Book Review: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Food
I thoroughly enjoyed Jean Ann Van Krevelen’s new book Growing Food: A Guide for Beginners. You don’t have to be a horticulture specialist to figure about what this book is about, the title says it all. After the super detailed content section, which makes for easy reference later on, she starts off the book with a thought provoking question, “Can you survive without a grocery store?” Oh man, at this point I would be up $@%# creek! Since the book targets beginners, Jean Ann does an excellent job explaining the basics of starting and caring for an organic garden, pest and diseases, and Top Eleven vegetables to know and grow. You can buy the paperback book (139 pages) for $17.95 at Lulu.com or the kindle version for $9.99 on Amazon.com.
Jean Ann is all about organic gardening and supporting your local community, but she gratefully acknowledges our crazy job expectations, the information overload epidemic and child rearing expectations as possible reasons for why many of us are not wanting to spend hours in the garden. However, the current state of the economy and latest scares of food contamination have motivated many families to reconsider the idea of growing their own food. Jean Ann has come to our rescue by creating a one-stop, interactive resource guide to growing your own food to save money, provide for ourselves and improve our nutrition.
What’s different about this garden book?
For a beginner, focusing on the basics is so important to avoid leaving the reader feeling overwhelmed and easily defeated. I appreciated Jean Ann’s layered approach to information: Here’s what you need to know, but not everything there is to know, about starting an organic garden and here’s some extra resources to help you “dig” a little deeper. Her book is brought to life with links to various multimedia resources, including podcasts and videos. I’m a total skimmer, visual learner and would rather gather information on the internet in 600 words or less, so this book is perfect for someone like me.
Jean Ann doesn’t expect her readers to immerse themselves deep into the world of organic produce overnight. She suggests to maybe start out with a nightly salad mix. In my opinion, growing your own food is the easy part; it’s the preparation, consumption and storage that’s hard to manage. In her Top Eleven list, Jean Ann provides tremendously helpful information about planting instructions, common pests and diseases, different preparation methods, special information and even special recipes for every vegetable. Mmm, I can’t wait to get started!
I truely love feeling connected to my food and the earth in this very nurturing process — Jean Ann Van Krevelen
More about the author
Jean Ann started gardening about 10 years ago after the death of her grandmother. After the standard acknowledgment and copyright pages, you happen upon her dedication page, which made me a little teary-eyed one day it was so touching. You realize the connection she made through gardening with the two most important women in her life, her grandmother and mother. Jean Ann understands the meaning of the word community. You can find her all over the internet chatting with her tweeps on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks. Her book contributors include the gardening world’s best of the best, as well as everyday gardeners who are members of her groups. Noted garden contributors include Margaret Roach, Amanda Thomsen, Mary Ann Newcomer, Susan Harris and Debra K. Prinzing.
Garden coach publishes beginning veg-growing book
April 18, 2009
Veg-gardening coach Jean Ann Van Krevelen wanted to spread the word, but rather than shopping for a publisher decided to take matters into her own hands. She's well positioned to do so, what with her other coaching duties - in online communications, social networking, all the new media stuff I'm falling behind on as I type. (My apologies to everyone following me on Twitter and getting bupkis.)
The result? Her very own book now available in a digital version on Amazon and a print-on-demand version here.
Now as a beginner myself, I'm in no position to judge the content, but I DO appreciate the newbie-level guidance and especially preparation suggestions - i.e. how to cook the stuff. Yeah, I need help there, too. But I'll turn the review over to others who know more than me, including our friend Debra Prinzing.
(You may remember that Jean Ann's the one who rescued me from the chore of updating our Garden Coach Directory by taking it Wiki using Wet Paint. What a relief.)
Susan Harris, Garden Rant
Growing Food: A Guide For Beginners
by Amanda Thomsen, of Kiss My Aster and Horticulture Magazine
Let’s start with full disclosure: I’m actually in this book a little, so I am slightly biased. But this is a damn great book. Its like Jean Ann is your BFF and she’s talking you through everything calmly and with funniness. I especially like her “Ten Steps To Becoming a (insert vegetable here) Lover” which will encourage you to really tailor what you grow to YOU which is the name of the game and where many people go wrong when it comes to vegetable gardening.
Also fantastic? The recipes! There isn’t anything I wouldn’t eat, even in the beet section. And I don’t even like beets.
Unusual and cool? This book is packed with amazing web resources, which I’ve never seen before in a book. Websites, videos, blogs—it’s really meaty info and alone is probably worth the price of the book. Unless the book costs $300. I honestly didn’t look into the price, just the content, baby.
Am I pouring it on too thick? Is now the time to mention that Jean Ann and I are venturing into the world of podcasting together? Does that completely detract from all the truths in this post? OK, I’ll shut up. But check out the book; it debuts today.
Praise for Growing Food: A Guide for Beginners
"The book hits the mark with today’s food-conscious climate on not only the climbing prices of produce, but the unhealthy pesticides so frequently added to our grocery store bought foods. Van Krevelen shows novice gardeners the simplicity of growing their own food at home from seed to harvest.
With so many wonderful reasons for making meals with fresh produce grown safely and economically at home and this book in hand, nothing should be holding you back from picking up Growing Food: A Beginner’s Guide and having you own vegetable garden growing by this weekend." Read the full review at the San Francisco Examiner.
“Just
in time for planting season, Growing Food: A Guide for Beginners” delivers a
bountiful crop of useful advice and practical instruction. Jean Ann Van
Krevelen and her posse of fellow organic gardeners deliver food-growing
information that will encourage anyone who hasn’t already started raising their
own edible plants to look at the yard, patio or window box in a new way.
Presented
in an unconventional format (electronic and print on demand versions are
available) “Growing Food” will appeal to a whole new generation of would be
gardeners who go to the web—first—when seeking information, ideas and inspiration.
They’ll find what they need right here.”
Debra K. Prinzing, author, Shed Style
Hi!
I received your Facebook message in my e-mail, but I made a deal with my son
that I wouldn't go on Facebook for 2 weeks, in return for him cooking dinner
all week upon completion. :) So, I just wanted to congratulate you
on finishing your book. I tried my hand at writing Children's magazine
articles and had trouble keeping on track with that, so I'm totally
impressed! I look forward to reading it...but it might have to wait until
summer, when I'm visiting my mom (who has a Kindle)! In the meantime, I
have some tomatoes and peppers sprouting from seed and am awaiting a delivery
of seed potatoes. I can't tell you how great it is that you've created
such a great resource for beginners (and probably many experienced
gardeners). Thanks.
Jessica Mc Sculla
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