The book is arranged by month, great for someone who has some growing experience, absolute beginners might need a little supplementary reading!  The information provided tells you what to do each month and extra charts give a week-by-week guide. Then there’s what’s ready for eating and - to get the busy gardener to look up and observe from time-to-time, notes on what you can see around you. Add in some projects and recipes and this is a lovely guide for daily use and winter fireside dreaming.

Like for Like Reading
Vegetable Growing Month-by-Month: The Down-to-Earth Guide that takes you through the Vegetable Year, John Harrison
Grow Your Own: Fruit and Vegetables in Plot, Pots or Growbags: The A-Z Guide to Growing and Cooking Farm-Fresh Food, Steve Ott

Synopsis

If you have ever dreamed about growing and cooking your own food, living the good life and getting close to nature, then this is the book for you! Gardening and natural history enthusiast Joe Hashman (alias 'Dirty Nails' of the Blackmore Vale Magazine) serves up another absorbing helping of practical tips, advice, observations and recipes from his vegetable plot and kitchen. In this week-by-week account of the fruit and vegetable gardener's year, you are invited to join Joe on the plot and get stuck in to the important jobs of the day. The finer points of crop husbandry are beautifully and clearly presented using simple step-by-step colour photographs. With poetic licence in his writing, the author takes readers on a wonderful journey of discovery through the changing seasons. A wealth of easy to follow but unusual recipes will keep the chef in you busy and satisfied too!

Reviews

'This is more than a informational gardening book. The information is clearly there but it is also presented in an amusing and truly inspirational style. Top this off with excellent photography which is practical as well as looking good.'
www.gardenaction.co.uk.

'Jam-packed with handy hints.
www.miss-thrifty.co.uk.

'Will keep you and your family inspired and motivated to grow your own forever.'
www.mygeenlifestyle.co.uk.

'An absolute delight...Beautifully laid out, it comprises a week-by-week account of the vegetable and fruit gardener's year, clearly presented with absorbing practical tips, advice, recipes and subtle observations on the changing seasons.'
Grow it!

'This book makes you want to jump out of bed on a freezing cold Sunday morning, put your wellies on and head straight down for the garden. It's a remarkable, heart warming account of a year in a Dorset vegetable garden. The book is well balanced with practical advice on a week-by-week basis which mixes with personal humour and observations of Dorset's wildlife. It provides an explanation of why so many of us cherish Dorset - the smell of the cold countryside, the buzz of those hot afternoons and those feelings which hit you in the stomach and make you realise we are lucky to live in Dorset.'
Emma Brawn, Greenwood Tree Project Officer, DWT

 'An evocative guide for gardeners who are inspired to start living the good life.'
Garden News

 'His down-to-earth style makes this an entertaining as well as information read and it is set out in an easy-to-follow way, covering the jobs to do each week...this book could prove invaluable.'
Countryside Magazine

About the Author

Joe Hashman's first book, How to Grow Your Own Food, was published by How To Books in 2007 and received widespread critical acclaim. His down-to-earth style and quirky tales from the garden continued with the release of A Vegetable Gardener's Year (2008). This latest volume stands alone as a manual for both the first time grower or seasoned expert, and perfectly complements his earlier titles in the ongoing quest for success and satisfaction on the plot. Writing as 'Dirty Nails', Joe's popular weekly columns have been enjoyed by the readers of the Dorset-based Blackmore Vale Magazine since 2004. He now contributes to newspapers across England and Wales on a regular basis. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation