How to Create a New Vegetable Garden

The UK's leading no-dig gardening expert, Charles Dowding, draws on his years of experience to show how easy it is to start a new vegetable garden.Any plot - whether a building site, overgrown with weeds or unwanted lawn - can be turned into a beautiful and productive vegetable area. Charles's no-nonsense and straightforward advice is the perfect starting point for the beginner or experienced gardener.The book takes you step-by-step through everything - from planning, clearing the ground and the early stages of starting a vegetable garden, to growing in polytunnels and greenhouses. There is also helpful guidance on how to use mulch, ways to minimise digging, and planting/sowing tips across the seasons.Filled with labour-saving ideas and the techniques that Charles uses to garden so successfully, How to Create a Vegetable Garden is illustrated throughout with photos and tales from Charles's first year in his new vegetable garden.

Foreword by Steve MercerIntroductionPart One: Clearing ground and preparing soil1. Starting points2. Beauty in the food garden3. The setting4. Clearing ground5. Mulching6. Building beds7. Dig versus no-dig (with compost)8. Dig versus no-dig (without compost)Part Two: Sowing and growing9. Raising plants under cover10. Early sowing and plantings11. Successional sowings and plantings12. One bed, one year13. Growing under cover14. Hot beds15. Perennial vegetablesAppendix: Seasons and climate zonesGlossaryResourcesIndex