One of the things I found interesting from my reading is that it is possible to regrow fruit and vegetables from scraps that would normally be thrown away. These books give information on how it is done so we can save money, re-use what would otherwise be organic waste and be more environmentally friendly.
Don’t Throw It, Grow It – Deborah Peterson & Millicent Selsam – Storey Publishing (US) 2008 ISBN 978 1 60342 064 8 – This is a small book of 6 chapters, chapter one covers what plants need to grow, getting them started, caring for them and dealing with pests. The remaining chapters give details on how to grow individual plants from scraps including the name of the plant, its origin, growth rate, requirements for light, what the plant looks like and growing details. Chapter 2 covers plants from common veg, eg beans, carrot and potatoes; chapter 3 covers plants from fruits and nuts eg almond, citrus and mango; chapter 4 covers plants from herbs and spices including anise, coriander and mustard; chapter 5 covers plants from Latin America such as black sapote, chayote and tamarillo. Chapter six covers plants from Asia such as bitter melon, lemon grass and water chestnut. No photos, a few line drawings.
No Waste Kitchen Gardening – Katie Elzer-Peters – Cool Springs Press (US) 2018 ISBN 978 0 7603 6160 3 – The book is divided into an introduction and 5 chapters, the intro covers why you might want to do it and chapter 1 covers how it works, discussing the parts of a plant in some detail, how plants grow and ways to regrow them as well as tools and materials required and plant propagation techniques. Following chapters cover individual plants and how they may be regrown, in simple steps. Chapter 2 covers how to regrow roots and underground stems in soil eg potatoes, carrots and turnips; chapter 3 covers regrowing stems and modified stems in soil such as garlic, shallots and leeks; Chapter 4 covers growing seeds in soil and water including pumpkins, citrus and tomatoes; and chapter 5 covers regrowing whole plants and stems in water including lettuce, celery and green onions. Lots of colour photos.
Plants from Pits – Holly Farrell – Mitchell Beasley (UK) 2015 ISBN 978 1 78472 103 9 – There is an introduction covering how to make the best use of the book, then Chapter 1 covers how plants grow from pits, chapter 2 covers growing successfully from pits from getting hold of plant pits, where to grow, basic equipment, which pits do better indoors or outdoors, and care and feeding of the plants. Chapter 3 covers the details on how to propagate from over 38 different plants from pits. Chapter 4 covers continuing care of the plants including repotting and planting out, pests, diseases and other problems and taking cuttings. Lots of colour photos and some line drawings.
65 House Plants From Seeds, Pits and Kernels – Ralf Efraimsson – Woodbridge Press Publishing Company (US) 1977 ISBN 0 912800 40 2 – The book is divided into two parts, Part 1 – the basics, covers what is a plant, what is a seed or pit, requirements for growing (pots, soil, fertiliser, water air) and techniques for planting, transplanting, pruning, artificial lighting, pests and diseases. Part 2 provides the details for each separate plant, bit not a huge amount of detail, 1 to 2 pages per plant including bananas, beans, cherimoya, coffee, guava, hazelnut, lemon, melon, onion, orange, pepper, rice, rose apple and walnut. No photos, some line drawings.
The After Dinner Gardening Book – Richard Langer – Macmillan (US) 1971 ISBN 978 0 898154 50 4 – This one is a gem and great to read as a story! This book has 24 small chapters, many only 5 to 7 pages long, each one mostly devoted to the author’s adventures of glowing edible plants from material bought from the local fruit and veg shop, in his New York Apartment. He talks about growing some interesting plants including sugar cane, prickly pear, loquat and even a coconut. A very entertaining read. No photos, some line drawings.
