Читать книгу The Allotment Book - Andi Clevely - Страница 5

I vividly remember as a child helping my mother to dig up the new potatoes in our garden and being amazed that the one potato we had planted had produced so many baby potatoes. I also remember the delight of helping to pick the strawberries, which included eating as many as I put in the punnet.

The many bonuses of being brought up with a productive garden was not only the abundance of fruit and vegetables but also the fact that, because my mother was a fantastic cook, the house was often filled with the aroma of wonderful food. This was most prevalent at harvest time when she made jellies, jams and chutneys, which we used throughout the winter months and which she also gave as Christmas presents to friends and family.

Crowned the ‘queen of herbs’ by Jamie Oliver and one of Rick Stein’s food heroes, Jekka McVicar is the UK’s leading organic herb grower. Her family-run organic herb farm now grows over 500 varieties and holds the largest collection of culinary and medicinal herbs in the country. In addition to managing the farm business, Jekka is a regular TV and radio presenter and has published several successful books on growing herbs, raising plants from seed and cooking with flowers. This picture shows Jekka at work on the farm with her dog Hampton (also known as Mutty). Visit her website at: www.jekkasherbfarm.com.

I have been lucky enough to re-create these fond memories for my own children with a vegetable plot for which they have sown the seeds and harvested the crop. Growing your own vegetables and fruit not only gives you control of what you and your children eat but also the goodness of delicious fresh produce and the added bonus of fresh air, good fun and great exercise.

In this beautiful book, Andi Clevely captures the essence of the allotment, showing how it is a relaxing and sociable way to garden, and a great opportunity to meet fellow gardeners, young and old. You are guaranteed the sharing of fresh food, expertise, gossip, fun and friendship, which goes to prove that the allotment is a microcosm of today’s society without walls. More importantly, this book is teeming with valuable information based on the experience that Andi has gained over the years in his garden and on his allotment; this includes seed germination times, average yields and his recommended varieties of fruit and vegetables. He also demystifies gardening terminology and gives good basic down-to-earth information on dealing with pests and diseases, making this book relevant for both the novice and the connoisseur.

With this book I defy anyone not to enjoy the wonderful world of the allotment, from the soil to the table.