Idaho Librarian

Reviews

Perrin has been gardening for most of her life and has been gardening in Montana since 1969.  In the 1970's she began writing articles and books about growing vegetables in Montana and other cold climates.  This title is a revised edition of her Organic Gardening in Montana and the Northwest.  As one reads through this book and compares it with the earlier editions, it becomes apparent that Perrin has indeed updated the material. 

She has done the amateur gardener a great service by putting her experience into such a well-organized, clearly-written book.  Perhaps, if her book had been available in 1969, I wouldn’t have grown four hills of zucchini when I first tried gardening.  Who should read this book?  The gardener who lives in a cold climate and would like to grow his/her own garden, increase the variety of vegetables s/he grows, or improve the chances of getting a harvest. 

This is a great book for the person who has to contend with late frosts in the spring and early frosts in the fall.  This book is intended for the beginner, but any gardener should be able to find something useful.  Following the suggestions and techniques in this book should result in a bounty of vegetables at harvest time.  These vegetables will have a full, ripe flavor.  Perrin claims that “vegetables grown organically taste better than store-bought produce.” (p. xiv) 

This is a how-to book.  Perrin begins with the basics:  locating the sites for various vegetables, finding and creating microclimates, and preparing the soil.   She explains starting plants indoors, transplanting, and season extenders such as cold frames, hot beds, row covers, Wall-O-Water, and tunnels.   She includes information on cultivation, composting, and pest control as well as charts for at-a-glance determination of when to plant or companions for both vegetables and herbs.  She treats harvesting and storage, including how to keep root vegetables in the ground during the winter. 

In the second half of the book Perrin discusses seeds and presents a list of vegetables (divided into cool-season and warm-season sections) in which she describes varieties, names sources for those which must be ordered from catalogs, and gives growing and culinary hints.  There is a small section on herbs.  An appendix listing specialty seed companies includes addresses and phone numbers as well as e-mail or web page URLs.  Another appendix is a bibliography.  There is even an index.

Both academic and public libraries should consider purchasing this book.  I would recommend that anyone who wants to put this book to use buy a personal copy as it will be an invaluable handbook and is sure to get heavy use.