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Garden Wisdom: Lessons Learned from 60 Years of
Gardening Purchase this book from:
Amazon
Step into the garden with writer and rural historian Jerry Apps.
In this treasure trove of tips, recollections, and recipes, Jerry
combines his hard-earned advice for garden success with a discussion
of how tending a garden leads to a deeper understanding of nature
and the land. From planning and planting to fending off critters and
weeds, he walks us through the gardening year, imbuing his story
with humor and passion and once again reminding us that working even
a small piece of land provides many rewards.
Gardening has always been a group endeavor for the Apps family.
In Garden Wisdom, readers will learn gardening basics along with
Jerry’s grandchildren as they become a new generation of gardeners.
They’ll devour Ruth’s recipes for preparing and preserving fresh
garden veggies—from refrigerator pickles to rutabaga pudding. And
they’ll savor son Steve’s beautiful color photographs, capturing the
bounty of the family garden throughout the growing season.
Reviews
“Jerry Apps has tapped into the wisdom of five generations of
family—from his grandparents to his grandchildren—to create a richly
personal and practical guide to growing, storing, and using
foodstuffs in the Badger State. This is a wonderful book for all
Wisconsin gardeners.” (Jerry Minnich, author of The Wisconsin Garden
Guide and The Rodale Book of Composting)
“Jerry Apps sets the stage and draws readers in for a
crop-by-crop, season-by-season saga as old as home vegetable
gardening itself. He weaves the tale using the perfect balance of
experience, folklore, and science. The UW Extension background of
this husband and wife team lends added credibility to their
gardening methods and recipes alike. In the end you feel more a part
of the society of gardeners everywhere and a little bit a part of
the Apps family.” (Sharon Morrissey, UW Extension Consumer
Horticulture Agent and cohost of Milwaukee FOX6-TV’s Wake-up News
gardening segments)
"Jerry Apps (emeritus, Coll. of Agricultural & Life Sciences,
Univ.of Wisconsin-Madison; Every Farm Tells a Story) has gardened
for 60 years, both in the country and in town. Here he intertwines
his reminiscences of growing up on a Wisconsin farm with practical
information on growing vegetables and some fruits. He covers
starting a vegetable garden, dealing with pests, growing specific
vegetables and fruits, harvesting the produce, and eating and
preserving the harvest. The book includes basic, easy-to-follow
garden and fruit recipes from his wife, Ruth, and their son Steve’s
(chief photographer, Wisconsin State Journal) images. Whether
sharing boyhood memories, the times he spent gardening with his
children and grandchildren, or his knowledge of growing vegetables
and fruits, Apps combines memoir, useful information, and gardening
philosophy with warmth and humor. Verdict: This is an enjoyable book
that will be savored by vegetable gardeners with their own memories.
Beginning gardeners in need of the complete basics will be better
served by a full guide such as Edward C. Smith’s tenth-anniversary
edition of The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible".—(Sue O’ Brien, Downers
Grove P.L., IL Library Journal) Xpress Reviews: Nonfiction | First
Look at New Books, December 16, 2011
"Rural historian Apps (Barns of Wisconsin) continues his
chronicling of rural life with a folksy memoir of his six decades of
vegetable gardening. The material is arranged to follow the growing
season and includes some growing tips and advice on preserving and
cooking the garden’s bounty, but it is not a methodical how-to guide
for the novice. For him, the garden is a place of “mystery, awe,
anticipation, patience, surprise, disappointment, and elation.” The
terrain will be familiar to readers of gardening memoirs, but those
who have also grown to love the slow rhythms and quiet satisfactions
of growing one’s own food will enjoy the company of his
recollections. The collection is filled with humorous anecdotes and
quiet observations of the cycle of life in the humble vegetable
patch—plus an unexpected recipe for sorghum cookies. The pleasures
he discovers in the garden come through on each page. 65 color and
b&w photos and illus".
"Want to know how to transplant tomatoes, hoe a row of rutabaga,
or put up a peck of pickled peppers? There’s an Apps for that!
Having spent a lifetime growing all manner of vegetables at various
farms and homesteads across his native Wisconsin, Apps has
accumulated a wealth of practical information based on personal
experience that can benefit vegetable gardeners everywhere. Although
it includes helpful chapters on planning, planting, and even
preserving a hearty vegetable harvest, this is less of a traditional
how-to gardening manual and more of a treasured garden memoir, as
Apps fondly recalls halcyon days spent gardening beside self-taught
grandparents and parents and extols the rewards of sharing this
handed-down wisdom with his own children and grandchildren. Along
with engaging tidbits of historical lore about everything from
brussels sprouts to zucchini, Apps shares his wife Ruth’s recipes
for delectable treats such as Rhubarb Cream Pie and Chocolate
Sauerkraut Cake. As informative as it is entertaining, Apps’
heartfelt chronicle transforms the standard gardening guidebook into
a deeply personal appreciation for nature’s bounty".— Carol Haggas
Jerry Apps grew up with gardening parents, has planted a garden
nearly every year of his life, and his children have developed a
love for the earthly experience as well. In "Garden Wisdom" he
shares his plentiful knowledge of the craft. In the first section,
"Gardening Roots," Apps reflects on his own early experiences, in
"Planning and Planting" he offers advice on everything from where,
when, and what to plant to harvesting and keeping out the critters,
and in "Enjoying the Harvest" he provides unique recipes he has
created from his own crop, such as rhubarb cream pie, orange
zucchini cake, and tomoto-stuffed peppers. For anyone wishing to
expand their knowledge of harvesting vegetables and fruit or for
those looking to hone their green thumb, "Garden Wisdom" details the
simple joys of home gardening.
My afternoons this winter were spent reading Laura Ingalls
Wilder’s Little House series with the kiddos. I have to admit that
Farmer Boy is one of my favorites. It speaks of her husband
Almonzo’s childhood on the farm and provides detailed descriptions
on how they planted, harvested, and ate the good things they grew.
Jerry Apps’ Garden Wisdom is the adult version of Farmer Boy and
inspires its readers to “go for it!” and enjoy the work and rewards
of vegetable gardening for themselves.
Garden Wisdom is written in three parts. The first section describes
the author’s heritage and experience with farming and gardening.
Jerry Apps is a third generation farmer as well as a professor of
Agriculture in Wisconsin. Apps draws a great picture of growing up
on his parents’ farm, which taught him more practical gardening
wisdom (or the art of gardening, as he calls it) than any text in
his college experience.
The second part of Garden Wisdom speaks of planning and planting
your garden. Apps gives a very personal touch to the “how to’s” that
show a welcoming and relaxed personality. He clearly shows, and
passes along, his passion and enjoyment of the entire process.
The final section of Garden Wisdom, however, is probably my
favorite. Apps breaks the chapters into sections of what to harvest
when and how, a bit of history concerning the vegetable, and some of
the nutritional value of each. It also includes many recipes to show
you what to do with the wonderful foods you have planned, grown,
harvested, and are ready to enjoy.
As reading Farmer Boy always seems to do for me, Garden Wisdom is a
great inspiration to get outside and get moving on this year’s
garden… especially now that I have a bit more garden wisdom! -
Alyssa Katanic
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