Organic Gardening in Cold Climates: Book Review

I’ve been reading the 1991 edition of Organic Gardening in Cold Climates by Sandra Perrin, which I checked out of the library. (Since there is now a 2002 edition, some of my comments might not be appropriate.) First off, it might better be called Organic Vegetable Gardening–there wasn’t much about flowers except how to use them as companion plantings or beneficial insect attractors. And even though I am not the vegetable gardener in my household, I found most of the information fairly basic. You could learn almost as much just by reading the Johnny’s catalog, which, I suppose, is a credit to them. Most of the information seemed to apply to any organic vegetable garden, not just a cold climate one. And for someone like me, who thinks God is in the details, the information seemed too simplistic: first, do this; then, do this; then, do this.

Mind you, this would be a good book for someone who had never gardened before. Perrin’s explanations are clear and, when appropriate, opinionated. And I did learn a few things. I had never heard of barrel planting corn, for example, which apparently is not planting corn in a barrel, but in a circular shape. If you have been a faithful reader of