how to Garden books

I want to get a book of basics

Currently all the books for beginners
are not for beginners

Even the Gardening for Dummies
States place a Mulch around xxxxxx
Well if I was a gardener I would know what a Mulch is, as a beginner I have not a clue (well yes I know from the University of life what a mulch is)

Perhaps once I have learnt it all myself I should write a book for "real beginners"

Some are pretty basic but not basic enough
It is fine stating plant five inches apart in rows 12" apart, but no mention of how deep your medium needs to be
So 5" apart in rows 12" apart is good but not in a three inch deep container ie ex kids sandpit for leeks

Compost make your own 25 carbon to 1 Nitrogen
carbon is hard wood, Nitrogen is grass and leaf cuttings, SO I have to cut down ten trees and shred them to add them to my annual grass cuttings

Sorry I advised I was a beginner and that is the standard I am at

I can tell someone how to build a Superhetrodine receiver, you only need a couple of components, dead easy Only if you are not into electronics you may need the additional advise of where to actually stick the components and into what, yes you need wire too as a gardener needs soil obviously

Oh well
I am learning on here thankfully

Jack McHammocklashing

 

From the 7 books I have, I mainly use pictures to do my garden.. and the odd plant name which I then google to see if I can buy it anywhere.. no idea if I plant them with enough space between them, though guess I'll learn over time if there is enough room.

 

Have you tried Alan Titchmarsh's How To Be A Gardener book? I bought myself up on that and found it pretty basic, but also not very detailed.

The most detailed books on gardening are (I have found) antique books from the 1930's and before. They are usaully dead cheap too. I've picked a few up from boot sales and ebay etc all for under a pound each. But they are also not very beginner friendly.

What about getting lots of books on different aspects of gardening you don't understand? You mentioned compost and the Carbon to Nitrogen ratio. I too find this hard to grasp but have a book specifically on making compost to help me out.

Compost: The natural way to make food for your garden: Amazon.co.uk: Kenneth Thompson: Books

 

I built a massive den in the garden with my sister where we would camp out over weeknds and holidays.
Determined to 'forage' and subsist off the land, I found one of these mighty tomes in my father's library and repeatedly read it from cover to cover: The RHS Gardeners Encyclopedia Of Plants Flowers.



I have to make clear foraging mostly meant cheese and pickle sandwiches and cartons of Umbongo (they drink it in the Congo). God bless mummies.

I dont think I asked before taking it, but seeing me take an interest in something other than Science Fiction and Hobbits must have come as a relief. The book is still my first 'go to' reference point.

 

If you want really 'basic' basic (and are happy not to have glossy full-colour pages of perfectly clean hands, plants groaning under the weight of veggies and blooms you'd probably only see at Chelsea), then might I recommend a little book called 'The Gardener's Pocket Bible' by Roni Jay (£9.99 at garden centres or currently £6.44 on Amazon).

It's only about 7" x 5", and has no pictures whatsoever - what it does have is simple, straightforward explanations.

Mulch (for example) is described as (and here I'm changing the wording slightly so as not to breach copyright) '.... a layer of organic or inorganic matter spread on the surface of the earth around plants. It protects them from frost, conserves moisture, enriches the soil and supresses weeds.'
Potting On: is described as 'moving a plant from a small pot or container into a bigger one'.

It tells you in simple language how to do just about everything a beginner needs. Softwood cuttings for example - it tells you what they are, when to do it and is followed with a step-by-step (bullet pointed) 'How to do it'. In addition, it also says 'you should really do this or this - but, as a general rule, if you do so-and-so, you'll be fine'.

This certainly isn't a 'fancy' book, but it is packed with all the really useful information that a complete beginner needs without 'bogging' you down with unnecessary detail. I'd really urge you to, at least look at it.

 

I cut my gardening teeth, all those years ago, on Dr. Hessayons 'The Expert' range of books.
Have a look at the entire range and take it from there, they're simple and basic and provide answers to all the questions you'll be asking.

 

Like Louise, I think 'The Expert' range by D.G. Hessayon is excellent for beginners - unintimidating and very modestly priced. You can buy the books, along with just about everything else, online from Amazon. A good general guide is The Garden Expert. Amazon marketplace will sell you a second hand copy for 1p, plus postage.

Sadly, my favourite gardening book is now out of print, although you can still buy it second hand on Amazon. It's the Reader's Digest Encyclopaedia of Garden Plants and Flowers. Although not nearly as glamorous and glossy as the RHS version, to me it's still the best one-volume source of information. My Mum owns a vintage copy which dates back to the seventies. It is the best thumbed book in the house.

 

Clare, I have that one too! (Well I stole it from my parents).

I was going to post it in place of the RHS bible, but I couldnt find a photo of the edition we have.

The Readers Digest book is brilliant. It has everything and I would totally recommend it.

It has often been plagiarised lock, stock and barrel. Ive stopped being shocked now when after Ive googled a plant or technique I read its familiar text or see one of its familiar photos or illustrations.

 

It is great, isn't it? Well-written, solid and dependable. I bought the RHS books when they appeared but although they're very pretty I find them a bit cumbersome and it's not always easy to find the information you need. Second hand copies of the 'New' RD encyclopaedia which replaced my edition are now selling for £30.00, more than the original cover price, I think.

It makes you wonder why Reader's Digest, which comes out with quite a lot of old tosh, decided to bin the one thing in its catalogue which was worth having.

 

I have a cookery book just like that :D
My mother gave me her 1956 Good Housekeeping cookbook last year and it's the best cookbook i've ever had !!!

 

Another good one for techniques is 'The Gardening Handbook' by Peter McHoy. He did it at Capel Manor Horticultural college.

Its BRILLIANT. Breaks down basic tasks and projects step by step with dozens of photos on every page.

You can pick it up on ebay/ amazon right now for just a few pounds.

 

The alternative is to just ask on here Jack. None of us mind answering even the most basic of questions.

Like you say, not many of us could build a flux capacitor or an infinite improbability drive, except maybe Shiney.

If you are shy, like me, then drop one of us a PM.

 

After buying many modern "Gardening" books (most could be termed DIY building books), I have now bought C H Middleton's "Dig on for Victory" from Amazon (£6.45). originally published in 1945, it is a good basic vegetable gardening book.

 

It's true, this book is out of print but ...... last year (because I've got a garden and 'grow things') the office tasked me with finding a gardening book as part of a colleague's retirement present!

Waterstones - whether they still have any copies is hard to say, but the store in my town did and a quick check on her in-store machine showed they had several copies dotted about the country. If they've still got them, they'll have one sent to your local store (free of charge), so, if anyone still wants one ...............

 

Apparently Reader's Digest has a brand new edition out in September!