Book Review: “Gardening when it counts-Growing Food In Hard Times”

“Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)” by Steve Solomon. Book Review, Chapter 4: Garden Centers

It is because of the serious nature of gardening and providing food in hard times that the author wants to provide information on the gardening center. His goal here is to aid the home gardener avoid the pitfalls and mistakes abundant in dealing with these centers. He’s very aware that most of us family gardeners get our seeds and vegetable transplants from this/these sources and with that in mind he reminds us:

“… the garden has to be given the same degree of attention that other enthusiasts give to selecting the right fishing lure, modifying their automobile, or refining their golf swing.”

Mr. Solomon begins with  the topic of “Transplants ” and by identifying some of the vegetables that are very difficult to transplant and some that transplant relatively easily.

He continues his presentation by discussing the problems of seedling mislabeling and poor variety choices along with what to look for when choosing seedlings for transplant. By way of further guidance he offers this; “… make sure you can trust the seller.”
The author then moves on to the topic of growing your own seedlings and presents an easy way to do so; beginning with having the right soil for growing seedlings and then proceeding on with how to use it in various containers.
Fertilizer for seedlings comes next, in a careful discussion combined with recommendations  that include the all-important “whys and how’s”. Here’s a brief example concerning the use of coffee grounds:

“Used coffee grounds are a seed meal that hot water has been passed through. Judging by how coffee makes leap forward, I would reckon the grounds to be about half as strong as chicken manure. … They could also be put in a compost heap in place of chicken manure.”

“The garden center seedrack” gets its own section with this critical seed-choice guideline: “… I learned that every product or service could be compared to a three-legged stool with the legs being price, quality, and service. If lowered one leg, you had to lower the others accordingly or the stool tilted…”.
Commercial quality seed is discussed as well in this chapter along with the critically important aspect of vigor. These areas of discussion are enhanced with an excellent two-page “Germination standards” chart that shows a number of common garden seeds with their germination standards/rates from the USDA, a high quality seedsman, and commercial quality seeds. Also presented is a column that gives seed-storage longevity graded in years.
Lastly, “Regionality” is presented as an important aspect in seed choice that allows the home/family gardener another way to improve gardening results.

PrudentHome Comments: Mr. Solomon’s Chapter 4 reminds us, directly and indirectly:

1. Choose your garden seeds from a regional seedsman or one with a climate that is similar to yours.
2. One of your gardening reference BOOKS should be geared to gardening in your climate and your micro-climate if possible.
3. The serious gardener/food producer must keep good records. Like all long-term sustainability: it has to begin, operate, and end with a pencil and a notebook.

Until next time; keep your eyes on the horizon as the weathers changing fast.