No Dig Children’s Gardening book

No dig children’s gardening book – you dream of growing your own fruit and vegetables but don’t like digging and weeding. This is the one for you! Whether you have a garden, a balcony, or a window box, my no dig method is the perfect way to create a family garden together.

Beautiful and charismatic illustrations by Kristyna Litten are on every page. They bring the possibilities and joy of gardening to life, before you even begin.

I explain how healthy soil will lead to healthy plants and will grow more of the amazing creatures that live in soil. The book tells you about the magic of compost, and the amazing power of seeds. And how to grow flowers that bring in more wildlife.

There are step-by-step activities and a planting chart to show you how you can grow food for your dinner table, no matter the season. The perfect book for any budding young gardener. See also my Schools no dig page, with a chart for term-time harvests.

Contents

• Dear gardeners
• What is no dig gardening?
• No-dig mythbusting
• What is soil and what makes it healthy?
• Microbe power!
• What is compost?
• How to make compost
• Suitable heap enclosures
• A no-dig bed in a day
• Creating a no-dig bed
• Planting a  no-dig bed
• What is a weed?
• Sowing seeds under cover
• Sowing for four seasons of food
• When to sow and plant common vegetables
• A no-dig sensory garden
• Raising seedlings
• Upcycling in your garden
• Attract wildlife in your garden
• School gardens in Surrey
• Grow a giant sunflower
• Grow and carve a Halloween pumpkin
• Vegetables need company!
• A no-dig market garden
• Be a garden scientist
• Ten easy flowers
• Gardening for children with additional needs
• Seed-saving projects
• Useful information
• Index

Read success stories from families and groups using my methods. The simple and achievable gardening projects in this book are perfect for parents and young children to do together. My no dig techniques perfectly lend themselves to gardening with little ones. They can’t manage heavy digging and quickly grow bored of endless weeding – with no dig, weeds are few!

Projects are in easy, step-by-step processes, designed for children. Attractive, full-bleed photography is supplemented with fun illustrations and fully illustrated factual spreads. Running throughout the gardening projects are extra little facts about plants and wildlife. As well as things to look out for when you are outdoors. And with no dig as cornerstone method to make it all easier and natural, see this brief video.

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No Dig Cookbook

A unique cookbook, packed with recipes for seasonal vegetables as well as tips on how to grow them, using my fantastic and time-saving no dig methods.

It explains and develops the strong links you can achieve between garden and kitchen, which keep changing according to the season. The garden decides your menu!

The recipes are by Catherine Balaam, who cooks for day and weekend courses at my Homeacres no dig garden.

Catherine has created and tested over 60 delicious plant-based recipes, inspired by those lunches which see the participants salivating, after an intense morning of learning in the garden. They are simple dishes bursting with flavour, from seasonal vegetables and herbs.

To complement them, I have written ‘Advice on growing your own’ sections throughout the book. I outline some key growing tips for many of the vegetables in the recipes.

I also include my own recipe for no-knead bread, another great timesaver.

We include ideas on how you can adapt recipes to your own harvests, using different vegetables which are similar to cook with.

Some of the recipes are how to ferment and store vegetables, so that you can use any gluts and enjoy them later.

Recipes are categorised as follows:

• Pestos, dips and sauces
• Ferments and vinegars
• Salads
• Cooked salads
• Roasties
• Stews and hot dishes
• Sweet treats

There are beautiful photos throughout, of the cooked dishes, a few including preparation, and also of my garden at Homeacres.