Jekka's Complete Herb Book - Softcover

McVicar, Jekka

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1856262456 ISBN 13: 9781856262453

Publisher: Kyle Cathie Limited, 1997

Synopsis

"This is a must-have book for everyone who loves gardening and cooking. I'm Jekka 's biggest fan."
-Jamie Oliver (on the previous edition)

The Complete Herb Book is a comprehensive A-Z guide to the fascinating world of herbs, providing practical information on each herb's organic growing requirements, use, mythical properties and historical background. This new edition is updated and revised to include complete entries for 40 additional herbs.

The A-Z directory features a full double-page spread for each herb, with details that include:

• Natural habitat
• Species and related plants
• Soil properties
• Watering requirements
• Weather protection
• Container growing
• Strategies to eliminate pests
• Best harvesting times
• Culinary, medicinal, cosmetic and other uses
• Recipes.

The how-to section features step-by-step instructions and best practices for herb gardening. Included are sample plans; month-by-month checklists; drying, freezing and storing guides; tips for making oils, vinegars and preserves; and information on propagation.

The Complete Herb Book is the ideal handbook for growing herbs and provides hours of browsing pleasure for gardeners, cooks and natural-healing practitioners.

About this title

Review:

A one-stop reference to the organic cultivation and use of more than 150 herbs.

After learning about herbs' habits a gardener can try one of the 10 herb garden plans in The Complete Herb Book.

Comprehensive ... practical.... Plant profiles include extensive data on plant culture and uses with clear photos for easy identification

This is the most efficient herb-garden guide on the market today ... sheer inspiration to the culinary aficionado.--Maureen Gilmer, DIY Network"Chicago Sun-Times" (05/16/2008)

Set up alphabetically by botanic name, and lavishly illustrated, this is a great book for the beginning herb enthusiast.--Susan Banks (LIFE news services) "Central Alberta Life (Red Deer) "

Culinary uses, a few recipes, and medicinal uses are described... McVicar includes some hard-to-find exotics as well.--Jessie Milligan (wire story)"The Tampa Tribune" (04/26/2008)

Revised and expanded...this established resource has become more useful the second time around.--Nester Mingstern"Bloomsbury Review" (07/01/2009)

If herbs are your passion, or even an interest, you may find The Complete Herb Book to be the resource you've been looking for... [It's] a one-stop reference to the organic cultivation and use of more than 150 herbs. A comprehensive A-Z guide to the fascinating world of herbs... This new edition is updated and revised to include expanded entries for 40 additional herbs. Comprehensive ... practical.... Plant profiles include extensive data on plant culture and uses with clear photos for easy identification. The well-organized text also includes safety warnings about plants with injurious properties and the most recent research on medicinal potentials of specific herbs. After learning about herbs' habits a gardener can try one of the 10 herb garden plans in The Complete Herb Book.

For those who want to seek out these plants, this book is a nice compendium of what's out there.. [and] great way to familiarize yourself with a multitude of herbs and their uses. Set up alphabetically by botanic name, and lavishly illustrated, this is a great book for the beginning herb enthusiast.--Susan Banks (LIFE news services) "Central Alberta Life (Red Deer) "

This book includes descriptions, medicinal uses and recipes for more than 150 aromatic plants, from lemongrass to dandelion.

Horticultural expert Jekka McVicar delivers an illustrated A-Z primer on the cultivation and culinary medicinal, and cosmetic uses of herbs that'll be appreciated not only by gardeners but also by anyone who cooks, creates, or heals with herbs.

An amazing amount of information on organic gardening...in a layout that is easy to read and understand.--Joe Brouillette"Taste for Life" (06/01/2008)

As vibrantly practical as it is visually stunning, McVicar's encyclopedic guide to approximately 150 of the most common, and several obscure, herbs more than lives up to its name... Luscious full-color photogrfaphs and helpful sidebars...In-depth discussions...and stunning design plans for themed gardens. The reigning doyenne of British herbal gardening, MccVicar is equally at home authoritatively addressing basic cultural information required by North American gardeners... Elegantly showcasing herbs' myriad applications and benefits, this one-stop resource will benefit gardeners at any skill level eager to work with these multipurpose plants.--Carol Haggas"Booklist" (06/01/2008)

Growing instructions are included for more than 150 herbs. Culinary uses, a few recipes, and medicinal uses are described... McVicar includes some hard-to-find exotics as well. Full color photos help with identification and whetting the appetite.--Jessie Milligan (wire story)"The Tampa Tribune" (04/26/2008)

Revised and expanded (the first edition was published in 1994), this established resource has become more useful the second time around.... Thanks to the all-in-one approach to the subject and the author's thoroughness, gardeners are provided a practical resource, equally at home and useful on the desktop and the garden bench.--Nester Mingstern"Bloomsbury Review" (07/01/2009)

From A to Z, you will find all your herb needs here... This is a fine addition to the bookshelf.--Nancy Romanenko"Asbury Park Press (NJ)" (04/04/2008)

This extensive study of herbs is a pleasure to read... Entries are colorful and easy to read, many of them double-page spreads.--Mary-Liz Shaw"Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" (08/03/2008)

This affordable paperback is so well done that it will become dog-eared in my library, already stuffed with less-stellar publications about herbs. So what made me take notice of yet another herb book? First of all, it is very well illustrated with beautiful photographs of both the plants and some of their applications.... Most herb books come from a particular point of view, such as cultivation or cooking or folklore. This one offers equal amounts of all three plus much more. McVicar's book lays it all out for easy access without too much or too little to sift through.--Maureen Gilmer, DIY Network (wire story)"Post-Tribune (Merrittville, IN)" (05/10/2008)

About the Author:

Jekka McVicar has been growing organic herbs for 20 years. Her world-famous herb nursery, Jekka's Herb Farm, has won 59 Royal Horticultural Society gold medals. She is a co-author of Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit.

Penelope Hobhouse's books include Colour in Your Garden and Plants in Garden History. She hosts The Art and Practice of Gardening for Home and Garden Television and is associate editor of Gardens Illustrated magazine.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kyle Cathie Limited
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1856262456
• ISBN 13: 9781856262453
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256