Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Down to Earth
An Easy Guide to Growing Your Own Vegetables
by Madeleine Cardozo
published by: Haxnicks Ltd, September 2010
96 pages hardback
ISBN: 9780956637901
Special Haxnicks Price £9.99
Elsewhere, such as WH Smith, etc.: £14.99
In “Down To Earth” the author, Madeleine Cardozo, tells you how to do it all in a very easy way. The book explains to you what to do and when to do it. It is packed with facts, wonderful photographs, tips on storage, and a few recipes thrown in for good measure.
The author seems to have a great sense of humor too and I must say that I loved the book from the moment that I opened it. Primarily that is for its simple instructions without the long winded waffle that we so often find in gardening books and the guide in the form of the little onions, by way of rating the difficulty grade of the vegetable as far as growing goes, is just so “cute”.
Madeleine Cardozo has a lovely, easy-going style and if you are not smiling to yourself, if not even laugh out loud, already at the fist sentence in “In the Beginning”, then I really do not know. “I am not quite sure where to begin”, she writes, “but it's definitely way after Adam and Eve.”
With a high-quality hardback cover, “Down To Earth” will most certainly make a great gift for anyone interested in having a go in the garden, growing some of their own food.
It should even be suitable for youngsters, including children who want to read and learn about growing food in the garden as, as I have already said, the book does not go in for long winded waffle but is precise and explains everything in a few paragraphs.
Every vegetable is dealt with on one page in the form of, basically, a recipe card with or without a recipe thrown in for good measure.
This is a book that is precise and down to the point and, true to its name, “down to earth” and will help any beginner to get going growing food in the garden. But, I would say, even someone who thinks of himself as a professional could benefit from having this small volume as a quick reference manual.
© 2011
