58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great practical guide, basics and history, May 9, 2010
This book can be very useful for the small space gardener as it discusses at length, basics of gardening. Anywhere the book describes use of horses, logic would indicate that a tiller of varying sizes could be substituted. Crop rotation is also discussed, and multiple acres are not needed for this.
I enjoyed the instructions on constructing a manure-driven hotbed. This was the way it was done before electric seedling heat mats were around. Also prepping sods for seed starting. It reminded me of the way things were done years before pellet pots, plastic seed flats and cell packs were common.
The book is old enough to resurrect much of the forgotten techniques used by our grandparents and great-grandparents -of the way things were, the way things could be again for those trying to garden more naturally and self-sufficiently... not buying everything from the garden store. It might also be helpful for the budding survivalist who no longer wants to rely on manufactured products.
I found the list of seed varieties in the book to be fascinating. Recognizing many of the listed varieties to still be available today. It was neat to see some of the Heirloom seed choices i made were also the Author's picks.
The age of the book in most cases matters very little when it comes to gardening basics, things don't change much at all. In fact, this book might be better for beginners since it is a book that encourages a do-it-yourself and a 'from the ground up' tone. It is almost void of any pre-made devices and there are no gimmicky products being hocked.
The old standby tools are recommended, time tested and readily available.
My only real problem with the book at all is that the rewrite of the eBook version omitted a number of images and pictures that would have been helpful. But a quick internet search of the names of the described items in most cases will quickly locate images.
The book itself is full of sound instruction, good logic and the author has a friendly writing style.
The book is about 100 years old and free... just download it already. It is well worth the time spent to read it.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Kindle Review: Historic Gardening Read With Issues, May 23, 2011
This book, published in 1911, was the first written by a prolific and well-known horticultural author of his day. He was founder of Home Garden Magazine. Among his many other accomplishments, he was the Sunday garden editor of the New York Times, and garden editor of McCall's.
"Waste of Time" or "I loved it" are not cutting it for me when making a decision of whether or not to add a particular publication to my e-collection, so here is my take on this book:
There are at least six issues for readers: (1) The information is 100 years old and outdated (ie use of coal ashes; broccoli "is a poorer cousin of the cauliflower...of little use where cauliflower can be grown..."). (2) This publication was intended for a larger gardening operation where you own a tractor, disc, etc. (onions can be stored in "a few barrels, with holes knocked in the sides...for a small quantity...") (3) It written in the verbose style of the day. (4) It lacks charts that should be there (especially lacking in the chapter on pest control). (5) As you would guess for its (free Kindle) price, it lacks illustrations that would enhance the text very much. (6) The TOC is NOT interactive, so you can't easily skip to the information that you are interested in.
All that said, its primary use would be in the historical arena. Add one star if you have a strong interest in heirloom varieties and historic methods of gardening.
Chapters include: requisites of the home garden, the planting plan, implements, manures and fertilizers, soil prep, starting veggie plants (advice on buying seed: "what you want for your good money is good seed, not cheap ink"), sowing and planting (includes the details of building a greenhouse and plant phonological indicators for planting outdoors which I have never seen), best varieties of vegetables ("you will have to suit yourself about corn." ), insects and diseases and methods of fighting them (replete with whale-oil soap, and formalin at 1 gill/15 gals water) , harvesting and storing (if no root cellar, use a room on the northern side of the house that can be kept at 40 degrees or lower, or a "prepared pit" in the garden, worth a try...), followed by similar chapters for pome (apple/pear, lots of familiar varieties here including Kieffer pear) and stone (plum/cherry/peach) fruits followed by information about berries and small fruits.
This Kindle edition of December 1, 2004 has the usual editing issues (like broccoli and Brussels Sprouts sections are in italics for no reason and "ford hood" instead of ford hook which is in all of the e-versions of this book) and worth a read. I enjoyed it. However, you may find it on dry side, especially without illustrations and charts, so bear that in mind. Unless you have a particular interest in the historical aspects of gardening, there may be more interesting reads in your Kindle to spend your time on...
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