Grow Your Own, Eat Your Own

by Bob Flowerdew

It is one thing to produce tomatoes or pumpkins - or any other fruit or vegetable for pleasure, or for the table, as it comes into season, but it becomes another when you realise that most crops in the garden arrive in gluts with no more to be had for another year - unless you do something about it. This book is about how to make the best use of your highly nutritious home-grown produce. The first part begins in the garden, showing you how to achieve a more continuous crop as well as how to extend your harvest. Then Bob steps into the kitchen to show you the best way to preserve and cook your crop by bottling, drying, jamming, smoking as well as how best to store. Bob uses his intimate and comprehensive knowledge of each crop to advise you on how best to treat them - how, for example, the natural sweetness and acidity of fruit means that they retain more moisture when dried than vegetables as well as tips on how to maximising flavour, for instance, by rehydrating pulses in herb-flavoured water.

Genres: Gardening

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 16, 2008

Reviews

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of information in this book. But personally I did not find it laid out in the best way, although the layout is certainly appealing visually. And sadly a lot of the information will be helpful only to those with enough space to bring plants under cover during the colder months.

One thing I had certainly never thought of or come across elsewhere: how you are intending to store a harvest (dry, freeze, bottle, jam, etc) would influence not only which variety you would grow but also how you grow it.

[Ruric Amhari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practicall and hands on book about what to do with all your produce once you've grown it! There's an introductory section about matching what you're growing to your kitchen & needs. The bulk of the book is cocerned with different methods of storing and preserving garden produce: drying, smoking, frezing, bottling, juicing, jams & preserves & more. Great balance between detailed "how to" text and lots of lovely photos. Also a great section on how to cope with gluts full of gorgeous recipes.

[Tim Corke · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best cooking/garden/homeware books I've ever read. Packed with useful tips and tricks on how to make the most of your gardening exploits and the best ways in extending and maximising your harvests.

Unfortunately this is a library books but would love to have a copy myself..

[S.J. Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book - a mine of information, although you'll have to read it cover to cover to extract it.

[Ida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brill book, packed with amazing tips