The Vegetable & Herb Expert

The Expert Series

by D.G. Hessayon

There can be no fresher tasting vegetables or herbs than the ones you've grown yourself. Whether you are a first-time allotment holder or an 'old-hand', the Vegetable & Herb Expert will shown

How to get started.
Where to grow your vegetables, and how.
What types and varieties to grow.
Looking after your plants.
Grow your own herbs.
Deal with pests and diseases.

Reliable, easy-to-follow advice and information from EXPERT books - the world's best-selling gardening series.

Genres: Gardening, Reference, Nonfiction, Nature, Horticulture, Cookbooks, Plants

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 1997

About the author

David Gerald Hessayon was a British author and botanist of Cypriot descent who is known for a best-selling series of paperback gardening manuals known as the "Expert Guides" under his title Dr. D. G. Hessayon. The series started in 1958 with Be Your Own Gardening Expert and in 2008 it celebrated its 50th anniversary and the 50 millionth copy in print. They have become the best selling gardening books in history.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicole W. One of the best books on vegetable gardens I have found so far. It helped a lot with planning our garden and in deciding what to plant and what to better leave. With that said, it is clearly aimed at UK-readers and with me living in Germany some of the information has to be 'interpreted' due to a slightly different climate. No problem, though.

There was but one thing I stumbled over (and which led to the deduction of that one star):
As said, coming from Northern Germany where curly kale is not just food but almost a religion, I was surprised to find that the author just stated that kale is not really worth growing since it tastes rather bitter. Which is true - UNLESS you do what we do in Germany and only harvest the kale after the first strong frost. It takes away the bitter taste and will be much nicer and milder to eat.
By the way, if you live in an area where there is little frost you can harvest it and then pop the raw kale into the freezer over night before cooking it. Same effect. Meaning also that if you buy frozen kale it'll always be milder than buying fresh one that has been harvested too early.

[Charissa Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overview: How do you handle a first garden? Sure there are many books will tell you how to set up your first bed, and how to space your plants. But where do you go from there? How do you tell your little seedlings from the weeds in the garden? Or worse, how do you even know if your little plants are healthy? Or how to fix any problems that may arise from those health issues? This book seeks to help you out there.

Dislikes: There isn’t a real problem with this book, except that it is situated for English gardeners more than Americans.

Likes: This book separates each vegetable and includes photographs of the problems with each family as well as how to cure the issues if at all possible.

Conclusion: This book may have been meant for gardeners in England, however the information can be utilized by every gardener. Use it to improve your gardening production this year.

[Charlotte Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent go to book when it comes to gardening.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, incredibly helpful with clear illustrations advice and recommendations of variety. Would like some of the rarities that are no longer rarities to be updated into the main bulk such as chilis and the herbs to receive as much detail as the vegetables.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a book that was written a few years ago, but it's also very clear and concise. Each of crops is dealt with in full over 2 or 3 pages with handy illustrations. Lots of good advice for beginners like myself and not filled with unexplained jargon.