Charles Dowding

Organic Gardening (eBook, ePUB)

The natural no-dig way

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

The UK's leading no-dig gardening expert, Charles Dowding, shares his organic approach to growing healthy, vibrant crops.

The no-dig approach to gardening - based on the key principle of leaving the ground as undisturbed as possible - has gained popularity in recent years as a more efficient, economical and sustainable way to grow healthy plants.

Packed with easy-to-follow advice, Organic Gardening reveals the art of the no-dig approach and the techniques required to grow organic crops while enhancing soil structure.

By employing the simplicity of the no-dig technique and using a system of permanent, slightly raised beds, Charles Dowding shows how to grow a delicious variety of fruit and vegetables sustainably and organically: what to choose; when to sow, plant and harvest; and how best to avoid pests and diseases.

From sowing seeds and making compost to harvesting summer salads and winter vegetables, this accessible guide is an essential resource for beginners and experienced gardeners.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK eBooks
• Seitenzahl: 240
• Erscheinungstermin: 30. April 2013
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780857840912
• Artikelnr.: 54540025

Autorenporträt

Charles Dowding is an internationally recognised organic gardening expert, and a former winner of the Garden Media Guild Practical Journalist of the Year award. He contributes articles to many magazines, including Gardeners' World, Gardens Illustrated and Grow It!, talks on radio and television, and runs courses and advises on best practice, including for the National Trust in the UK.

Charles is a veteran organic grower, having practised no-dig gardening for many years. In his gardens he has conducted experiments to compare differences in growth between vegetables on dug and undug soil, showing that the dug beds have slightly lower yields, and more weeds and slugs. He established a new garden from scratch, to illustrate no-dig practice and form the basis for further experimentation.

Inhaltsangabe

Foreword by Patrick Holden, CBE, Founder of the Sustainable Food Trust &
ex-director of The Soil Association
Introduction
Part 1: Letting Nature Nurture your Garden
The art of not digging
The basics
Deciding what to grow
What's in season?
Living with pests
Sowing seeds, raising plants
Making compost
The moon
Part 2: Healthy Harvests
Summer salads
Winter salads
Alliums
Choice of roots
Savouring summer
Brassicas
Tomatoes, greenhouse vegetables and unusual vegetables
Perennial vegetables
Herbs and edible flowers
Tree fruit and nuts
Soft fruit (berries)
Postscript
Appendix: Dig/no-dig experiment at Lower Farm
Resources
Bibliography
Main index
Index of recipes