Comments on: Backyard Giants: Book Review

By: Joyce in Huntsville

Joyce in Huntsville — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:54:41 +0000

I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read this book yet, but am getting it for my husband for Christmas.
Since Olaf is my brother-in-law I do think I have a pretty good idea of what the book is about. He entertained all my friends and our family this summer sitting around the pool at my wedding with his fond stories of the pumpkin growers. We did see the PBS special and thought about the stories we had heard poolside….and smiled to ourselves.
Thanks!

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:01:43 +0000

What a great book! Because I love the Autumn Season I have a great fascination for pumpkins. I aspire to grow a “Giant”.

Thank you!

Mary :>)

By: Susan Warren

Susan Warren — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:09:13 +0000

Kathy — Thank you for reviewing Backyard Giants –and especially for appreciating that this wasn’t just a book about a strange gardening hobby, but about the people pursuing a passion. There was plenty of humor and kookiness in their object — the biggest pumpkin in the world — but I wanted to get across that these were real people with the same hopesanddreams of anyone, and they showed a lot of integrity and grit suffering disappointments and coming back year after year to try again.
I was tickled you zeroed in on Olaf — I, too, thought he provided valuable insight into the growers from an outsider’s perspective. And before you lose heart about the growers’ chemical leanings, you should know that at Frerich’s Farm this year in Rhode Island, Connecticut grower Matthew DeBacco (a youngster of about 18 or 20), grew a completely organic pumpkin. It would be hard to get one to World Record weight without chemicals — at least for now — but Matthew managed to produce a very respectable 581-pound pumpkin without the help of pesticides, fungicides, or chemical fertilizers! (He placed #32 in the competition.)
Thank you again for taking the time to read the book and mention it on your Web site.
All best wishes,
Susan

By: Annie in Austin

Annie in Austin — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:51:13 +0000

Kathy, you and Carol are now making me consider reading this book, if it’s about people following their passions. I like movies about baseball better than real baseball since the movies emphasize the characters rather than the game. Maybe reading about people who care about giant pumpkins could be more interesting than trying to grow them.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

By: Kathy Purdy

Kathy Purdy — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:23:18 +0000

TC, no I didn’t see that PBS special. Interesting that it centers around Cooperstown, not too far from my neck of the woods. It covers different growers than Backyard Giants does.

MSS–it is a good book for a situation where you have to do a lot of waiting. It is engrossing without being difficult to read, and ends very upbeat.

Martha, I’m convinced just about anything can be made interesting, or at least help you understand why others find it interesting, if the writer is skilled enough. I’m always curious to see how other writers do it.

By: Carol

Carol — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:04:21 +0000

Kathy… I agree that one of the things that kept me reading this book was how the author made me care about the people who were growing the pumpkins. I wanted them to break the world record, to have that kind of success with their pumpkins. Well done review!

Carol at May Dreams Gardens

By: mss @ Zanthan Gardens

mss @ Zanthan Gardens — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 02:18:10 +0000

If the book is half as interesting as your review of it, it will certainly be worth checking out.

By: Martha Stoodley

Martha Stoodley — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:28:33 +0000

Kathy -
I have written a garden colum for this Thursday’s newspaper (www.muskogeephoenix.com) on the Plectranthus genus and wonder if anyone will think they are one-tenth as interesting as I do.

Arcane? It’s up to the reader. Some of us are needle headed enough in our plant love to appreciate articles on topics like colchicums and plectranthus.

Keep up the good writing!
Martha in Muskogee

By: TC Conner

TC Conner — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:58:51 +0000

Hi Kathy, Did you happen to see "Lords of the Gourd," a PBS special on giant pumpkins?

By: Robin (Bumblebee)

Robin (Bumblebee) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 21:05:55 +0000

Hi Kathy,

This book is in my 2 foot tall eading pile. But frnkly, I have read so many reviews and commentaries on this book that I’m starting to wonder if I need to bother reading it!

Besides, it might give me big ideas. (Har har.)

–Robin (Bumblebee)