Kitchen Garden Forum

What book do you use most in relation to gardening.

It may be a reference book or just be a factual story such as biography or auto biography, even a work of fiction.

The book I refer to most is one I obtained when it was first published in 1975, seemingly by two publishers Mitchell Beazley or Littlehampton Book Services, and is no longer in print.



I have never come across another book with such useful diagrams and planting /expected yield information

Mine has to be, Harry Dodson's practical kitchen garden.

He was a true gentleman, and his knowledge was vast.

My most used has to be Dr D G Hessayon's "The New Vegetable and Herb Expert".
My copy is rather out of date now, meaning that some of the varieties that are recommended are no longer available, and no mention is made of some of the more recent garden pests. Even so, it was invaluable when I first started growing vegetables.

Garden Design by Kenneth Midgley, RHS published in paperback by Penguin.

I find it interesting, but not entirely unexpected, that the replies so far seem to indicate preference for older books

Peters choice was first published in 1977
OH's choice was first published in 1992
The Mouse's choice goes back quite some time but has been updated and re-printed in 2014

Mine is Geoff Hamilton's Cottage Gardens. First published 1995.

I have both the Geoff Hamilton one, and the Dr Hessayon one, I used to reference them a lot, I haven't picked them up for a while now.

Retro
Is your not picking them up these days because you now read magazines or the Internet more for information or do you think it might be you have learnt more about the things you grow so don't need the books as much.

I think it is a bit of both really. I use this forum a lot to ask questions or tell stories of odd things happening, and get lots of wonderful, helpful responses. I also read the KG magazine too.

I bought these books over 20 years ago, when I started veg growing.

Dear Retropants, do i remember you saying you bought those books when you were 50....

oldherbaceous wrote:Dear Retropants, do i remember you saying you bought those books when you were 50....

Whoooooeeeeeeee, now that's what I call living dangerously

It would be if I wasn't too tired to care..... Just been for a swim

Although I have been gardening about 60 years now (and more, if I count helping my dad), I still refer to books. As well as those mentioned above, I also like Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Year (it helps to remind you of things to do which, at my age, is often needed!!!) and his Kitchen Garden book. We also still have Geoffrey Hamilton's Organic Gadening and the HDRA book on Organic Gardening.

One of our grandsons has just started gardening for a large estate near us and will be put through the local college course by them, but for starters, can anybody recommend a basic gardening book which explains terms like, mulching, double digging (I won't mention b*****d trenching!) etc which we could buy him?

Both RHS "Displayed" books, Vegetable and Fruit garden.

I have lots of gardening books. I think the one I referred to most when I started was "Growing Vegetables" by David Pople (1968). Next came the slim volume "Gardeners' World Vegetable Book" by Geoff Hamilton (1981). I have often used the two more scientific books "Know and Grow Vegetables" by Bleasdale and Salter (v1 1979, v2 1982). To look up the obscure and learn history and relationships but with not much cultural advice "Vegetables" by Phillips and Rix (1993) is a great read. Since I bought the polytunnel I have uses two books quite a bit "How to Grow Food in Your Polytunnel All Year Round" by Gatter and McKee (2010) and "The Polytunnel Book, Fruit and Vegetables All Year Round" by Joyce Russell (2011).
To be honest the books I probably refer to most are written by me, my diaries! Must answer the other post - keeping diaries and plans is my top tip.