Charles Dowding is an internationally recognised organic gardening expert, and a former winner of the Garden Media Guild Practical Journalist of the Year award. He contributes articles to many magazines, including Gardeners' World, Gardens Illustrated and Grow It! He is a veteran organic grower, having practised no-dig gardening and conducted different experiments in his garden for many years to compare differences of growth.

These days, garden writing based on a solid career's worth of practical experience is rare indeed. Therein lies the value of this thought-provoking little book. -- Rory Dusoir Gardens Illustrated "Beginners and experienced gardeners alike can only benefit from Charles' enthusiastic and deep understanding of what plants really need." The Oak Tree Low Carbon Farm Blog "It has been proven untrue that watering in sunlight damages leaves. It is also untrue that rhubarb leaves and citrus peel cannot be composted, the latter may just take a while to decay. All this and much more makes for an entertaining and instructive read." -- Mary Davies The Irish Garden "For anyone who grows edibles or for that matter gardens intensively I would recommend this book." -- Helen Jonstone The Patient Gardener There's enough detail here to make a real difference to your garden, but it's cleverly broken down into bite-sized chunks with illustrations, so it never feels hard-going. The English Garden

• Introduction1. A web of myths and misconceptions2. Sowing and planting3. Watering4. Vegetable garden planning and design5. Annual vegetables6. Trees, shrubs and perennial vegetables7. Manuring and fertilising8. Making and using compost9. Soil structure and care10. Pest, diseases and weedsIndex

Charles Dowding is an internationally recognised organic gardening expert, and a former winner of the Garden Media Guild Practical Journalist of the Year award. He contributes articles to many magazines, including Gardeners' World, Gardens Illustrated and Grow It! He is a veteran organic grower, having practised no-dig gardening and conducted different experiments in his garden for many years to compare differences of growth.

These days, garden writing based on a solid career's worth of practical experience is rare indeed. Therein lies the value of this thought-provoking little book. -- Rory Dusoir Gardens Illustrated "Beginners and experienced gardeners alike can only benefit from Charles' enthusiastic and deep understanding of what plants really need." The Oak Tree Low Carbon Farm Blog "It has been proven untrue that watering in sunlight damages leaves. It is also untrue that rhubarb leaves and citrus peel cannot be composted, the latter may just take a while to decay. All this and much more makes for an entertaining and instructive read." -- Mary Davies The Irish Garden "For anyone who grows edibles or for that matter gardens intensively I would recommend this book." -- Helen Jonstone The Patient Gardener There's enough detail here to make a real difference to your garden, but it's cleverly broken down into bite-sized chunks with illustrations, so it never feels hard-going. The English Garden

• Introduction1. A web of myths and misconceptions2. Sowing and planting3. Watering4. Vegetable garden planning and design5. Annual vegetables6. Trees, shrubs and perennial vegetables7. Manuring and fertilising8. Making and using compost9. Soil structure and care10. Pest, diseases and weedsIndex