In Organic Gardening Charles Dowding shares the philosophy, tips and techniques that have enabled him to run a successful organic garden supplying local restaurants and shops for over 25 years.
• Forget the ‘received wisdom’ about gardening. Observe what is going on in the soil and with your plants, in your own garden and climate.
• Respect and encourage life as much as you can, chiefly by spreading good compost or manure.
• There is no need to dig in compost and manure – just spread it on top and let worms take it in. Digging can harm soil structure, and is not helpful to plants.
Based on his experience of using a system of permanent raised beds, Charles takes you through a delicious variety of fruit and vegetables: explaining what to choose, when to plant and harvest, and how best to avoid pests and diseases.
With simple recipes for your fresh-picked produce, this second edition features new photographs and more tips and advice.
Foreword by Patrick Holden
Introduction
Part 1: Letting Nature Nurture your Garden
1 The art of not digging
2 The basics
3 Deciding what to grow
4 What’s in season?
5 Living with pests
6 Sowing seeds, raising plants
7 Making compost
8 The moon
part 2: Healthy Harvests
9 Summer salads
10 Winter salads
11 Alliums
12 Choice of roots
13 Savouring summer
14 Brassicas
15 Tomatoes, greenhouse vegetables and unusual vegetables
16 Perennial vegetables
17 Herbs and edible flowers
18 Tree fruit and nuts
19 Soft fruit (berries)
Postscript
Appendix: Dig/no-dig experiment at Lower Farm
Resources
Bibliography
Main index
Index of recipes
"Whether you dig or not this contains a wealth of personal knowledge about growing vegetables from a man who pioneered vegetable boxes and impressed Joy Larkcom - the doyenne of vegetables."
- Oxford Times - November 2010
"The revised edition, Organic Gardening features new photographs, new varieties and more tips and advice on growing delcious vegetables and tasty fruit the no-dig way. It also includes inspiring recipes by Charles' wife, Susie."
- Positive News - Winter 10/11
"This book works as a brilliant introduction to growing your own, but is also an encyclopaedia of fruit and veg varieties, with practical advice on sowing, planting and growing."
- Bristol Evening Post / Western Daily Press
Charles Dowding
Charles Dowding has been growing organic vegetables for nearly 30 years and was an early pioneer of vegetable boxes. He runs organic gardening courses from his farm in Somerset, where he crops an acre of intensive raised beds, using no-dig methods, growing an extensive range of vegetables and year-round salads for local shops and restaurants. His website is www.charlesdowding.co.uk.
Charles Dowding Events
Charles Dowding, author of Organic Gardening, Salad Leaves for all Seasons and How to Grow Winter Vegetables gives various talks and courses throughout the year.
For more information on all his upcoming events, please click here.
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