Kitchen Garden Forum

I had a book from my daughter for Christmas - Winter Vegetables by Charles Dowding. It's one of the most informative gardening books I've read for a long time, but also full of his own experience and ideas. If you want ideas on covering the hungry gap or increasing the amount of produce from your patch over the winter, then this is the book you need.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look out for it and have a look.

If you like that, you'll enjoy this one also

Apparently, he supplies local outlets and restaurants with salad leaves all the year round from an acre of ground. His experience of this and his enthusiasm comes through in the winter veg. book. He uses no dig methods mostly on open ground. I learned as much from the photos of his plot as I did from the text.
It was so refreshing, as an experienced gardener, to read a book that wasn't aimed specifically at beginners ( but could equally be enjoyed by a beginner) and where I was learning things on most pages. He also gardens on heavy solid clay as I do and had 'tamed' it in similar ways to the ones I had employed. The only one I used which wasn't mentioned in his book was initial clearance work by pigs!! That started my enthusiasm for pigs which has continued.

Alan, there is no link in your posting, please can you let me know what you were recommending.

I've mentioned this before, but if you're able to get down to Somerset for the day, he runs courses that I found both really interesting and full of practical tips that I could put into practice.

His website can be found here and if you click on the tab for "courses" you can find out more.

They seem to have gone up in price a little since I went, but you can see from the comments left there that people find them useful. It's good to know that his methods are reliable enough for him to run his veg & salad cultivation business using them.

Hi Catherine

Click the book

Alan

Honestly Alan I am trying I am really trying but I cant see a book to click. Am I going blind or is the book not showing on my screen. Please tell me where it is as I am getting rather worried I cant see it and everyone else can.

Alans post of 6:15 on the 9th had a picture beneath his written words.

Your browser might not be showing it, or it might be showing it as a little box with an x in it. This was also on the pm I sent.

What are you using, windows(version) internet explorer(version), other browser like FireFox or Chrome. or Apple?

Peter There is nothing, not even a box with an x in it. This is the first time I think that I cannot see anything in a post. I use Windows Vista, Firefox and/or Internet Explorer. I know that I have blogs which I follow where I can't open pictures in Firefox so maybe, for some unknown reason this has happened on this post.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Salad-Leaves-All-Seasons-Organic/dp/190032220X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326089663&sr=1-1 is Alans link minus the picture.

I've been impressed by the comments on here and the web site and just ordered this book (as if I need anymore gardening or cookbooks ) Looking at the plots on the website and my plots convinced me plants in the ground look more attractive than the black plastic!

I always have mixed luck with my winter crops with somethings always doing well but other not so but maybe can get consistency with this.

Will let you know next winter!

Westi

Thank you - as a result of this thread, I've booked myself on one of his courses at the end of Feb! I already like to use the no-dig methods, but think I'll probably learn a lot more from the course in the hope that it may help me to work more efficiently!
So thanks again for the recommendation, I can't wait!
AdeTheSpade

So pleased my book recommendation led to positive outcomes.