Please could you recommend a good UK veg/herb gardening book

[Learner-Grower]

I need one that's idiot proof as I am intelligent but have ADHD and sometimes do the complex but miss the blatently obvious. Also if it's in a lot of complex lingo I will get bored.

I am also on the lookout for an online diary guide as to when and how to plant and sow and re-plant herbs and veg. Sort of like a calendar that I can pace myself as time management isn't my strong point, and I have a lot of demands on me from an external family source at present.

Many thanks for everyon'e expertise. I know I could look online but it's time consuming and I getr distracted - and I didn't just want to buy a 'gardening for dummies' book. I want a UK climate based one that wasn't too complex and would help me with herbs and veg in a tiny garden, then if I get on ok I may apply for an allotment.

I'd rather ask people who have a personal favourite and still return here for specific advice and chat, than just make a bad purchase, as I want a long faithful friend of a gardening book that I refer to like a horticultural bible if you know what I mean.

Thanks again

[Hazel at the Hill]

A good standard is the Vegetable Expert by Dr Hessayan - and if you keep an eye on the 'what I did today' thread, it will show you what others are doing.

Also - where in the country are you? Can you pop your location in your profile so that it will help others to answer any queries you have.

[BilboWaggins]

I need one that's idiot proof as I am intelligent but have ADHD and sometimes do the complex but miss the blatently obvious.

Many thanks for everyon'e expertise. I know I could look online but it's time consuming and I getr distracted - and I didn't just want to buy a 'gardening for dummies' book.

Hi L-G,

You'll get many different opinions but my (current) favourite is Alan Titchmarsh - The Kitchen Gardener: Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg

Best of luck getting started, there is some brilliant advice and support here.

[Florence Fennel]

Hi LG, welcome to the vine. "Grow Your Own Veg" Carol Klein is very good for beginners and I have some very old gardening books bought at car boot sales and charity shops which are really cheap and usually helpful. I can also recommend the GYO magazine and this site!

[Learner-Grower]

Thank you for the recommendation Hazel and your cat's lovely. I am in London - I must fill in my profile so that people know a bit more - thanks for the reminder, I was in such a hurry for info yesterday before my mammoth tomato and herb replant mission that I didn't fill in many details.

Thanks Bilbo - I am not ready for the fruit yet, I am going to concentrate on the veg - has the AT one got photos? I do respond well to a little visual stimulation and feel more confident of what I am doing.

[Seahorse]

I think Grow Your Own Veg by Carol Klein is a great book, especially if you haven't grown much veg before. It's very straightforward with lots of pics.

[Learner-Grower]

Hi LG, welcome to the vine. "Grow Your Own Veg" Carol Klein is very good for beginners and I have some very old gardening books bought at car boot sales and charity shops which are really cheap and usually helpful. I can also recommend the GYO magazine and this site!

Thank you Florry Fen and seahorse too

I have a lot of seeds here I may list them on my seed thread to know what I should be doing with them, or if I have missed the boat on some things. I was going to scout ebay for some gardening books.

Isn't eating what you grow flippin' exciting! I wish my garden was larger it's tiny!

[ginger ninger]

One of my favs is Sarah Raven's "GARDEN Cook Book", it has everything in it from starters to puds, and some yummy ice cream & sorbet recipes in it. I also have the Alan Titchmarsh & Carol Klein Books, all three are really very good.

[Learner-Grower]

Thanks ginger ninger. I'm going to scout ebay for some of the ones mentioned, but not until I have finished having a panic about my tomatoes at the moment - I'm off to explain on my tomato thread.

[BilboWaggins]

Thanks Bilbo - I am not ready for the fruit yet, I am going to concentrate on the veg - has the AT one got photos? I do respond well to a little visual stimulation and feel more confident of what I am doing.

I am not ready for the fruit yet, - ha ha ha, don't you believe it, when you realise how simple it is to put in three or four fruit bushes, actually less work than the veggies!

The AT book has loads of piccies and I really like the schematic which shows when you sow (if seed), plant out and then harvest - month by month. For each veg (and fruit) he covers How to Grow, Varieties, how/when to Harvest, Problems. I found this book had far more detail than the Carol Klein (which I also like 'cos I love her attitude )

[bluemoon]

Probably not the best for a complete novice, but I love 'The Allotment Book' by Andi Cleveley, it's not the first one I turn to when after advice, but it's lovely to read in the winter months when you're planning for next year, but can't get out there due to the weather. A good Christmas present perhaps?

[Learner-Grower]

Thanks

Thanks bluemoon and Bilbo - I am liking the sound of AT's book - maybe I'll understand enough by Xmas to get to grips with the Allotment book eh? PMA and all that!

I LOVE fruit, my main concern is that I have a tiny garden (more of a yard) with high walls and I am not sure what I could grow (I can come back with the measurements actually).

I blooming hate bees and wasps though - will I get more of those if I grow fruit because of the fructose - probably huh? I saw an ad for a weird mini greenhouse shelvey thing (all technical terms you notice he he he) I didn't have time to look but I will have to come back with moredetails and ask advice on it. It wasn't a propegator (?sp) at least not one likemy Gran had when I was small. Mind you they've probably gone all new fangled and fancy nowdays for all I know!

[NOG]

I would go to Garden Centre or book shop and have a flick thru to see which one you like.

[dexterdoglancashire]

A good standard is the Vegetable Expert by Dr Hessayan - and if you keep an eye on the 'what I did today' thread, it will show you what others are doing.

Also - where in the country are you? Can you pop your location in your profile so that it will help others to answer any queries you have.

You beat me to it Hazel. This is the book I would recommend. Good photos, pics and diagrams so you can see what you are supposed to be doing.

[BilboWaggins]

I blooming hate bees and wasps though -

Just what do you think is going to pollinate all your food crops?

Bees and wasps probably don't like you much either, , you're one of those people who tries to kill them, aren't you? Ignore them and they will ignore you. Yes, in the autumn waps can be a nuisance around crops like plums but as you said you had a very small yard you won't have a plum tree ...

Sorry, if I sound tetchy it is because I am. Chemical companies are doing a damn good job killing off the bees with nicotine-based products which they claim are safe. They need all the help they can get from gardeners.