The Edible Garden, BBC 2, 8.30pm on Wednesdays

Just watched the first episode of this new series presented by Gardeners' World's Alys Fowler. 5/10.

The programme had some interesting bits - the tour of Permaculture Magazine's Tim & Maddy Harland's permaculture garden for example - and I like the fact that Alys is intent on growing in a polyculture, even creating a forest garden on Gardeners' World. However I found the programme as a whole too cutesy and fashionable to be interesting.

If you're new to the world of gardening, permaculture and growing in polycultures this may be the programme for you, but there is more inspiring viewing and reading out there - just look at last year's BBC Farm For A Future - an indepth exploration of climate change, food resilience and alternative growing methods. The Edible Garden seems to only skim the surface, if that, of these issues, with Alys seeming more worried about the "prettiness" of her garden than its edibleness - of course there is a balance to be struck, but it annoyed me that she was spouting about the colour of her French Beans rather than the flavour, for example. And she told some downright lies about chickens!


In all, I think it's great that a trendy young TV gardener is bringing self-sufficiency, permaculture and polyculture to the attention of a wider audience, but hopefully this is just the beginning.


www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s1lc8

Book Review: "Getting Started In Permaculture" by Ross and Jenny Mars

Ross and Jenny Mars run a permaculture smallholding and education centre in Australia. Although the design of their plot included in the book features things such as Pecan trees that just wouldn't grow here in the UK, this little book has lots of ideas that would work all over the world.

The book includes small projects to help the reader start to live and garden according to permaculture principles. It is illustrated with line drawings and diagrams, and the instructions are mostly pretty clear.

Ideas range from unusual uses for old plastic bottles to sheet mulching and building a herb spiral using tyres. I'm not sure that I would use some of the old tyre etc. ideas in my garden, but there are others that are both ornamental and practical. One idea that really caught my eye was that of "mandala" gardens - small circular gardens that allow you grow things around a tree or compost heap in the middle, and that allow for easy access when harvesting. I think this is an idea that could be applied to small and big gardens alike.

Basic explanations of the meaning of permaculture etc. are included. It is by no means very detailed in this area - there are plenty of other books with more information on permaculture and forest gardening. However, I really like the fact that Getting Started In Permaculture makes permaculture accessible to everyone with a garden or allotment, and that there are projects that take up very little space as well as larger ones. The book does exactly what it says on the tin - shows you easy ways to start using permaculture a little bit here and there. You'll definitely need to read more books on permaculture if you're interested, but this one will show you how you can get going straight away.

7 out of 10. Recommended to those interested in permaculture; people with small gardens; people who don't have time to go on permaculture design courses etc. ; those who want to get going straight away.

REVIEW: The Transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins

I have been reading the Transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins recently. I'd heard a few things about it (but not much) and had seen it on Amazon, so I got it out of my local library.



Before reading it, I didn't have a clue what the Transition approach was, except for a foggy understanding that it was something to do with green issues.

This book is a real inspiration; reading it has changed my whole perspective on what we are doing to our planet and possible consequences of our actions. But more than that, it has really inspired me to take action, and I can't wait to get going.

The book presents strong arguments and backs them up well; although some of it does make me feel a bit bewildered, I'm sure that more research would clarify some things for me, and the Transition Handbook has loads of resources and ideas to help with that.

I like the balance struck in this book. Split into three parts - the head, heart and hands - it starts with facts and figures, some of which are depressing and most of which really shocked me. However, it goes on to share a positive vision of what the future could be like if we act now. This bit was so wonderful to read I nearly cried! Sure, there are scary statistics, but Hopkins balances these out by showing what we can do to change them.

I also like the fact that it is all about acting as a community - Hopkins clearly holds no illusions that if everyone switches to energy efficient lightbulbs we'll be all right, but neither does he trust government to sort it all out. The book has a real "power to the people" feel about it. It describes practical things you can do and after reading it, I don't feel at all powerless or hopeless.

I would reccommend this book to anyone interested in green issues, and to sceptics. It will really make you think and might even change your views. 9/10.

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Here is a link to an article about my Dad's friend, Geoff Galliver, an experienced beekeeper.

http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2039298_buzz_is_building_over_bee_crisis

Other articles of interest:

http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/lifestyle/home_and_garden/s/2001053_ladybirds_and_bees
http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/lifestyle/home_and_garden/s/41048_bees_are_the_best

Review: Dylan Moran

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha I went to see Dylan Moran at the Anvil on Saturday and I am still laughing. V good. Go see it now.

Review: Grow Your Own Veg by Carol Klein

I got this book for my birthday, and I couldn't do without it. Not only is the book set out beautifully, but it's full of brilliant advice on all sorts of things - how to choose a variety, where and when to plant, pests and diseases to look out for...In short, everything you need to know. Carol covers all the usual vegetables, and some more unusual ones. My only problem with it is that it doesn't give any advice on celery! Although I do consult other books and research on the internet too, this is always the first book I turn to; it's clear and conscise, without being too basic.

And not only do you get all this, the book is also full with Carol Klein's own thoughts and experiences, which are sure to really inspire you to get growing.

9.5 / 10.

(I got the picture from Amazon.co.uk. Theirs is a good price).

Book Review: Scenes From a Smallholding by Chas Griffin

I found this book interesting, and quite a good read. Once I got into it (which I found a bit difficult to start with...it was a bit wordy and the fact that it jumps backwards and forwards in time really annoyed me at first) I raced through it.

The book documents how the author and his family moved to a smallholding in West Wales, and tells of all their ups and downs, failures and successes. It is interspersed with magazine articles, too. The book is mainly anecdotal, but there are some gems of good advice nestled in amongst the stories, and it's quite funny, too.

One thing it made me realise however is that going down the route of selling produce to wholesalers and onto supermarkets or restaurants isn't something that I'd want to do, so if my family and I ever do become smallholders, we'd have to come up with a wizard idea of how to make any money. Also the fact that they started off with a cow, thinking that pigs would be too much work surprised me...I think that for me, pigs would be a large priority.

I'd definitely recommend this to any aspiring smallholder, or anyone interested in keeping livestock, growing their own veg, or renovating old houses. It's an interesting read. 7/10.