The Woodchuck's Guide to Gardening [Paperback]

Ron Krupp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

Here is an entertaining, common sense organic gardening book from a master of both gardening and storytelling. The Woodchuck’s Guide reconnects us to the four gardening cycles of the year — from spade to seed to grain to bread—through anecdotes and history, poetry and wit, politics, stories, and lots of down-to-earth organic gardening tips.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A critical resource for beginning and experienced gardeners who need seasoned, practical ideas. -- Enid Wonnacott, Director, Northeast Organic Farming Association

Part gardening primer, part map for your own gardening journey, part guide to the universe. -- Will Rapp, Founder and CEO of Gardener’s Supply Company

About the Author

Ron Krupp, teacher, writer, entrepreneur, and community organizer, has been farming and gardening in Vermont for more than thirty years. He has a master’s degree in teaching from Antioch University and a master’s degree in agriculture from the University of Vermont. He studied biodynamic gardening and farming at Emerson College, U.K.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Whetstone Books (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915731053
• ISBN-13: 978-0915731053
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,256,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seasonal Tips, June 14, 2006

By 

Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Woodchuck's Guide to Gardening (Paperback)

This book is a collection of tips and garden lore written especially for the Northern New England gardener. It is arranged seasonally, with sections for spring, summer, fall and winter, and a separate section on children and gardening. The chapters include poems, recipes, and photographs as well as tips on seasonal gardening tasks and organic and biodynamic gardening practices. At the end of each section is an appendix with lists of books, catalogs, and more specific details on topics covered in the section. End material for the book includes a glossary and index.

This book isn't an all-around gardening reference (like Ed Smith's Vegetable Gardener's Bible, for instance), but it does include information on a wide range of gardening topics. The integration of poetry, stories, and seasonal wild edibles makes it an engaging book to read, and every reader is likely to find some new information. Gardeners in the far north need to keep in mind, however, that while Krupp gardens in Vermont, he lives in one of the warmer regions of the state, so they may need to plan for cooler conditions than those Krupp describes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true human woodchuck, June 25, 2009

By 

Norman Pellett "Author of Gardener's Quiz Boo... (Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Woodchuck's Guide to Gardening (Paperback)

Ron Krupp is a true human woodchuck, a person who lives, breathes and eats close to the soil. I say this with great admiration. Ron's book, The Woodchuck's Guide to Gardening, is a collection of thoughts, philosophy, stories and tidbits on managing soil, plant growth, human mental and physical health, and his admiration of human ingenuity. It includes prose and poetry from his long connection to plants, nature, and people who work or live close to the earth.

I have never seen another book like this one. Every paragraph and chapter is full of wit and wisdom. He gives tales of how gardening can teach school children the value of tending the earth to provide food, or how wild flowers and native plants provide the essence of spring to reinvigorate the human body, spirit and soul.

The appendices include Ron's favorite catalogs: seed companies, garden tools, machines and products, heirloom seed-savers, fruits, organic organizations and other lists. He provides a glossary of garden and plant terms. This book is truly unique among gardening books.

Norman Pellett, author of Gardener's Quiz Book

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For aspiring organic and biodynamic home gardeners, September 5, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Woodchuck's Guide to Gardening (Paperback)

The Woodchuck's Guide To Gardening by Vermont organic gardener Ron Krupp, is a thoroughly "user friendly" guidebook written especially for aspiring organic and biodynamic home gardeners. Embracing thrift and the practical considerations as symbolized by the woodchuck, The Woodchuck's Guide To Gardening provides a wealth of tips, tricks, and techniques for keeping soil healthy, overseeing nutritious produce through all four seasons, foraging for wild plants, teaching one's children to garden, and a great deal more. Written in down-to-earth, accessible language for gardeners of all experience levels and backgrounds, The Woodchuck's Guide To Gardening is an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and community library gardening reference collections and supplemental reading lists.