The first thing I like about this book – and what makes it so timely – is that it was written collaboratively by a group of veteran gardener/cooks who met and worked via Twitter/Facebook. This takes the content to a whole new fresh level. The “ringleader” Jean Ann Van Krevelen – who wouldn’t want to follow a woman with a name like that?! – used new technology to seek out the best of the best to make this book great.

The second thing I like about this book, is that it is interesting for a veteran like myself yet approachable enough to be a really great, useful resource for a new gardener. Food gardening (Grocery Gardening!) increased by 7 million households last year so there are a lot of new gardeners out there who are going to want advice!

The third thing I like about this book is that it is fun and concise. The “avatars” of the authors provide cheeky/fun comments that pepper the well organized and streamlined information. It makes the read very personal and gives voice to the authors which, very freely, want you to contact them via Twitter and Facebook to ask questions.

The content, approach and zeitgeist of Grocery Gardening make it a real winner. And if the authors have coined a new term in the process… even better! The concept of Grocery Gardening is so positive and actionable… unlike “recession gardening”. Yuck. That makes gardening sound like a necessary evil which it isn’t. Gardening is a joy.

So foodies, gardeners and would-be foodie/gardeners rejoice! You’ve just been introduced to your new gardening best friend – Grocery Gardening. And the fun isn’t over when you’re done reading the book, because the authors are ready, willing and able to keep the conversation going via Twitter and Facebook.

Maybe other authors out there will step up so gardening/cooking books can be everyone’s happy place again!
Rating: 5 / 5

The premise of the book is to help people gain the knowledge they need to begin to grow their own food.

I think it takes a great viewpoint – approach people who want good food but who mainly know their food as things you buy at a store, not raise with your own two hands.

New gardeners can often feel overwhelmed. One might start gardening for the sake of securing safe wholesome food but very soon the truth emerges, gardening is not intention, it is action and observation and attention.

With this book, the entry level gardener can begin to make their segway gracefully from poking veggies in the store to growing their own.

The book is somewhat unusual in that there are several contributing authors who speak from experience: Jean Ann Van Krevelen, Amanda Thomsen, Robin Ripley, and Teresa O’Connor.

The photography is crisp and very inviting. The pages are packed with information on growing as well as recipes for using your bounty! The mixture of voices very much evokes the current trends in social media where one is bathed in a diverse community of knowledge, viewpoints, attitudes.

Chapters

* Gardening 101

* Organic disease and pest management

* Purchasing quality produce

* Edibles

* * Herbs

* * Fruit

* * Vegetables

* Preserving your harvest

I am happy to recommend this lovely book to anyone who is interested in learning more about growing their own food and also how to enjoy their harvest throughout the year!
Rating: 5 / 5

But the highlight of this book? The introduction and it’s entire concept. It’s amazing to read how a group of women met over Twitter, liked eachother, thought of this brilliant idea, found a publisher who liked their idea as well, and quickly put together such an amazing book, soliciting help from everyone else on Twitter. It’s a group project – edited by the professionals, of course – and the first of it’s kind, I’m sure. Just lovely.
Rating: 5 / 5

Edible gardening is the new American pastime, though millions have been doing it for decades – centuries, for that matter. Perhaps never since the days of Victory Gardens in the 1940s though, has “growing your own” been so popular. But many of today’s new gardeners did not grow up learning what it takes to put your own food on the table.

Jean Ann and her co-authors have done a superb job of providing a manual that gives essential information without getting bogged down in details that might make all of this seem daunting. The material is presented in a logical, graphically beautiful way that invites novices to give it a go and infuses new energy into the more seasoned gardener’s experience.

There’s a sense of anticipation brewing as you soak up the general planting, growing, and harvesting sections, and for good reason. In the next and largest section of the book, the real fun begins. Each fruit or vegetable is given its own “file,” with tips on selecting varieties and their specific growing needs.

Several easy-to-prepare recipes are provided for each, such as Herbed Cucumber Salad, Thai Basil Fried Rice and Shepherd’s Pie with Carrot and Sweet Potato Topping. Personally, I can’t wait to make the Cantaloupe Blackberry Smoothie. There are over 135 recipes in all.

The fascinating thing about this book is how it came to be. Its four authors have never met in real life. They encountered each other online through Twitter. As they discussed various aspects of gardening and cooking, the idea for collaboration on a book was born, and Grocery Gardening was the result. Even more amazing is that it was written in 60 days.

If that isn’t enough, this book has done yet one more thing. It has inspired this gardener and garden book reviewer that hates to cook, to actually try some of the recipes, and that is no small feat.

Rating: 5 / 5