Books on produce growing

On most farms, winter is a time of reflection, a time of research and planning for the new season. There are fortunately a number of great books on the shelves that can be used for both inspiration and practical advice.  Below are a list of the top five:

Fruit and Nuts by Susanna Lyle is an extremely informative and comprehensive guide to growing and using more than 300 species of fruits and nuts. Each entry includes a brief history, detailed description, and authoritative information on propagation, as well as helpful advice about harvesting times and cultivation, pruning, pests and diseases. In addition there is a very informative sidebar  detailing nutrition, health benefits, and medicinal uses for the fruit as well as the rest of the tree. The book is suitable for home gardeners, horticulture professionals, orchardists, and nutritionists. If there is one book that you want to get for your reference library  on fruit and nut trees, this is the one.

Grow vegetables by Alan Buckingham, published by DK. This book shows just how easy it is to manage your garden month-by-month to harvest fresh produce all year round. The book starts off with a great introduction on garden layouts tools equipment, passed and seedlings, and then is divided into plant groups. Each vegetable is described in detail including

• sewing and harvesting season
• where to plant
• how to sow seed
• routine care
• harvesting and
• what can go wrong.

Apart from the superb information, the book is also beautifully illustrated.  A definite must for any vegetable grower.

Grow to live by Pat Featherstone - A great South African book on sustainable gardening, if you do not know where to start. Pat is extremely knowledgeable on all aspects of vegetable gardening, being the  founder of Soil for Life.  The book takes you on a journey into the field of organic food, a hands-on, no frills guide for the South African organic food gardener with expounding pencil drawings and stunning photographs. The book starts off explaining the principle of organic gardening before moving on to practical aspects of preparing the soil, building flower beds, planting and pest control.  In addition there is a very interesting chapter on earthworms as well as gardening in containers for smaller areas.