Collins Practical Gardener – Kitchen Garden (Collins Practical Gardener S.) - Tapa blanda

With a comprehensive directory of vegetables, fruit and herbs, and essential information on planning, planting and care, the Collins Practical Gardener shows you how to start and maintain a gorgeous kitchen garden.

This volume in the best-selling Collins Practical Gardener series gives you the information and advice you need to cultivate a flourishing kitchen garden.

The bulk of the book comprises an exhaustive directory of plants, divided into broad sections covering fruit and vegetables, then subdivided into distinctive sub-groups. Special sections deal with herbs and edible flowers.
Each entry includes:
· Background information on general characteristics, planting and care
· A visual chart listing the most popular varieties and cultivars, with seasonal guides indicating when to plant and when to harvest
· A table of plant care with easily-accessed advice on soil, site, watering, feeding, general care, and pests and diseases
· Expert tip boxes for the best results

The book opens with a practical guide covering all the essential techniques for the kitchen gardener:
· Assessing your plot for soil quality, drainage, sun and shade
· Planning a kitchen garden
· Planting in beds and containers, and creative ideas for companion planting
· Advice on crop rotation
· Special section on growing under glass
· Extensive information on care and maintenance throughout the year
· The best methods for harvesting, storing and collecting seeds

There are also sections on the problems affecting fruit and vegetables that include:
· Trouble-shooting flow charts to identify the problem
· A directory of the most common pests and diseases and how to treat them

Closing with a calendar of the gardening year, Kitchen Garden is the only guide you’ll need for growing delicious fruits, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers in your own kitchen.

Lucy Peel is a journalist and writer specialising in design and gardening. For many years she was the associate editor of ES magazine, the colour supplement to the London Evening Standard. Lucy became interested in gardening while working on the Weekend section of The Guardian. Her previous books include ‘Collins Family Garden’ and ‘The Ultimate Sunflower Book’. She is at present renovating an Edwardian garden in the wilds of Wiltshire.