Our cooperative garden & Perennial Vegetables book giveaway
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 11:30AM
As those of you who follow my instagram feed know, I’m a member of a cooperative garden. There are 14 of us and we garden an abandoned city lot in our neighborhood. The Sustainable Food Center insures the lot and pays our water bill; we collect dues and pay them back. We don’t do plots, just one big garden space to maximize ideal growing for certain crops.
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Hey look, it’s Stella of Stella’s beets fame in our garden (for those of you who’ve taken my classes or been to a beets canning demo!)
A volunteer squash that kept growing and growing, turns out it’s a pumpkin; thanks compost!
Since joining this group more than a year ago, my garden knowledge has quadrupled. A little hands on action and cycling through the seasons in the garden is primarily what it took for me to get a better grasp of gardening. My first encounter with perennial vegetables came in the form of spinach. I thought I was doing our garden a favor by pulling up the spinach plant that was on its last limbs. I did know the growing season to be over for spinach; however, I didn’t know that that type of spinach re-seeds if you leave it alone and grows all by itself the following year, aka it’s a perennial.
Thankfully my fellow gardeners are understanding and patient. It’s kind of cool to learn by doing (making mistakes along the way, of course) and relying upon fellow gardeners to share knowledge of what has worked and not worked for us in the five years since they started the garden. The pay off of growing food with others is immeasurable.
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When Chelsea Green asked if I’d like to host another giveaway I jumped at the chance to share another of their great garden and DIY food books. Eric Toensmeier’s book Perennial Vegetables: From Artichoke to ‘Zuiki’ Taro, a Gardener’s Guide to Over 100 Delicious, Easy-to-Grow Edibles seemed like a fine fit for where I’m at with gardening.
I’ve spent the last few weeks leafing through (pardon the pun) this great book. I love the organization of the book, how it discusses garden techniques, basics, problems, diseases and pests at the front and then delves into perennials with maps of US growing areas, plant family information including history and preferences for good growing (and the option to grow them as annuals in places where they won’t be perennials). I think this is an excellent book for the beyond basics gardener looking to implement low-maintenance perennial growth in the garden.
Enter by filling out the form below by June 12 June 16 at midnight CDT. The form places you on Chelsea Green’s email list alone and will not be shared elsewhere. You may easily and definitively unsubscribe upon receipt of the first email. Though commenting isn’t the way to enter this giveaway, I’d love to hear about your favorite perennials in the comments section or any similar perennial mistakes you’ve made (like my spinach situation).
Also, per the publisher’s request, the giveaway is open to US residents only. Thanks to my international peeps for understanding.
Disclosures: Chelsea Green sent me a review copy at no cost and I may receive a small commission if you purchase the book via the Amazon link above. Commentary and opinions are my own.
Reader Comments (8)
I would love this book because I have just decided to grow a garden. As a new gardener I am lost as to what is what and I need ALL the help I can get!
I would love this book so I can learn more about gardening :D
Hi there - is this competition only for USA residents? Can't enter an international state! :) Love your blog- greetings from Australia.
As I live overseas, I don't take part in the giveaway. But I'd like to stop by to say how much I appreciate that cooperative gardens get more and more (also in Berlin). I guess it's a wonderful way both to get in deeper touch with seasonal cooking and in enhancing neighbourhood relationships. Would love to hear more of your experience in that! I am so lucky that a friend of mine shares her garden with all of her friends who like to stop by time and a again to do a little garden work and take some herbs and vegetables in return. Not a cooperative yet, but some kind of beginning.
Best.
Claudia
I used to garden when young, and have so much to re-learn before I begin again! :)
Hi Jonathan, thank you for your note from Australia. Yes, unfortunately it's for US residents per the publisher's shipping and geographical focus within this book. I try to offer up as many international giveaways as possible. Thanks for reading!
Hello Claudia,
I'll be sharing more about the garden in future posts, for sure! Thanks for stopping by and sharing about your friend's garden in Berlin!
o I live in new Orleans and have tried gardening but as soon as things start to grow theydie. All my neighbors have landscaping companies. I don't want this generic look.growing up my aunt and uncle grew strange exotic plants. A
lso every type of edibles. Really good memories. Also I am disabled so into only do I have a lot of time on my hands bit am also on a tight budget. I've never won anything and this book would be great way to get my feet wet gardening
Erin courtney
Hi. I see you're using a low tunnel (hoop) for beets. I love those low tunnel frames. I use one over lettuce, spinach, and onions and I have these crops -- early crops anyway -- about a month early. This year, we kept having hard freezes into May, but I was harvesting lettuce, spinach and onions in April.