Groundwork: A Gardener's Ecology [Paperback]

Roger B. Swain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 1996

In this collection of essays, Swain shows why gardeners are in the best position to become the new environmentalists. By focusing on the foundations of gardening, he shows how our most basic choices--what we choose to grow, when we decide to water, whether we return nutrients to the soil, how we deal with chemical and plastic residues, even when we eat fresh tomatoes--all have an impact on our larger environment.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For those who regularly read Swain's essays in Horticulture magazine, Groundwork will have a familiar ring, since the essays collected in it were originally published there in slightly different form. No matter; it's always a delight and a (painless) learning experience to partake of Swain's work. As a biologist, his basis for ecologically sound practices in gardening is grounded in a broad interpretation of what it means to garden in harmony with nature. Readers won't find esoteric solutions here, however; the author is nothing if not practical. "A single woodchuck can tuck away an entire planting of pea seedlings in a single meal," he writes, and continues with advice for gardening not by force but by fence. A chapter devoted to winter storage of vegetables offers thoughts on the wrong-headedness of demanding foods out of season and, at the same time, describes exactly how he preserves/stores the summer's harvest so readers can avoid those pale store-bought counterparts. However, Swain never sets out to write a primer; like other, thoughtful writers before him, he assumes his readers are as interested in the ramifications and reasons for methods and results as in the techniques for them. He often digresses and rambles--to the enjoyment of all--a luxury that mere pages in a magazine cannot afford. But then, he is attempting to explain his perspective in the hope, it would seem, of educating readers and gardeners about the importance of the simplest choices they make, from how they nourish the soil to what they use as mulch. He has certainly laid much more than the groundwork here.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Swain is probably best known as a host of PBS's The Victory Garden , but he has several books to his credit, including Saving Graces: Sojourns of a Backyard Biologist ( LJ 10/1/91). He is also science editor of Horticulture magazine, where the ten essays included here previously appeared in a slightly different form. Most of the material in this collection reflect Swain's gardening experiences on his New Hampshire farm. He has a knack for taking everyday experiences and relating them to broad ecological and environmental issues. Water conservation, soil erosion, recycling, noise pollution, animal (vs. gardener) rights, and food distribution and marketing are some of the topics Swain addresses. This is a not a "how-to" guide, although gardeners will find useful information and advice. Anyone who is concerned about our relationship and attitude toward the land should find this book informative and thought-provoking. For gardening and ecology collections. See Victory Garden cohost Jim Wilson's Landscaping with Herbs , reviewed below.--Ed.
- William Wiese, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Mariner Books (February 23, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395718252
• ISBN-13: 978-0395718254
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,445,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These essays insightfully bring new texture to the familiar., May 23, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: GROUNDWORK CL (Hardcover)

These essays concern the science of the hum-drum features of our daily landscapes, but without authorial pyrotechnics Swain always manages to find something new to call to our attention. This collection pulls off a rare trick for science writing--it manages to inform without condescending or confusing. Like the prose, Abigail Rorer's illustrations are sturdy and nuanced.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gardening Basics, July 22, 2005

By 

Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: GROUNDWORK CL (Hardcover)

This book contains a collection of gardening essays by biologist and gardener Roger Swain. The book is organized around the theme of planting and maintaining a healthy garden. Topics covered include: landscaping by deletion, fertilizing with compost and mulch, irrigation, erosion, plastics and the garden, noise pollution and hearing damage, seed saving, dealing with pesky mammals, root cellaring, and gardening education. End material includes a list of resources and references about the topics mentioned in the text and an index.

Swain writes in an accessible and informal style. The essays are both informative and interesting. For instance, in his chapter on fertilizing, he compares the relative values of adding chemical fertilizers, animal manure or mulch hay to the soil. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that mulch hay, which is easily obtainable in my area, not only adds organic matter, building soil structure, but also has significant fertilizing value of its own. Other essays include useful information about such topics as gray water, recycling plastic seedling planters, and constructing fences to keep woodchucks out of the garden.