Rekha Mistry’s book, Rekhas’s Kitchen Garden, is a guide to growing vegetables, herbs, and fruits. It follows the author’s activities as she plants, maintains, and harvests her garden for a full year. She shares her personal experiences and offers suggestions to maximize the potential of each crop. Numerous photographs of her garden enhance the text.
After an introduction setting out the organic principles that guide her gardening, Rekha presents profiles of 40 plants by season from carrots, swiss chard, and celeriac to mint, garlic and cilantro, to rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries. Each profile includes Rekha’s reason for growing the plant, favorite cultivars, methods of sowing and transplanting seedlings, instructions for routine care, and suggestions for harvesting. Gardening tips provide additional information on growing the plants and kitchen tips offer suggestions for using the plants in the kitchen. We learn that keeping roots on spring onions at harvest keeps them fresh, and that purple sprouting broccoli is delicious when steamed and served with bagna cauda sauce and crusty bread.
The simple casual style of writing coupled with many personal anecdotes, makes Rekha’s Kitchen Garden a refreshing and appealing book. The numerous photographs showing details of Rekha’s gardening methods are especially helpful and her kitchen tips serve as an inspiration. A good gardening guide and a good read.
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