Check their rich catalogue for books here.

Examples below

Weeding ‘n’ Reading Allotment Booklist

Interested in getting an allotment or simply enjoy gardening?

All Southend Libraries have a wide range of books, DVD’s, magazines and free Internet access, so if you are tired of weeding, try some reading (or surfing).

• First find your plot…

The Allotment Handbook by Caroline Foley neatly covers every aspect of managing a plot, beginning with the “basics” such as soil preparation, dealing with weeds, and crop rotation systems etc.

A very useful month-by-month action plan gives tips and tactics to keep your allotment productive all year round. Caroline’s latest book The A-Z of Allotment Vegetables and Practical Allotment Gardening are both available from libraries.

• Time Management

The Half-Hour Allotment by Lia Leendertz is aimed at those who want to enjoy the benefits of an allotment, but are pressed for time. Tried on her own plot, the author uses methods that could help you grow lots – in no time at all!

• Beginners Class

The Allotment Book by Andi Clevely is another well-illustrated guide for anyone new to the plot. It brilliantly captures the “blood, sweat and joy” of growing your own. Recommended to allotmenteers both new and old.

• Small is beautiful

Successful Allotments is a little book with big ideas. Published by Impact press as part of their Green Essential series, it aims to help you easily create an organic garden or plot. Written as a simple step-by-step guide, other titles in the series include slugs, compost, ponds, wildlife etc. www.impactpublishing.co.uk

• A Little Green Book

Allotment Gardening: An Organic Guide for Beginners by Susan Berger is no coffee-table book, but a simply presented guide for beginners. Packed with practical advice it gives helpful tips for anyone wishing to grow organically.

• Couch Potato

A DVD called simply The Allotment aims to take the new and experienced plot holder through the growing seasons. Based on a fifteen part TV series, this three DVD set is great viewing. For details visit www.allotment.info/ or borrow a copy through your library.

• Arty folks versus Artichokes

Allotment Folk by Chris Opperman is a humorous celebration of the diversity and eccentricity of the modern allotment community; Black and white photos portray a world where individuality still is king (or queen).

Shed Men by Gareth Jones features a further cast of eccentric shed-heads. Weird and wonderful – all at the same time!

• Old Skool

Interested in the recent history of allotments? Travel back in time with the Ration Book Cookery from English Heritage. Packed with recipes adapted for the modern kitchen, this fascinating book provides a true taste of the times. Included are such delights as Mock Marzipan and Passion Dock Pudding!

Other titles about the “Dig for Victory” era include Bombers and Mash by Raynes Minns, We’ll Eat Again by Marguerite Patten and The Wartime Kitchen and Garden by Jennifer Davies’, featuring BBC veterans Harry Dodson and Ruth Mott.

• What a Year

Allotted Time: Twelve Months, Two Blokes, One Shed, No Idea records the first year on a plot with Robin Shelton (and his mate Steve). This book offers an insight into the benefits allotments give anyone in search of the good life, or simply somewhere to chill out.

• Tricks With String

101 things to do in a shed by Rob Beattie (Ebury Press) is part homage to Boy’s Own Annuals of the 1930’s and part DIY manual. Are sheds simply a place where post-modern man (or woman) goes to find him / herself? Welcome to the sanctuary of the shed!

• Useful websites
• National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners www.nsalg.org.uk/
• Allotments Regeneration Initiative (ARI) www.farmgarden.org.uk/ari/
• Royal Horticultural Society www.rhs.org.uk/
• Garden Organic www.gardenorganic.org.uk
• National Allotment Gardens Trust www.nagtrust.org/

• Requests go FREE!

You can request any library title free of charge at any Southend Library

Visit www.southend.gov.uk/library to browse 3 million library items online-anytime!

Southend Borough Libraries, May 2008

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