Campo

This information-packed new sister title to Santana’s 2003 classic Finca is the result of sixteen years’ owning and farming a small-holding in Andalucía. As authoress, Sandy Walker stresses, the book is about the land and the countryside of Spain, not about gardens or gardening, and is designed to work as a practical guide whilst also affording an insight into the nature of agricultural practice that has forged the character of the Mediterranean people.  

Key features include

• Clearly structured chapters covering a cocktail of history, folklore and mythology; practical information on pruning, pest control and harvesting; and guidelines on handling and disposal of produce, from use in recipes, through storage, to sale.
• Detailed descriptions of the trees and shrubs which shape the landscape and form the basis of the agricultural economy of Spain.
• General information about the campo, for example, the use of chemicals, the rights of hunters and even the significance of pieces of plastic tied to trees.
• Comprehensive readership appeal extending from those visitors to the campo wishing merely to increase their knowledge of the countryside to small and more substantial landowners who require correspondingly focused information and advice.

Above all, observes the author, the book seeks to bring to an end the frustration felt by many locals resulting from the neglect that many extranjeros display in tending their land when the reason for this is often only a lack of knowledge of how to go about the task.