Grow Your Food for Free (well almost)
Great money-saving ideas for your garden

Don’t like spending money in garden centres? Think you can do it yourself for a fraction of the price? Dave Hamilton shows you how. By recycling and reusing materials creatively and making the most of what you have, you can gather all you need to grow your food on a budget. Whether it’s building your own shed from scrap, constructing a path out of recycled materials or storing your harvest without a freezer, it’s all here.

This practical guide:

•    takes you on a frugal journey through the seasons, from planning your plot to raising, harvesting and storing your produce 

•    offers money-saving tips every step of the way, and occasional advice on the actual gardening!

•    is crammed full of satisfying projects, from seed-saving to making your own plant feed

•    includes step-by-step instructions and easy-to-follow diagrams.

Video - Spend a few minutes with Dave Hamilton

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Introduction                                          

 PART 1  GETTING STARTED

1   Your growing space               

2   Planning                               

3   Wildlife gardening                  

4   Paths, hedges and fences     

5   The living soil                        

6   Water                                  

7   Treasure in the trash             

8   Wood                                   

PART 2  SPRING                               

09   Acquiring seeds                    

10   Protecting from the cold           

11   Seed and potting compost           

12   Raising new plants                

13   Plant labels           

14   Growing in containers           

15   Gathering ‘wild’ extras           

PART 3 SUMMER

16   Growing upwards           

17   Dealing with weeds           

18   Feeding plants           

19   Dealing with pests and diseases                        

20   Propagating plants           

21   Making the most of your crops           

22   Gathering ‘wild’ extras           

 PART 4 AUTUMN                            

23   Harvesting                            

24   Saving seed                           

25   Propagating plants                

26   Storing crops 

27   Making leaf mould                 

28   Gathering ‘wild’ extras           

PART 5 WINTER

29   Winter protection                   

30   Small-scale construction        

31   Building large structures        

32   Tools                                    

Final words                                                       

Resources         

Introduction                                          

PART 1  GETTING STARTED

1   Your growing space               

2   Planning                               

3   Wildlife gardening                  

4   Paths, hedges and fences     

5   The living soil                        

6   Water                                  

7   Treasure in the trash             

8   Wood                                   

PART 2  SPRING                               

9   Acquiring seeds                    

10           Protecting from the cold           

11       Seed and potting compost           

12 Raising new plants                

13                            Plant labels           

14              Growing in containers           

15             Gathering ‘wild’ extras           

PART 3  SUMMER

16                    Growing upwards           

17                 Dealing with weeds           

18                        Feeding plants           

19                   Dealing with pests

     and diseases                        

20                  Propagating plants           

21  Making the most of your crops           

22             Gathering ‘wild’ extras           

PART 4 AUTUMN                            

23 Harvesting                            

           24 Saving seed                          

           25 Propagating plants                

           26 Storing crops                        

           27 Making leaf mould                 

           28 Gathering ‘wild’ extras           

PART 5  WINTER

    29 Winter protection                   

           30 Small-scale construction        

           31 Building large structures        

           32 Tools                                    

Final words                                                       

Resources        

Dave Hamilton

Dave grew up in the midlands market town of Northampton, a place hailed as the most demographically average town in the country. He travelled throughout his late teens and early twenties in both the UK and elsewhere in the world. When he wasn’t travelling he played in a series of bands reaching the dizzy heights of supporting Rolf Harris and one hit wonders, Doctor and the Medics.

After leaving Northampton he moved to Oxford to study Nutrition and Food Science at Oxford Brookes. It was here he began experimenting in self sufficiency in an urban setting, growing most of his food in his back garden, on his allotment and supplementing this by foraging within the city limits. He soon realised the limitations an urban environment brought with it and coined the phrase 'self-sufficient-ish'. This led to the setting up of the website www.selfsufficientish.com which aimed to share his experiences with a wider audience. He still runs the website along with his twin brother Andy and a team of hardworking volunteers, the self proclaimed ‘ishers’. The website’s success saw the commissioning of his first book, also a co-project with his twin, the critically acclaimed Self Sufficient-ish Bible.

Dave continues to grow his own food and has always done so no matter where he has found himself living (flats, terraced houses in towns, cities and in the countryside). He’s worked for numerous charities taking care of their productive gardens and their volunteering workforce. He has always championed the low budget approach to gardening, not only as it is accessible to all but also as his chosen career (writer and gardener) has meant he never really ever has much money. This has resulted in many years of finding low cost or even free solutions to everyday problems.

He occasionally appears on TV and Radio to talk about urban gardening, allotments and foraging. He occasionally works as a forager and has taught the subject to National Trust staff and at the Eden Project. He also now writes for a diverse range of publications including gardening magazines, food magazines and comic book legend Alan Moore’s latest offering Dodgem Logic. He sometimes still plays in bands and was once runner up in the Tuborg Comedy Awards for his German Techno Band ‘Vontergarten’.

His website is http://www.self-sufficientish.com.