The Alternative Kitchen Garden: An A-Z [Paperback]

Emma Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 2010

The Alternative Kitchen Garden is an evolving idea of what a kitchen garden could be in the twenty-first century: organic, environmentally sustainable, resilient, and about localizing at least some of our food production. It's also a place not only for learning and practicing growing skills but also for enjoying ourselves and having fun. The Alternative Kitchen Garden is the ideal companion for anyone getting dirt under their fingernails for the first time and full of fascinating ideas and experiments for the adventurous gardener.

A self-confessed "cyber geek," Emma documents the transformation of her "ropey old lawn with potholes and brambles" into a fertile and abundant permaculture plot via Internet radio and a popular blog site. Eight years of her postings and stories have been collected in here, illustrated with beautiful color photographs and arranged into easily accessible alphabetical order. The Alternative Kitchen Garden: An A-Z covers subjects as diverse as growing achocha (a forgotten Incan crop) to zucchinis. Emma's style, is light and friendly, yet at the same time informative and based on personal experience-you feel you could actually be sitting in the garden chatting face to face as she shares her knowledge and experience.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author, blogger, and host of a regular online radio show that draws an audience from all over the world, Emma Cooper is inspirational and funny as well as being a mine of information who connects with many types of people and online communities. She lives in the UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Permanent Publications (January 11, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1856230465
• ISBN-13: 978-1856230469
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,429,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Emma Cooper is a freelance writer, photographer and podcaster. She is a keen gardener and lives in the UK with husband Pete and three pet chickens - Princess Layer, Chewbucka and Cluck Skywalker.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An A-Z of enthusiasm and ideas which has relevance for any kitchen gardener irrespective of experience,, September 17, 2011

By 

Wiltshire Bookworm (Chippenham) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Alternative Kitchen Garden: An A-Z (Paperback)

Ever since I knew Emma Coopper was writing a book about her Alternative Kitchen Garden, I'd been intrigued how she would make it stand out from the many books about vegetable and fruit growing currently found in our bookshops today.

Thankfully she's taken a different approach to the monthly/seasonal calendar one and come up with a unique guide on how to transform a garden into a productive one. Like many of us, Emma started with just a few pots, but soon realised this wouldn't be enough for her. Today, her garden is dedicated to growing fruit and vegetables - and chickens! - with a 'grow dome' installed to extend the productive season and to grow her more tender crops.

It's not a 'How to' book - there's plenty of those on the market already - but there are plenty of hints and tips within its 371 pages. Instead it's an A-Z of enthusiasm, ideas and experiments, where Freecycling, Osteopathy and Zero Waste cheerfully rub shoulders with Achocha, Peas and Strawberries. Unlike most gardening books, Emma is looking at the kitchen garden in its widest sense. She isn't afraid to talk about her failures as well as her successes and sometimes you won't find definitive answers either as Emma is discussing what she's found out so far from eight years of gardening. That honesty is most refreshing and should encourage pretty well everyone to 'have a go', whether they're starting out or just wanting to try something that bit different.

A positive, friendly and informative book, which has relevance for anyone growing their own in the 21st century, irrespective of whether they're a beginner or have some experience.

This review first appeared on Amazon.co.uk