Straight-Ahead Organic: A Step-By-Step Guide to Growing Great Vegetables in a Less-Than-Perfect World (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Shepherd Ogden is founder and president of The Cook's Garden, a mail order seed and supply house in Londonderry, Vermont begun in 1983 as part of his existing market gardening operation. The Cook’s Garden is a leader in the production and sale of certified organic garden seed in the United States and Canada.

Ogden is a former board member of both The Vermont Small Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and the Garden Writers Association of America, and is also a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, PEN New England, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Author's Guild, and the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment. He is the author of more than fifty magazine articles on all aspects of horticulture, agriculture and the environment. He has been a contributing editor for both Organic Gardening and National Gardening magazines, where until recently he was Editor at Large. His articles on gardening and environmental issues have appeared in those magazines as well as Garden Design, Horticulture, Country Journal, Harrowsmith, Country Living, New England Living, Eating Well and the Boston Globe. He was the 1988 recipient of the American Horticultural Society's GB Gunlogson Award for "extraordinary and dedicated efforts in the field of horticulture" and has received numerous book and magazine writing awards.

Ogden was trained in Environmental Journalism at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst where he authored research reports on industry public relations efforts to defeat and then derail container deposit legislation, apparent manipulation of data in pre-introduction safety tests of artificial sweeteners, and an incident of sick building syndrome at the University. He also interned at the Environmental Study Conference, in the U.S. Congress, where he was the acid rain specialist and liaison for Earth Day 1980 and is currently an Adjunct Lecturer in Environmental Studies at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont. He has lectured at botanical gardens and appeared at professional and amateur symposia in most regions of the United States, and in 1995 conducted a month long lecture tour of the Czech Republic dealing with sustainable gardening and agricultural practices under the auspices of Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (USAID).

His recent focus has been on transgenic plant technologies, and he is working on a book about the effects of biotechnology and the market system on our food supply.. Ogden has appeared on numerous panels concerning biotechnology including conferences at Cornell University and the Radcliffe Institute, and he has given lectures at the National Conservation Training Center, Yale University and public meetings in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio and California. In February 2000 Ogden was the keynote speaker at the Northeast Organic Farmer’s Association winter meeting in Randolph, Vermont.

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Company (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890132209
• ISBN-13: 978-1890132200
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #615,346 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deserves 10 stars!, September 18, 2001

By	Lynda Lowman "book yenta" (Bonners Ferry, Id USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

At last! An instruction journal for us 'Organic Nerds'! And in plain, understandable terminology. When it is advertised as covering 50 years of gardening (the right way) experience, you can take that to the bank! It was a revelation to read that some of the concepts I had been using for years, actually have merit. I knew they had worked for me, but it is always nice to be validated. If you can only purchase one gardening manual, this is the one to buy. It covers everything and because the methods are tried and true, you can feel confident following Ogdens' suggestions. I can remember when, years ago, neighbors thought me barmy for directly composting kitchen waste(sans meat products). I am vindicated!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars City gardener, December 29, 2000

By A Customer

I'm not much of gardener and I do live in a city so I truly appreciated Ogdens approach of providing know-how for people who may not have access to a farm. It truly is a less-than-perfect world but Straight-Ahead Organic helped me realize that improvements can be made one step at a time. I found his step-by-step approach to be very well written and easy to duplicate. His previous books (The Cook's Garden for example) have been equally helpful. So here's the bottom line: I followed the instructions, set up a small garden in a side yard, and harvested the best tomatoes I've ever tasted. It doesn't get much better than that!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Organic, December 29, 2000

By	cb steed (hedgesville, wv USA) - See all my reviews

Another master work from the master organic gardener! Shepherd Ogden has done it again. I have had the pleasure to meet Mr. Ogden and his wonderful family in the picturesque community of Langrove VT. Upon travelling north one summer we decided to seek out this man and his garden. It is an "earthly delight!" The property is an organic gardner's dream. We were fortunate enough to find Mr. Ogden (who insisted we call him Shepherd) at home.....out in the garden...hands in the soil...practicing his craft....which he makes an art! His lovely wife Ellen was also there, preparing a heavenly salad of succulent greens and vegetables from the family plot. Mrs Ogden who is an accomplished writer in her own right ; adds knowledge and grace to all that she endeavors. Her recipes have added tasty ideas to our menu! Shepherd Ogden's other books including Step by Step Organic Vegetable Gardening and Flower Gardening create a veritable encyclopedia and home guide to the organic gardening enthusiast. The addition of "Straight Ahead....." keeps the resource shelf well stocked.... "Straight Ahead....." is a great book for the novice gardener or the master.... There will always be space on my gardening bookshelf for another Ogden book. Shepherd Ogden comes from sturdy VT stock. We were introduced to this through the memory of his Grandfather "Big Sam" Ogden. Who wrote the organic gardening "bible" and had it republished in the early 1970's.

One of the main reasons that our family purchases these books is that we feel that through ....Shepherd's...forward's and intros to his books ....we are part of his "organic gardening family".... We highly recommend this and Mr Ogden's other books. Also we purchase most of our seeds from the Ogden's seed business "The Cook's Garden."