My Garden, My Barn, My Books

in #gardening • 6 years ago

I do love books.

Real books - with paper and pages, and spines that can get damaged.

E-books have never grabbed me nor kindled my imagination.

And my gardening books are my best books.

I have accumulated quite a few over the years.

Generally they have stayed on the shelf, in the house.

But I do my gardening out of the house, in the garden, and sometimes in the barn.

The books were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So I have moved my favourite gardening books to my potting (pottering) room in the barn.

Now I can grab one whenever I need to look something up. And if it rains I can sit in the barn and have a good read.

Here is the collection of books I have in the barn so far.

I am always on the lookout for getting more.

I usually have a few on my Amazon wish-list - a great instant response when a family member asks what I would like for Christmas.

Occasionally when I have just won a good new contract and I am feeling moneyhappy I treat myself to a book from the list.

I have also started buying second hand books. You can get a much better deal on secondhand and often times you can barely see that the book has been used.

Just recently a got a great secondhand herbal medicine book - it was in perfect condition and less than half the original price. But I left it lying on a low table and the new puppy got it and chewed the corner off the the spine.

So annoying but she is such a cute little puppy.

One of my favourite books at the moment is James Wong's Backyard Revolution. It gives information, including growing tips, about a whole range of unusual and exotic plants for the UK.

I bought mine on an online offer and got a free kaffir lime tree with the book.

Amazon UK : £18.33

Amazon US : $26.95

Another book that I regularly refer to is Companion Planting : The Beginner's Guide to Companion Gardening.

I am very keen on maximising companion planting benefits and this book is really useful for helping with this.

However it is quite limited to the common fruit and veg, and I am on the lookout for a more comprehensive book if anyone has any recommendations.

Amazon UK : £5.33

Amazon US : $8.97

One final fave book at the moment is The Polytunnel Book : Fruit and Vegetables All Year Round.

I got my polytunnel too late for the main growing season last summer, but I have been stuffing it full over the winter.

Oh boy, does it make a difference in our wet and windy wild west Wales climate.

I will be starting to harvest some young brassicas and spinach next week from the polytunnel. Those I planted outside around the same time are barely showing their faces.

This book is giving me a lot of tips and encouragement to keep expanding my growing season with the polytunnel.

Amazon UK : £11.44

Amazon US : $19.67

I'll keep collecting gardening books. And if I find any particularly good ones I may pop up a review post in case anyone is interested.

If there are any 'must haves' that you would recommend do put them in the comments.

You might also be interested in some of my other posts :

[ photos by pennsif ]

#homesteading #prepping #food #books
6 years ago in #gardening by
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     6 years ago 

    I think my most-loved gardening books are NZ-based (naturally) companion-planting ones and propagating for free, but I am waiting for the library to get in my requested Charles Dowding's latest no-dig tome.

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     6 years ago 

    Charles Dowding is good. Although I haven't got any of his books.

    Is this his latest book :

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       6 years ago 

      Yes, I believe it is. :)

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         6 years ago 

        Giving up my books was probably the one thing that hurt the most when I lost so much of my vision. Larry and I kept a room specifically as a library, but the vast majority of the books were mine.

        I remember back when Kevin was young, (maybe 10 or 12) I had literally read every book in the town library, lol.

        I found new homes for most of my beloved books before Larry passed. But now I am working on finding new homes for his books. Most of his books deal with history, especially the Roman time period. He really missed his calling because he should have been a historian.

        Thanks for bringing back some good memories!

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         6 years ago 

        That must have been difficult.

        Do you use audible books much now?

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           6 years ago 

          I grew one tomato plant and 3 sunflowers in my apartment ones and it was fun. I can't wait till i can get some land and grow stuff. Those books will be really useful then.

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           6 years ago 

          That's great.

          How is dPixify coming along?

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             6 years ago 

            I know where to come when I need to find some gardening tips now! Nice post mate.

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             6 years ago 

            I love getting books that are printed. If the computer ever goes down those e-books sometimes go with it. LOL. I am starting my collection of books soon.

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             6 years ago 

            Yes printed books are great. It is also the prepper side of me coming through as well.

            If for some reason the internet and e-readers can't be accessed real books will be essential.

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               6 years ago 

              I appreciate REAL books too. It is just not the same trying to read a "book" off a screen.

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               6 years ago (edited)

              We could be twin separated at birth! I am a ferocious reader... always with a book, Kindle or tablet in hand.

              I hang out at the library- I have since I was in junior high school. I love books more than the average bookworm-lol

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                 6 years ago 

                I second you love for 'REAL' books. Must be a side effect of working in libraries for years and years.
                It's always a joy when we find a great book specific to our area. A lot of books are US-centric and I'm not skilled at knowing what info we can use and what doesn't apply.

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                   6 years ago 

                  I am the same way with books. They just aren't the same I digital format.

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