Please note that this site is here for historical reasons
Charles' new website is available here
Salad Leaves for all Seasons - Organic Growing from Pot to Plot
Learn all about beautiful salad plants in small spaces, offering leaves for long periods. This compendium of
practical methods for growing a wide variety of salads throughout the year, will inspire you to grow your own,
whether on a windowsill, in your garden or on the allotment.
Charles has experimented with a wide range of both growing media and of looking after plants. Through the years of growing and picking salads all year round for local shops, pubs and restaurants, he has discovered many intriguing and lesser known qualities of salad plants.
You will learn from Charles the subtleties of salad seasons and the virtues of different leaves at various times of year. Your salad bowl will fill anew with healthy leaves that thrive in their most favoured conditions. And there is a whole chapter on the flavours of different leaves to point you in the most delicious directions. When your table is groaning with the abundance of your harvests, there are delicious and imaginative recipes from Susie, Charles' wife, exploiting the fantastic flavours, colour and vitality of home-grown salad leaves.
Gardeners Question Time - Sunday 16 November 2008
Salad Leaves For All Seasons is chosen as one of the year’s top ten gardening books.
Here are some of the panel’s comments:Charles has experimented with a wide range of both growing media and of looking after plants. Through the years of growing and picking salads all year round for local shops, pubs and restaurants, he has discovered many intriguing and lesser known qualities of salad plants.
You will learn from Charles the subtleties of salad seasons and the virtues of different leaves at various times of year. Your salad bowl will fill anew with healthy leaves that thrive in their most favoured conditions. And there is a whole chapter on the flavours of different leaves to point you in the most delicious directions. When your table is groaning with the abundance of your harvests, there are delicious and imaginative recipes from Susie, Charles' wife, exploiting the fantastic flavours, colour and vitality of home-grown salad leaves.
Gardeners Question Time - Sunday 16 November 2008
Salad Leaves For All Seasons is chosen as one of the year’s top ten gardening books.
“This is a great one, an unlikely book. I found this book exciting, a whole book on salad by someone who has been growing it organically for a long time. How much do we need to know about lettuce? There are so few people who can examine a subject like this, he is fascinating on the subject, one of the few gardening writers who can really draw you in on such an apparently narrow subject.”
“A wonderful book, very inspiring – a lot of people just grow salad but he talks about taste, he discusses differences in flavours at different times of year and talks extensively about growing salad leaves in winter, a great book.”
“Charles - I just thought I would let you know how I've been getting on with salad growing since buying your book - I've had fresh salad from the greenhouse all winter even in the really cold weather when the greenhouse thermometer was saying -7! If it hadn't been for you I would never even have thought of trying. I know that sounds a bit 'cheesy' but I really mean it!
Many thanks, Erica”
“Charles is a passionate and accomplished gardener who grows
vegetables of amazing flavour.”
Raymond Blanc.
Available now from Green Books.
www.greenbooks.co.uk.
Organic Gardening - The Natural No-Dig Way
“This is absolutely the best book on organic vegetable growing”
Rosie Boycott
One of the top ten books in BBC Gardens Illustrated & on Gardeners Question Time
In Organic Gardening, Charles Dowding, who set up one of the first vegetable box schemes in 1983, shares the philosophy, tips and techniques which have enabled him to run a successful organic garden supplying local restaurants and shops for over 25 years:- Forget the rules:'Received wisdom' about gardening is surprisingly innaccurate. Understand better what is going on in the soil and with your plants, in your own garden and climate, and work out your own methods instead.
- Respect and encourage life as much as you can, chiefly by spreading good compost or manure.
- There is no need to dig in compost or manure - just spread it on top and let worms take it in. Digging can harm soil structure and is not helpful to plants.
- You can reduce weeding to a little hand-weeding or hoeing every ten days.
“A marvellous book that is a delight to read and a mine of information, definitely a best buy.”
Mike Mason, The Good Gardeners Association
“Charles Dowding's brilliant book has become a bit of a veg-growing bible in our household.”
Cleve West in The Independent's Urban Gardener column, Sat Jan 5th 2008.
“Dear Charles,
Your ‘No Dig’ book is ever at my hand’s reach! I’ve had huge success this year, despite awkward weather. I had a raised bed made, as I have little room in my small garden borders for veg. I’ve had wonderful crops of chard, broccoli and lettuce. No room for a proper greenhouse, so I have a “mini portable” which is invaluable.
There is no need for trials on whether to dig or not – just ask me!! ‘No dig’ makes utter sense and I tell everybody about it.”
From Jane Toplis, Bude, Cornwall