The Self Sufficient Garden by Klaus Laitinberger. Available from greenvegetables.com
German-born, Co Leitrim-based organic gardener Klaus Laitinberger can likely tell you more about raising vegetables in Ireland than any native. In this, his fourth book, he imparts all you need to know about creating and maintaining a garden that will feed a family of four all-year round. The bad news is he reckons you'll require approximately 400 square metres of ground and a polytunnel. But fear not if you don't have such an expanse, because the knowledge included here can be applied to get the best results from a 6'x4' raised bed – and it's all chemical free and sustainable. Today's vegetable gardener requires little more than a fertile patch, a bit of enthusiasm and a copy of The Self Sufficient Garden to hand.
Grow Your Own Mushrooms by Folko Kullmann is published by Green Books from www.greenbooks.co.uk
A branch of horticulture that is rarely explored as a hobby, Folko Kullmann outlines how to grow edible mushrooms indoors or out. Featuring a 12-month plan for ensuring a regular supply, the author demonstrates in easy-to-follow steps how you can raise fantastic, flavoursome fungi whether your garden is expansive or limited to a balcony. Thriving in shaded, damp areas that many plants spurn, mushrooms will grow on logs, straw bales or ready-mixed growing media. Read how to create the perfect growing environment for exotic varieties like shiitake, oyster and wine cap, while also learning about their medicinal and nutritional benefits.
How to Forage for Mushrooms without Dying: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Identifying 29 Wild, Edible Mushrooms by Frank Hyman (Storey Publishing)
If raising a crop of mushrooms sounds a little too ambitious then perhaps you'd prefer to seek out some in the wild? On the cusp of a surge in interest in foraging, Frank Hyman provides a reliable guide to distinguishing the safe fungi from the toxic. For novice foragers who just want to answer the question "Can I eat it?", this would appear to be the go-to book. Suggesting easy ways to identify the fungi they find, the book offers expert advice in simple terms – i.e. it's easy to remember when in the field. Plus some simple tests to determine if a mushroom is a delicious morel or a toxic false morel? Slice it in half – "if it's hollow, you can swallow," Hyman says.
Growing Under Cover: Techniques for a More Productive, Weather-Resistant, Pest-Free Vegetable Garden by Niki Jabbour (Storey Publishing)
Unpredictable weather patterns and attacks from pests have long been the bain of vegetable gardeners. However, this in-depth guide shows how to use small solutions like cloches, row covers, shade cloth, cold frames, and hoophouses, as well as larger protective structures like greenhouses and polytunnels, to create controlled growing spaces for vegetables to thrive. It also highlights the many benefits of using protective covers to plant earlier, eliminate pests and harvest a healthier, heartier bounty year round.
Garden Allies: The Insects, Birds, and Other Animals That Keep Your Garden Beautiful and Thriving by Frédérique Lavoipierre (Timber Press)
Somewhere in human evolution creepy crawlies were deemed a bad thing and something to be avoided – and even exterminated. But the tide is turning and gardeners were among the first to recognise that insects are overwhelmingly on our side. They pollinate our flowers and vegetable crops, and they keep pests in check. In Garden Allies, Frédérique Lavoipierre shares fascinating portraits of these creatures, describing their life cycles and showing how they keep the garden's ecology in balance. Also included is helpful information on how to nurture and welcome these valuable creatures into your garden.
