The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way Of Growing Your Own Food Easily And Naturally (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
I picked up this book at the libary. As soon as I opened it, I knew I needed to take it home because of the gorgeous photographs. This book is like vegetable porn. Oh, my! Just look at those tomatoes, melons, and squash! I also enjoyed the text, but it was less remarkable than the pictures. Jere Gettle starts by describing how he grew up with a home-schooling, homesteading family, gardening as soon as he could walk, and starting a seed company while still in his teens. Then he traveled the world seeking rare varieties, growing his business, and getting married. He writes simply and straightforwardly, but his enthusiasm and joy shows through. There follows a section on the basics of gardening, and a section on growing each kind of vegetable. Much of that information can be read in other books, but the information on how to save seeds is the other thing (beside the photos) that makes this book special. The Gettles want to get more people growing their own vegetables however they can, but especially enjoying the intense flavors and rare colors of heirloom varieties, saving them from extinction, and preserving the genetic inheritance that is being destroyed by corporate monoculture agriculture. When I say it, it sounds stuffy. When he says it, it sounds fun. Gettle is inspiring and funny and useful all at once. We are growing our garden from seed for the first time this year and found everything we wanted to know (and more) about our heirlooms from this book. Even if you aren't growing a garden this book is an engaging read and by the end of the first few chapters I would be surprised if you didn't find yourself wanting to be a gardener (and seed saver as well).
What do You think about The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way Of Growing Your Own Food Easily And Naturally (2011)?
Borrowed from the library but I am going to buy for my personal library. Great back material.
—gona
Fantastic. I now buy all my vegetable and flower seeds from this man's company.
—hellnawitsc
