It took me a little while to realise that @marfskitchengarden is Martha Swales and I have been following her for sometime on instagram.

This is a book particularly useful for beginner growers with a small space to grow in. There are the usual ‘How to grow year round leafy greens’ which gives ideas about how many plants of each sort you might like, varieties of plant to try and timings. Because she likes to cook, the next section is ways to eat the greens.

There’s growing in pots and containers, growing on your windowsill, using window boxes and trugs – every type of container you can think of, making the book useful. There are also small projects to invite wildlife into the garden, small ponds to build and flowers for pollinators. Swales also has a greenhouse, patch of land and cold frame. It is remarkable the amount of produce she can grow in the space that she has.

The fruit section has strawberries but also Chilean Guava, a fig and lemon tree and physalis. Not your average fruit but delicious all the same. All grown in pots which can then be moved around the garden, chasing the sun or left in one position. They can also move with you if you are renting.

What is harder to imagine from this book is transferring the information to an allotment or any plot of land. Growing in pots is not the same as growing in soil. Watering is different as are ways in which you can feed the soil biome although there is a compost bin in her garden.

A really useful book for beginner veg growers with not much space which is what Martha has to work with at home.