Fabulous Food from Every Small Garden

by Mary Horsfall

Overview

Fabulous Food from Every Small Garden shows how to grow food at home in even the smallest of spaces. It explores the reasons for growing your own food, including the many potential benefits such as improved taste, freshness and nutrition. Many types of food are covered, such as vegetables, fruits, herbs and edible flowers.

This practical book discusses the importance of growing open-pollinated varieties, and provides detailed instructions for successfully growing plants from seeds. Plant care is explained, including organic pest and weed control and efficient watering methods. In addition, readers are shown how to improve soil fertility by making their own fertilizer.

Fabulous Food from Every Small Garden also offers solutions on incorporating food plants with other plants to create beautiful gardens in spaces such as balconies, flowerbeds and shrubbery. This is complemented with information on innovative techniques such as aquaponics, hydroponics, wicking beds and grid gardening to achieve high productivity in small spaces. The final chapter concerns harvesting and storing produce, and contains some simple recipes.

Features:
Gives innovative and economical methods for growing food in restricted spaces, even indoors
Shows how to incorporate a wide variety of food plants into a garden
Suggests spaces not normally thought of for growing food
Follows a chemical-free approach to gardening
Shows how to create free garden nutrients from kitchen waste
Based on the author's first-hand experience and 20 years as editor of Grass Roots magazine

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780643095977
Publisher:	CSIRO Publishing
Publication date:	01/21/2010
Series:	CSIRO Publishing Gardening Guides
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Mary Horsfall has over 30 years experience in organic gardening, including 23 years growing self-sufficiency food crops organically in a dry-summer environment with only dam and tank water. Mary is an editor and writer for Grass Roots magazine, where she has worked for 18 years. Mary also wrote Creating Your Eco-friendly Garden and Fabulous Food from Every Small Garden.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Introduction ix

Part 1 All about the garden 1

1 Why grow your own?: 10 good reasons 3

2 Where and what?: First thoughts 15

3 High productivity from small spaces: Some special techniques 33

4 Creating super soil: Soil biota and fertility 55

5 Making the most of your space: Plants for places 83

6 Getting started with vegetables: Seeds and seedlings 99

7 Plant care: Weeding, watering, controlling pests 109

Part 2 All about the plants 131

8 Vegetables 133

9 Fruits 165

10 Bush foods 187

11 Herbs and flowers 193

12 A taste for all seasons 207

Final words 213

Appendix 1 Suppliers and information 214

Appendix 2 Bibliography 216

Index 217

Editorial Reviews

"Encouraging readers to grow their own food, Australian author Mary Horsfall tells of her experience in starting a garden from scratch at a site that had limited space and few free resources. She found that a significant difference in climate and new pests with which to contend was less of a challenge than gardening on a small site. She provides tips on the most suitable crops for these conditions; gives advice on techniques for achieving high production; tells how to create more fertile soil; and goes through the regime for caring for plants."

Marilyn K. Alaimo

"This continues the high standard of garden books from CSIRO and is serious value for money. There are clear instructions on growing and the book is profusely illustrated."

Cedric Bryant

"This continues the high standard of garden books from CSIRO and is serious value for money. There are clear instructions on growing and the book is profusely illustrated."

"Encouraging readers to grow their own food, Australian author Mary Horsfall tells of her experience in starting a garden from scratch at a site that had limited space and few free resources. She found that a significant difference in climate and new pests with which to contend was less of a challenge than gardening on a small site. She provides tips on the most suitable crops for these conditions; gives advice on techniques for achieving high production; tells how to create more fertile soil; and goes through the regime for caring for plants."

From the Publisher