Charles Dowding is an internationally recognized organic gardening expert and winner of the 2014 Garden Media Guild Practical Journalist of the Year award. He talks on radio and television and contributes articles to many magazines, including Gardeners' World, Gardens llustrated and Grow It! He gives regular talks, runs courses and advises many gardeners on best practice, including the National Trust in the UK. He is a veteran organic grower, having practised no-dig gardening for many years. In his gardens over the years he has run experiments to compare differences in growth between vegetables on dug and undug soil. He has discovered different patterns of growth in most seasons, with slightly lower yields, more weeds and slugs found on the dug beds. He is currently establishing a new garden to illustrate no-dig practice and form the basis for a new experiment. He says: I have always been interested in lookiing 'behind the scenes' and asking why things are as they are, questioning practices that are taken for granted. This led me to grow organically, at a time when the chemical approach was rarely challenged. His books for Green Books are:
An invaluable book, intelligent of course, and inspiring too. Anna Pavord This book opens up a needlessly neglected and wonderful part of gardening - winter with your own vegetables is a much better place to be. Charles's book is a comprehensive, practical and inspiring guide. Sarah Raven This fabulous book is ideal for those seeking to extend their basic knowledge and experience. Gardens Illustrated - June 2011 Charles Dowding is an incomparable guide to the exhilarating, frustrating and downright addictive nature of growing salads and vegetables in the garden or allotment. [...] This gloriously practical and inspiring book is full of good photographs, and is handsomely produced in full colour by Green Books. The Lady - Summer 2011 Whether you have years of gardening experience or are just at the novice stage there is so much to learn from this excellent book. It is a very well illustrated book with some wonderful colour photographs and will make an excellent reference book in your gardening library. Smallholder - September 2011