The best books on allotments
Phil recommends some of the best books on allotments which also happen to make fab Christmas presents for the green fingered

As we are now definitely in the bleak mid winter, with the earth as hard as iron, activity on the allotment is curtailed. There is however, and will continue to be, frantic activity in the warm indoors on the allotment's behalf.
Now is the time for planning, learning from last year and consulting the oracles from the comfort of the armchair, with a suitably warming drink in hand (see How to make Hot Toddys). That is, reading the many books we have accumulated, and referred to, over the past year. It is good to seek the advice offered in the pages and compare and contrast advice given.
So, here is my reading list, in no particular order, for Allotment Christmas, handy reads for allotmenteers and those aspiring to allotmenting.
Allotment month by month by Alan Cunningham
Royal Horticultural Society Allotment Handbook
Grow your own, Kitchen garden year (again by the RHS) The Kitchen gardener, and or, the Gardener's year by Alan Titchmarsh The Edible Garden by Alys Fowler
Grow your own veg by Carol Klein
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Plus, this is a book for those with grand ideas for the allotment and beyond;: The Complete guide to self sufficiency by Dick and James Strawbridge
Enjoy reading and allotmenting.
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Vertigo at Victoria Falls, a sunset surrounded by lions and swimming in the Nile: A journey from Cape Town to Cairo
Why do we travel and who inspires us to do so? Chris Wallace went in search of answers on his own epic journey the length of Africa.
By Christopher Wallace
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A gorgeous Scottish cottage with contemporary interiors on the bonny banks of the River Tay
Carnliath on the edge of Strathtay is a delightful family home set in sensational scenery.
By James Fisher