Table of Contents
Preface x
Introduction xii
Abbreviations xiv
Part 1 Towards Sustainable and Self-Sufficient Food Growing
The Terrifying Importance of Growing Food 2
How to Get Started 11
How to Find Time to Grow Food 16
Gardening with Attitude 19
Ten Green Rules 21
Part 2 Tips and Tricks
Starting and Maintaining 24
How to Set Up a Food Plot 25
Soil Secrets 29
Compost Compositions 34
Seeds and Seedlings 41
Easy-Care Fruit Trees 49
Companion Planting and Intercropping 52
Water and Watering 55
Big Yielders and Gross Feeders 60
Plant Food and Soil Food 63
The Message of Mulch 69
Pruning, Pinching, and Thinning 74
Crop Rotation and Green Crops 76
Problem-Solving 82
What to Do about Weeds 83
Pests and Predators 86
Visitors from the Biosphere 89
An A-Z of Pests and Problems 94
Livestock, Birds and Bees, and Frogs 102
Hardware in the Food Garden 105
Thinking Outside the Magic Square 115
The Seasons 116
Climate, Weather, and Microclimate 119
Permaculture 124
Easy Vegetables to Grow 126
Saving Seed 129
From Garden to Table 135
Essential Utensils 137
Cupboard Self-Sufficiency 139
Part 3 The Magic Square Plots
A Note on the Magic Square Plots 146
The Salad Plots 147
The Fava Bean Plot 156
The Omega- 3 Plot 158
The Antioxidants Plot 160
The Curry Plots 162
The Beans Plot 164
The Stir-Fry Plots 167
The Asian Greens Plot 170
The Baby Greens Plot 173
The Arugula Plot 174
The Root Crop Plot 176
The Pasta/Pizza Plots 178
The Wild Greens (Horta) Plot 180
The Aztec Plot 182
The Pea Plot 185
The Melon Plot 186
The Chinese Melon Plot 187
The Essential Herb Plot 189
The Soup Plots 192
The Pick-and-Come-Again Plot 198
The Starchy Staples Plot 199
The Rotating Mono-Crops Plot 200
The Interlacing Plot 201
The Onion and Garlic Plot 204
The Ginger or Galangal Plot 205
The Anti-Cancer Plots 207
Berry Plots and Hedges 209
The Pumpkin Plot 211
The Perennials 213
The Spice Companions 215
The Stinging Nettle Plot 216
The Edible Flower Plot 218
Part 4 Descriptions of Food Plants
An A-Z of Vegetable Families 222
Summer, Winter, and All-Season Vegetables and Herbs 225
Common Vegetables: How to Grow and Use Them 229
More Value from Popular Vegetables 273
Common Herbs: How to Grow and Use Them 279
Easy-Care Fruit Trees and Berries: How to Grow and Use Them 293
Preserving and Using Home Produce 307
Notes 312
References and Further Reading 314
Useful Addresses 317
Acknowledgments 319
Index 321
About the Author 338