REVIEW: New Urban Farmer | Celia Brooks Brown | Gardening

Title: New Urban Farmer
Author: Celia Brooks Brown
Publisher: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Publish Date: March 2010
Genre: Non-Fiction / Gardening / allotments / self-sufficiency
ISBN: 978-1844008179
Reviewer: Sassy Brit
Alternative-Read.com

Eliminate food miles and grow your own!

This book couldn't have come at a better time for me. My husband and I recently expressed an interest in having an allotment, and we had just started to clear the garden and try it out there. So although we don't have an allotment as such, the main idea of this book is still the same for what we need. We are growing fruit and vegetables in order to be more organic and economically  aware. Top that with eliminating food miles and supporting sustainability and this book has been our bible lately!

In a way it is a less formal "how to" book than I am used to, but written with plenty of good advice as though this is Celia Brooks Brown's diary about her North London allotment, which is great to read and check to see if you are doing the right things at the right time of the month. Not much on pests and disease control, but then that is not really what this book is about, and if that is what you are looking for there are other books that go into depth on that side of things.

I really like the additional features like the index at the beginning of each month which quickly pinpoint:
1) what is suitable to grow indoors or under glass
2) outdoors direct in the soil,
3) in containers,
4) the harvesting month and
5) recipes and other information and their corresponding page numbers

Incidentally, the inclusion of recipes in this book is something I found particularly pleasing. I've grown fruit and veg before on a smaller scale than at present, but it's not always just 'how' to grow that I need, it’s after harvesting when you get too much it's what to do with so much excess where I need help!

Finally, I do like the way Celia Brooks Brown reuses materials to keep expenses down. I've saved so much money by supplementing expensive items for my own versions, this book has been a blessing in disguise. Whether you are growing fruit and veg at home or you own an allotment, this is definitely a fun book for you! 

SASSY NOTE:

Since I wrote this, I have now got a garden of strawberries, blackcurrants, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, Brussels sprouts, purple sprouting broccoli and rhubarb! I will have to add some pictures soon. :) The strawberries, blackcurrants and tomatoes are in full swing - but the rest is still growing.

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