SLOW DOWN AND GROW SOMETHING. And then cook something. This book from Byron Smith with Tess Robinson is perfectly placed for an urban reader. In its beautifully photographed pages is so much inspiration to reduce your stress levels by engaging with the garden in an edible kind of way. In simple terms with inspiring images, the book provides growing information, nurturing tips and tricks and a seasonal guide to cooking with the fruits and vegies and herbs of your labours. “Cultivate. Cook. Share.”
To begin at the beginning, Byron Smith is a horticulturalist and founder of Urban Growers an edible garden design company. With his partner Tess Robinson, who is chief cook with the produce from Byron’s food garden, they live in Sydney and have found, according to the introduction, “that gardening and cooking ensure we maintain a simple meaningful life in the chaos of the city.” Sounds like a nice idea but is it really possible? That was my question when I first opened up this book.
So I took it to bed where most of us do our reading, but it wasn’t long before I was out in my pyjamas wandering around the garden making plans. For a neophyte, the section on small space garden layout was perfect. Particularly of interest was the little section on deciduous fruit trees like figs which will drop their leaves and, in my place at least, will maximise my courtyard’s winter sun.
The information in SLOW DOWN AND GROW SOMETHING has a chatty, accessible way of allowing one to confront gardening terrors, like soil and pH. The bulleted list is very useful in this regard as is the cruel to be kind experiment under ‘Watering’. I could have done with a touch more info about getting your soil tested though, as I hope to grow in the ground rather than in raised beds.
With a space cleared and having absorbed lots of information about preparing, it was time to hit the plant store. I am never going to be a seed raiser, it’s seedlings all the way for me but if you are, there are several fascinating sections including sourcing seeds from neighbours who know what grows well near you. Tools and worms and bees and chickens also make an appearance in the book along with a fascinating and non-intimidating insight into balance and biodiversity.
When it comes to cooking with your hand raised ingredients, the recipes are laid out in seasonal terms. Being Winter at the moment, I headed straight for the back of the book to see what will grow and what can be done with it. Turmeric is the current wonderherb but my doctor, being from an Indian heritage, turned me on to it ages ago. Until now I have never thought of growing it. And it is indeed as the book says “Once you plant it, you can almost forget about it.” Looking forward to using my home grown in the recipe for ‘Turmeric Flu Shot’.
One thing I do have on the boil, or more correctly … on the bubble, is the ginger beer. The recipe is part of the Winter collection and they say it’s one of the more complex makings in the book. “Don’t be disheartened” it exhorts. But I sailed through it and now I’m just watching and waiting. I did have to laugh at the term tea towel with dish towel in brackets behind it! And I am working through some of the other treats like a sugar free ‘Choc mint mousse’ that is now a staple dessert for us. As is the yeast free ‘Lemon, zucchini and rosemary bread’ which smells divine.
Tess and Byron’s passion shines through this book. It’s large, copes well with having the hose accidentally turned on it, has decent sized print and the sections are clearly delineated. The glossary is comprehensive with entries like hoes and ladybirds and I had to look up agastache … an edible flower, who knew? I learned a great deal from reading SLOW DOWN AND GROW SOMETHING but it gave me something more than just information.
It’s about inspiration. After enjoying the lovely photos of dirt and plants, the informal way of presenting information and the relaxed attitude that encourages you to garden at the level you choose, I think it is possible to have a gardening retreat in the city. I am in a retirement community, where my neighbours are always stopping to ask what I am planting and this is a perfect present for your elder family members. But for young, busy or stressed people too. With an obvious commitment to the environment and to de-stressing it’s a call for everyone to slow down and grow something.
SLOW DOWN AND GROW SOMETHING , The Urban Grower’s Recipe for the Good Life, from Murdoch Books [Facebook] is available now and retails at a RRP of $39.99.
