Released today, this book Grow Your Own Medicine is well worth a read. Unfortunately I can't find a website to link to for either the author or the publishing company, but if I ever do, I'll update the post.
This is a very in-depth look at growing your own herbs. It is written in a very friendly, upbeat tone and you come away feeling ready to get started on digging that garden!
The book covers everything you need to know. It starts with a brief history of herbalism, then goes on to talk about soil types, hardiness zones and climate, garden design, tools you’ll need, growing from cuttings and seeds, making compost, dealing with diseases and pests and general guidance on growing, harvesting and taking care of your herbs. It is full of tips and tricks the author has learned throughout her journey with herbs, and she clearly knows what she is talking about.
In addition to showing you how to grow and harvest herbs, the book contains information on 21 different herbs. For each herb you learn how to propagate, it, common growing problems, medicinal uses, safety (as some herbs can be dangerous in high doses or unsuitable for those with certain medical conditions and pregnancy), how and when to harvest, and culinary and other uses. Some herbs have a recipe included for things such as infused oils, food dishes, cough syrups and sweets, and herbal sachets. It would have been nice to have a recipe for every herb, rather than just some of them.
There are no photographs of the herbs but there are clear, detailed illustrations that give an excellent idea of what each herb looks like, and also what different plant diseases and pests look like. I felt the illustrations really added to the book and, personally, I think they were a better choice than photos would have been.
It is a little unusual in that there is an option to access information on 32 more herbs via a QR link, leading you to a pdf that is external to the book. The reason given for this is that it helps to reduce printing costs, which is a fair point, however not relevant for ebooks. I wonder if these extra herbs will be included in the ebook? Also, a web link would be useful for those readers who do not have smart phones.
Overall, this is a comprehensive book about growing herbs and I learned a lot. I would have liked more information about using the herbs as I feel this would have made it a more complete volume, but I understand the author is currently working on more books so perhaps this will be in an upcoming book. This is a book about growing herbs after all, and nowhere does it say I am going to learn about using them, so I feel this book more than adequately fulfils its promise to its reader. If you want to learn about starting your own herb garden, you will not go wrong by starting with this book, and I suspect you will be referring to it for quite some time before you feel the need to move on to another!
With thanks to Netgalley, Ava Green and Kate Bensinger for providing an advance copy of the book in return for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
No comments:
Post a Comment