Here's my review:
Grow So Easy; Organic Gardening for the Rest of Us
Grow So Easy takes the mystery out of growing vegetables without the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. She gives viable alternatives to using toxic substances in and around the garden. Many turn out to be less costly than the chemicals found in garden centers and can be found in most kitchens.
Pat Muccigrosso has a great wealth of experience and knowledge about gardening and growing organically. She has been gardening and experimenting with crops for some 30 years. She shares her knowledge easily with the reader. The tone of the book is friendly and encouraging, explaining how anyone can grow a vegetable garden using her methods. She is not afraid to let us in on her mistakes as well as her successes.
The book can be used as a reference book where you can go to the section on Cucumbers, say, and find out what's causing your problems and how to take care of them. Or, you can read the book, as I did, from the beginning and get a good overview of her approach to gardening.
While she encourages new gardeners in their endeavors and has information about planning and starting a first garden, there is plenty of useful information for seasoned gardeners, as well. Pat is like the neighbor you could go to with questions about your first garden, intelligently discuss the state of affairs in your current garden or chat about new ideas you'd like to try next season.
Once you have your crop harvested, you can use the recipes at the end of each chapter to help you use your produce. Since Grow So Easy is an e-book, there are useful links to web sites with further information on pests and diseases you might encounter in the garden.
Pat lives and gardens in the Northeastern U.S. and that is the area she is familiar with. However, even if you garden in the Southern U.S., the West Coast or a even colder zone than Pat, the information in the book is relevant and sound. You may have to adjust the seed starting and planting dates for your gardening zone, but the same pests and many of the other problems show up everywhere and can be dealt with as discussed in the book.
Grow So Easy is a bit of a misnomer, however, since once you get into the book and learn from Pat what it takes to combat Cucumber Beetles, Stink Bugs or Vine Borers, you learn pretty quickly that gardening isn't for the squeamish or lazy. Vigilance is the key to keeping your organically grown garden healthy and bringing crops successfully to the table. Pat meets all the challenges found in growing food with aplomb and good humor and knows you can, too.
Until Next Time,
