystifies crop rotation, with the help of drawings, which is a topic that can cause much confusion to the novice.

This book covers both fruit and vegetables which takes it beyond the two books mentioned thus far, but does devote slightly less space to each one. However, it has great information on green manures, attracting beneficial wildlife and a troubleshooting section on pests and diseases which are all crucial for those trying to be as organic as possible. A handy sized reference book for all areas.

4. Grow Your Own, Eat Your Own by Bob Flowerdew

It must be a requirement for gardening authors to have a flora or fauna related surname and the cynic in me wondered whether this was Bob’s genuine name. But one look at his plaited hair made me realise he could never tell a lie. This book is firmly focused on dealing with your crops once harvested and is accompanied by some truly inspirational photographs of Bob at work in his beautiful but haphazard garden. I have to admit that it was a real eye opener for me to discover the number of varied ways in which to store and preserve your crops, such as smoking, leathering, crystallising and brining. There is even a small piece on making love potions for the hippy in you. It does contain the more usual advice on varieties and harvesting as well as suggesting the best methods of preserving each crop. Alongside there are recipes for classics such as summer pudding and carrot cake and more unusual offerings like walnut liqueur or broad bean pate. A real gem that makes a lovely coffee table read.

The downside to all of this research is that it does have the tendency of making us feel quite anxious about what lies ahead. Will we know what to do and when to do it? What if we do it wrong or forget to do it in the first place? Only time will tell I suppose!