Gardening Book: Manures

I would like to welcome February with open arms. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had such a long and drawn-out January as this one. It feels like we’ve all turned a corner. Indeed, I was staring at the garden over the weekend and reminded myself that before the buds break I needed to seek some practical advice from my trusty ‘Manures for Garden and Farm Crops’ guide.

An why not. Just look at that type-setting… There are more creativity with the type styles on one page of this book than the whole of Google’s rather limp online font directory. The condition isn’t very good in places, but considering it was written just after 1915, I’m not entirely surprised. The cloth binding and small pocket format make me think that this book would once have been the beloved allotment companion of many a prize-vegetable grower across the country. Perhaps thumbed quietly whilst sat on the step of a potting shed with a flask of tea holding the door open.

The advice is surprisingly current and for the avid gardener there are some quite refreshing ideas, including using spent hops from the local brewery as a mulch. To be fair, I would rather leave this book for indoor reading, but given the state of my carrots last year, I might just have to resort to one of the hundred year-old compost recipes for wee bit of guidance.