Fresh off the press, Growing Your Own Vegetables
Or at least my advance copy of it is at my house.
The padded manila envelop with a return address from Sasquatch Books showed up on Saturday while I was out running errands in the wind, rain and cold. Speaking of cold…and things that run for that matter, I’ve got a classic spring cold and it’s got me uncomfortable enough to be mighty cranky. I wasn’t prepared to find a real, live, printed, bound copy of Growing Your Own Vegetables, by Carla Emery and Lorene Edwards Forkner tumble into my hands. So I did what any cranky, damp and cold creature would do under the circumstances; I burst into tears! Bad idea when you’re already congested.
Once I gathered my senses about me (and blew my nose) I strutted around the house like I’d laid a golden egg! Strictly a metaphor; one doesn’t get rich in print media. But to see the finished project that embodies the labors of Carla Emery’s years of work synthesized with my narrative and editing is so exciting. I am very proud of this effort.
Homegrown fruits and vegetables are so HIP these days. From the First Lady to second graders; the White House lawn to schoolyards and community parks, edible gardens are spreading like clover. Online, as well as brick-and-mortar bookstore shelves reflect this growing trend. Amazon.com lists some 5,224 titles having to do with growing vegetables and another 600 that involve edible gardening; and that’s just today!!!
Now is the perfect time for this book to go out into our world. While knowledgeable and comprehensive in scope (*see below) Growing Your Own Vegetables never looses sight of the fact that all our efforts are in pursuit of producing fresh, flavorful food. It’s the difference between a pithy strawberry, garishly red under the flourescent lights of the supermarket in winter and a humble, perhaps misshapen, sweet, juicy, backyard berry, so fragrant and delicious we gobble them straight from the plant, still warm from the summer sun. Hopefully, eager gardeners and readers hungry for facts, inspiration and planting tips will pluck this title, savor it’s passion and revel in the age-old process of growing their own food. The following is from my introduction to the book:
“…There is a dawning movement toward procuring local foods that follow the rhythm of the seasons – that is, the seasons of the hemisphere in which we reside –and for those of us looking to participate in a practice nearly as old as the human race, even in our own immediate zip code.”
Anemone coronaria and Romaine lettuce
You can’t get more local than your own backyard. We celebrated with Champagne and fresh flowers…I thought mixing the anemones with the lettuce was a nice touch!
* I’ll keep you posted on when you can get your very own copy of Growing Your Own Vegetables! In the meantime here is just a taste of the comprehensive, and at times quirky nature of the many topics covered:
- Draft horse or tiller?
- Spinach or chard?
- How to grow backyard wheat
- Warm season vs. cool season crops
- Gardening under cover
- Compost, manure and earthworms
- Edible nightshades
- Ornamental gourds
- Lots of leaves
- …and so much more!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Lorene:
We are proud as peacocks! Your success as a writer is truly inspirational and motivating. Perhaps now we can eata nd live healthier lives.
Fondly,
John and Kathy Willson
Swede Hill Dahlia Sunflower Farm
Congrats! I have been gobbling up chunks of Hortus Misc. this week, now I can’t wait to read your new one! I am a desultory veggie gardener at best, never seem to use best practices, so I look forward to seeing what you guys have recommended. Hooray! I would have cried too, were it me.
I am so pleased for you, Lorene! Congratulations! Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.
I would have cried, too…
We are so proud and tickled pink about your new book, Lorene! You’re wonderful and we love to brag about you. I already asked for it at Barnes & Nobel and they said they would have it the first of June. Congrats!
What wonderful news, Lorene. I know that Scott will be ordering online today! He’s been trying to figure out a new set of planting beds in our backyard…now he’ll have his cousin’s encouragement as well!
Your first book is on display at one of my favorite neighborhood shops, The Pickety Patch. It was so fun to see it beautifully displayed
in that great setting.
Definitely shouldn’t read your blog while i’m at work because it always makes me cry. We are soooooo very proud of you! Congratulations, Auntie! We’ll be planting our vegetable garden soon!
Ah shucks… true confessions, most of the above comments are from my loving family!!! How sweet is that? Perfect as well because the arrival of a new book is not unlike the birth of a new child in my universe…without all the huffing and puffing – and all the late night “feedings” have already taken place:)
with gratitude,
Lorene