You Bet Your Tomatoes: Fun Facts, Tall Tales, and a Handful of Useful Gardening Tips [Paperback]

Mike McGrath (Author)

Book Description

Series: Rodale Organic Gardening Books | Publication Date: February 23, 2002

"What great tomato-growing ideas! I've been 'container gardening' my Big Boys in old abandoned refrigerators in the front yard for years now, but next season, I'll take Mike's advice and trellis them up the side of our double-wide!"--Martha Slewart, Martha Slewart's Lying

"Did I write this book? So many of the jokes just seem so...familiar."--Garrison Keelover, A Prairie Home Tomato

"Aren't these things poisonous to eat?"--Thomas Jefferson, farmer and framer

"Forget basketball! I'm retiring again to grow heirloom tomatoes! Now, what kind of shoes am I gonna need . . . ?"--Michael Jardin, tall guy

"This is just the kind of 'hidden message' book I expect from you left-leaning, liberal-compost-applying, communal gardening, card-carrying organic types! Well, you don't fool me one bit-- enticing the youth of America to experiment with PINK tomatoes! RED fruits! Arkansas TRAVELER-- or is that Arkansas FELLOW TRAVELERS??? I'm sticking with my red, white, and blue potatoes!"--Rush ToJudgement, The Rush ToJudgement Show

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"What great tomato-growing ideas! I've been 'container gardening' in my Big Boys in old abandoned refrigeraters in the front yard for years now, but next season, I'll take Mike's advice and trellis them up the side of our double-wide!" --Martha Slewart, Martha Slewart's Lying

Mike McGrath's growing legion of fans loves his trademark wit -- evidenced on his nationally syndicated National Public Radio program "You Bet Your Garden" and in his monthly Organic Gardening column. In You Bet Your Tomatoes, McGrath doesn't disappoint, delivering both sound advice and plenty of laughs to help gardeners beat the heat and have a great tomato harvest.

Tomatoes are the most popular home garden vegetable crop. Based on McGrath's personal adventures in tomato-growing, You Bet Your Tomatoes guides would-be gardeners through choosing, planting, growing, and harvesting homegrown tomatoes of many varieties. Along the way, he weaves in fascinating tomato lore and tips. McGrath also explains why readers should grow their own tomatoes in the first place: You just can't beat the taste.

Mike McGrath is editor-at-large for Organic Gardening and is the former editor-in-chief. He writes a monthly column, "Mike McGrath's Tall Tales," and answers questions on the magazine's website. McGrath's "You Bet Your Garden" airs weekly on National Public Radio. He has made frequent guest appearances on NBC's Weekend Today and NPR's "All Things Considered".

From the Back Cover

You Bet Your Tomatoes!

"What great tomato-growing ideas! I've been 'container gardening' my Big Boys in old abandoned refrigerators in the front yard for years now, but next season, I'll take Mike's advice and trellis them up the side of our double-wide!"--Martha Slewart, Martha Slewart's Lying

"Did I write this book? So many of the jokes just seem so...familiar."--Garrison Keelover, A Prairie Home Tomato

"Aren't these things poisonous to eat?"--Thomas Jefferson, farmer and framer

"Forget basketball! I'm retiring again to grow heirloom tomatoes! Now, what kind of shoes am I gonna need . . . ?"--Michael Jardin, tall guy

"This is just the kind of 'hidden message' book I expect from you left-leaning, liberal-compost-applying, communal gardening, card-carrying organic types! Well, you don't fool me one bit-- enticing the youth of America to experiment with PINK tomatoes! RED fruits! Arkansas TRAVELER-- or is that Arkansas FELLOW TRAVELERS??? I'm sticking with my red, white, and blue potatoes!"--Rush ToJudgement, The Rush ToJudgement Show

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (February 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875968708
• ISBN-13: 978-0875968704
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,046,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who knew growing tomatoes could be funny?, June 9, 2002

By 

Bonnie Burton (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You Bet Your Tomatoes: Fun Facts, Tall Tales, and a Handful of Useful Gardening Tips (Paperback)

If you want to read a funny book on how to grow beautiful tomatoes, then You Bet Your Tomatoes is right up your alley. Mike
McGrath (NPR host of the gardening radio show, "You Bet Your Tomatoes") not only shows you quick ways to keep your tomato plants happy and thriving, but he tells some funny stories and bizarre factoids along the way. In fact, I why wonder this book isn't also sold in the humor section at the bookstore?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the Realm of Existentialism, April 22, 2005

By 

Katharena M. Eiermann "Existential Diva -- Pr... (1,000 miles from Nowhere...) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: You Bet Your Tomatoes: Fun Facts, Tall Tales, and a Handful of Useful Gardening Tips (Paperback)

You Bet Your Tomatoes! by Mike McGrath is the only how-to grow-tons-of-quality-tomatoes one will ever need. It is the only 'mater book I have and my 'maters are the envy of the neighborhood -- Not bad, since I've only been gardening for a couple of years, as a hobby.

McGrath starts off with a basic question: Why am I Doing This Instead of Enjoying my Summer??? then proceeds to give the reader plenty of logical reasons like "Tomatoes are easier to grow than watermelons..." and "Most other summer endeavors have a much higher risk of death and/or dismemberment." Yes, the god of all-things-humorous seems to reign in this book!

Chapter 1 -- Picking Your Tomatoes (Do all these things have funny, rude, or mysterious names?)
this chapter contains the names of all the top tomatoes, Determinate or Indeterminate, Hybrid or Open-Pollinated, Days to Maturity, Comments. A must-have reference!
Chapter 2 -- The Joy of Germination (Or, Killing your own tomatoes from seed)
Chapter 3 - The Art of Tomato Planting (You want me to BURY them? You MONSTER!!)
Chapter 4 - Staking and Caging (No, not "or," "AND!" Got it?! "Staking AND Caging"!!!)

The little drawings of all the 'mater-babies are absolutely precious! My favorite is the 'mater-baby sitting in a stroller with a pacifier in its mouth.

Chapter 5 - Food, Water and Basic Keeping-Alive Skills (Ooops---you mean I shouldn't have watered them each and every day?)
Chapter 6 - Pest Control... (Am I the only creature around here NOT eating my tomatoes???)
Chapter 7 - Dealing with Disease (Can't we just take them to the hospital?)

Did I mention all that neighbor-envy your are going to bask in -- growing those big, beautiful 'maters. Better than sunshine, to be sure. :) --Katharena Eiermann, 2005, the Realm of Existentialism -- Presidential Hopeful

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Tips and Fun Reading, July 15, 2009

By 

Lauretta Sue May "Gaited Gardener" (Tri-Cities, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: You Bet Your Tomatoes: Fun Facts, Tall Tales, and a Handful of Useful Gardening Tips (Paperback)

Mike McGrath gives good information on growing tomatoes. He gives this information in a humorous format which I really enjoyed. I have read several books and articles on growing tomatoes, but learn a little bit from each, including this one. I would recommend this book, especially if you appreciate humor. It makes the learning fun.