This book deals with growing food on an allotment, how to find an allotment, how much does it cost to rent and how to plan what you want to grow etc.

Contents: The plot: finding the right plot; growing fruit, vegetables and flowers; sheds and greenhouses; communal tools; dealing with weeds; entering competitions. All in all, a well written book, which is easy to read, crammed with information for those starting out in allotment gardening, like myself. Chief among these is the duty to maintain the plot in good cultivation, with respect to your neighbours and other plot-holders. This book is excellent, rising above the usual dutiful trek through chores and cultivars and capturing the life-expanding possibilities of a new plot. You are free to grow your food by your own chosen methods, indulging whim, tradition and individuality to your own satisfaction, and to harvest it close to home in peak condition.

So many people give up in their first year because it is too much or they don’t get the results they hoped for.

It's really motivating to know when content has been helpful, and I try to reply to as many comments as I can. Open to all the new eco-gardening techniques, and the various weird and wonderful ways people make use of their plots, contents include: the history of allotments - from 19th century origins, through wartime 'Dig for Victory', to the cosmopolitan communities of today; features photos and interviews with current plot-holders; planning your perfect allotment - finding it, assessing it, clearing the ground and working out what to grow the brown stuff - all you need to know about soil management.There are quite a few, and many seem to overlap: can anyone suggest the best one for my specific situation?

The word ‘allotment’ means portion, in this context a rented allocation of ground, together with conditions of tenure and use that will vary depending on the owner or the culture. He is also a regular TV presenter, appearing on Granada’s Cook’s Garden and From the Ground Up for Carlton. All in all, a very enjoyable book, far more useful and more fun than the average turgid tome of gardening facts.While there are many types of garden forks that you can have most people I know tend only to have one that they use for everything. He also demystifies gardening terminology and gives good basic down-to-earth information on dealing with pests and diseases, making this book relevant for both the novice and the connoisseur. The campaign may not have been as dramatic as the Battle of Britain but was just as vital to the eventual victory. This gardening reference guide is filled with gardening tips on growing everything from herbs and kale to strawberries and rhubarb. Along with all the details for growing fruit and vegetables that one might expect from an allotment book, this manual also details some of the more advanced aspects of modern allotment keeping.