 2009-01-03 - leading the way
Coleman leads the way in articulating the what, why and how of the four season garden. The pictures of his beautiful farm/unheated hoophouse are enough to inspire most skeptics. Hardly anyone mentions the great recipe ideas included here. My favorite is the salad made with cooked beets and mache. True they are sketchy descriptions, not cookbook recipes per se but most gardening cooks will be able to figure out a good rendition. In addition, I appreciate his detailed glossary with specific cultivars of vegetables, such as bull's blood beets greens grown in the winter for their colorful leafy presence in the salads. These and many other of the insights in this book can only come from a seasoned master and veteran gardener/farmer.
 2008-12-05 - Know Your Location's Relative Cloudiness Before Buying
When first reading this book, I got really excited about the prospects of greenhouse growing in Michigan during the winter. That is until someone reminded me how cloudy MI is during the winter...so I did some research, and sure enough, the part of Maine the author lives in has *more* sunny days than the US average in winter, whereas Michigan is among the cloudiest of all areas, with a number of sunny days far below the national average. It's still a good book, but I think the author should've made as much a point of cloud cover as he did latitude and day length.
2008-10-26 - Not A Waste Of Money
I've been familiar with Eliot Coleman's work for a few years now. I found an interesting article in Mother Earth News, 2004, regarding his daughter, Clara, and her attempts at gardening in the winter. It peaked my curiosity, so I saved the article. I have yet to get myself organized enough to attempt what she did, but I took it another step and purchased this particular book so that I would have more step-by-step help. Still, yet, I'm not quite brave enough to try, but if I can't do it with the help of this awesome book, I shouldn't waste my time!! The book is simple to understand, has perfectly understandable drawings to go by, and has about all the information one would need to be a success. I live in Central Maine and can't wait to be picking spinach and other greens in the cold of winter!! What more could you ask for, except for Mr. Coleman and/or his wife to come to your home and start the project with you??!! Thanks for a superb book...now if I can only get myself brave enough to try. Wish me luck.
2008-10-06 - Useful book
This seems like a very helpful book. We all need to learn to grow year round.
 2008-09-30 - New take on gardening
An interesting and different look at gardening. I plan to test the information I picked up this winter. I didn't really care too much about the travel log, but it did help explain the thought process. Well worth a read.
|
