As an organic gardener of some 10 years I was delighted to received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have been chemical and pesticide free in my current garden with a small veg plot for the last 4 years and over that time I have seen an explosion in the numbers of wildlife returning to my little suburban patch. In the second year, I had my organic patience tested as I watched the stems on some of my beautiful literally turn black with black fly. I sat on my hands to resist buying a pesticide spray.... and little did I know I was about be rewarded by a little wonder of nature. Literally overnight the blackfly were gone and in their place, hundreds of tiny ladybird larvae. I was astounded at the incredible display that nature had just shown me. With that in mind I have been companion planting throughout my garden and seen some really positive results.

Now it’s time to spread the organic love a little further as I begin my next big project creating an organic community garden. This book will come in extremely useful this winter as I plan the planting schedule and space and I intend to work through all the suggestions, pen and notebook in hand. I am well aware that the science doesn’t always work in the real world but this book gives me a great foundation both to plan and to teach my volunteers from.

Full of handy facts and experience and beautifully illustrated, I will be purchasing a real live copy which I very much hope will become muddy and tattered as it takes pride of place in our little community shed. Highly recommended for all gardeners out there, new or old, passionate about working with nature rather than against it. ( )

Plant Partners : Science-Based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden by Jessica Walliser. I've always thought the "roses love garlic" type books a bit woo-woo, relying too much on anecdote and folklore, and not so much on actual science so I grabbed this when it came out in late 2020. I'm quite impressed. Walliser talks about plants for soil prep, trap crops, living mulches, support structures (think beans growing on corn), cover crops, etc. Good bibliography. ( )