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here for the index page to all the
gardening books we have reviewed. These are all honest, independent reviews. We
have read each book from cover to cover. Some of them them get the thumbs up,
but some definitely don't!
The Book "Your Own Allotment" by
Neil Russell-Jones
The First Edition of "Your Own Allotment" was published in
early 2008 so this book is bang up to date. It is aimed 100% at
the new allotment holder or anyone who is considering taking on
an allotment. The book is divided into three key sections.
Section 1 describes in detail how to go about about getting an
allotment. The advice given clearly comes from personal
experience. Indeed, the author uses his own allotment in South
East London as the basis for many of his ideas.
Organic and non-organic techniques are described along with
the pros and cons of each. Organic techniques are not thrust
upon you, but they are encouraged. In the first section all the basic ideas and
principles behind initially setting up an allotment are described.
The level of detail is impressive, the author even describes how to
set a totally new set of allotments. The second section is concerned with the plants you may want
to grow on your allotment. The basics of the life cycle of a
plant are covered and then each of the plant groups is described
in detail. For each plant the author describes how and when to
sow / plant them, how to care for them and how to harvest them. Even
better, for each and every plant there is a section on what to look
out for regarding pests, disease and generally. For both the new and
established allotment holder, I would advise keeping a copy of this
book in the allotment shed, it's a gem. The last section is aimed at how to maintain your
allotment. Pests and diseases, crop rotation, compost and much more
are covered in detail. So what's wrong with this book? Any review with just
superlatives is suspect, there has to be a downside after all. We
found only two areas of concern. The first was the lack of pictures,
and the quality of those that were present, very poor. But, this
book is not about pretty pictures, it's about clear, concise and
accurate information presented in easily readable format. The only other area of concern was that the various
dates given in the book were occasionally based on the South of
England climate. SUMMARY Published By: Spring Hill Books COMMENTS END OF
REVIEW
This book is logically arranged, easy to read and written in plain English. It is also
clearly written from experience and with more than a touch of humour. At 365 pages long,
it covers all the subject an allotment holder needs and represents very good value for
money. We thoroughly recommend it.
First Published: 2008
Author: Neil Russell-Jones
Title: Your Own Allotment
ISBN: 978-1-905862-19-1
Price: �12.99
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