Book Review: The Contrary Farmer's Invitation to Gardening

I've read and enjoyed a number of Gene Logsdon's books, from his general book on homesteading, The Contrary Farmer to his more specific books, All Flesh is Grass (on raising pastured livestock) and Small-Scale Grain Raising, and also follow his entries on the Organic To Be blog, so I came into The Contrary Farmer's Invitation to Gardening with fairly high expectations. This book was, well, it was contrary, which I suppose is only to be expected!

I suppose when it comes down to it, the book is well-titled: it's an invitation to gardening. This isn't "the complete guide to gardening," it's an invitation. It reads rather like a series of related essays that each present some combination of permaculture gardening principles, neat ideas, different ways of thinking about gardening issues, and philosophical explorations (all perfectly relevent). You won't learn everything you need to know to have a great garden, but you will be invited to think through the many possibilities of gardening--possibilities that can lead to a significant measure of independence.

The chapter headings are:

1. The Economy of Eden
2. What Is a Garden?
3. Gardening to Save Us from "The Economy"
4. The Hardly-Ever-Tilled Garden: The Mulch Bed
5. The Hardly-Ever-Tilled Garden: Potted Plants for the Mulch Bed
6. Flour Gardens and Pancake Patches
7. Garden Husbandry
8. Protecting the Garden from the Wild Empire
9. Water Gardening
10. The Aim Is Joy (this chapter is available on-line)

The should give you some idea of the topics covered, though I recognize that some of these are a bit obscure. Of particular interest are the chapters on mulch-bed gardening, a sort of gardening that raises soil fertility and lowers the amount of work put in. He's also notable for his advocating small-scale grain raising--even on the garden level. There's also a good chapter on the backyard pond and its possibilities.

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