On the myth of “we don’t need no stinkin’ ‘how to garden’ books”
by Colleen Vanderlinden • May 27, 2009 • Miscellaneous • 10 Comments
It’s in vogue right now, depending on which garden blogs you read, to hear that we don’t need any more books telling us how to garden, that encyclopedic “how to grow X plants” books are a worthless waste of time. All we need to know, it seems, is to plant veggies in full sun, give them water, and, oh yes, mulch.
Uh, OK.
I can tell you in all honesty that if some garden writer had given me that advice when I started growing vegetables, I would have probably done one or two things, first of which might have been quitting on gardening because despite following that bit of super-helpful advice, my garden failed to thrive. Second, I would have seriously wanted to slap someone upside the head had I paid twenty bucks or more and gotten advice like that. But, that’s just me.
I can also tell you that I felt this way long before I wrote one of those “how to grow vegetables” books. As a new gardener, I totally depended on several how-to, encyclopedic-type books. Did I need to know all of the information in the book at that time? No. But I knew that if I had a problem, it was likely that the answer lied in one of the books lining my shelves. I think that, when I was starting out, having that crutch of “I can find the answer in my books” was a comfort to me. It all felt less confusing and a lot less daunting when I knew that whatever came up could likely be figured out with the help of a book.
And now, with record numbers of people starting their first vegetable gardens, that hunger for basic, straight-talking garden advice is stronger than ever. I’m a volunteer at AllExperts, which is owned by About.com. I volunteer to answer questions about organic gardening and vegetable gardening. After one day on the volunteer list, I had to put a limit on how many questions I would accept per day. Some of my recent questions:
–The leaves on my tomato are curling up…why?
–I have shiny little black bugs on my potato plants. What are they and how do I get rid of them?
–How do I get rid of the aphids in my vegetable garden?
–What is this dark area on the bottoms of my tomatoes, and what do I do about it?
–I have this weird, gray fungus on the base of my pea vines. What is it?
–How do I get rid of slugs?
None of these people want to hear “plant in full sun. give it water. and mulch!” And while these particular gardeners are turning to the internet, there will always be a certain group of people who feel much better with a book in hand. I’m one of them.
I saw a quote once that said something like “you can tell the worth of a gardening book by how much dirt is on the pages.” I tend to agree with that. Maybe I’m overly practical, or maybe I’m not so far removed from what it was like to be a new gardener that I’ve forgotten what it felt like to take up a trowel for the first time, wondering what the hell I was doing.
Writer Natalie Goldberg calls this “beginner’s mind.” In terms of writing, it’s the phase we all must pass through during which we don’t trust our own experiences and abilities and we’re likely to quit because it’s all just too damn hard. It doesn’t sound all that different from what many novice gardeners go through for their first few seasons, does it?
I’m not picking on the people who say “plant in sun, water, and mulch.” Technically, they’re perfectly right. And it’s also true that plants grow. It’s what they do. Nine times out of ten, you can put a plant in the ground, follow that basic bit of advice, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. It’s that other one out of ten times that’s a real bitch, and can often make a new gardener feel like enough of a failure that they decide it might be better to just hang up their trowel for good.
Maybe I’m totally off on this one, and if so, it wouldn’t be the first time. I’m one of those people who has always believed that no matter the question, I could find the answer in a book. So far, that’s worked for me, so I’m not all that willing to change my outlook on this. Wondering what y’all think about this: is the garden how-to book a waste of time?
Books are NEVER a waste of time. Some are a bit repetitious, but if you can look through them a little before you buy (thank you to stores who encourage that by putting chairs and couches in their stores) you can stick to the more helpful ones or the ones that fill a gap in your personal library. I just started into gardening this year after a very long hiatus and have bought 5 gardening books. Most are very good and very helpful. I could still use a good one on plant diseases and pests.
I recently went for my Master Gardener’s certification and in most of the classes I found that I knew as much or more of what was presented because of the books I read. Books are invaluable resources!
I have only recently stumbled across your blog and, first of all, want to congratulate you on your book. What a fantastic accomplishment!!!
Now, a confession, I don’t grow veggies.
I just moved into a house of my very own last year and am still trying to solve the mysteries of annuals/perennials/bushes/etc and how to keep them happy. I don’t think I could handle adding to the mess right now, but your blog is certainly starting to make me reconsider. Anyway, books are definitely NOT a waste of time for me. I have already collected several gardening (flower) books and have used them regularly. I love having a reference to go to. That said, I do know a number of people that would rather learn by doing than reading. My grandfather has grown his vegetable garden many years over based purely on experience alone. I think it’s all personal preference. 
@Sande–A really good book about pests and diseases would be great! I agree with you that many of the “how-to” type books can be repetitious, but that doesn’t bother me all that much. What is the stat—we need to hear/read something X number of times before we can commit it to memory
Thanks for stopping by!
@Dave—I could not agree with you more
Thanks for stopping by!
@Kirsten–Thanks for the kind words about my blog! I definitely agree with you that there’s a whole separate school of gardeners who just want to learn by doing. And I absolutely respect anyone who takes that route–it can be a real challenge at times to do it that way, but I think you tend to learn fast when you learn by doing. I guess my argument is if we’re saying that, yes, books are important, then I think it’s silly to say that a “how-to” book is a waste of time, especially for someone new to gardening.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
I think all gardeners need books….if not for the great info, for inspiration. I myself, a gardener from the cradle….must have about a ‘million’ gardening books! Just another addiction, my 1st addiction being plants!
I loved your entry for May 27 on gardening how-to books! I’m a new gardener, starting from scratch. My husband and I moved to a new-to-us house that was filled with trees and plants we weren’t familiar with – so we had almost everything ripped out. Now we’re left with clay and weeds. I rely on gardening books and magazines to do my research because I don’t know many gardeners here in Japan yet (and I don’t want to bug them during peak growing season). I prefer books with pictures because I don’t always understand the terms used. Thanks for your blog – I rely on the internet too!
Such an interesting post! Personally, I can’t imagine gardening without all my favorite gardening books. And my library is so diverse, from how-to’s to historical references. I’m forever grateful to all the wonderful authors out there… Teresa
I think that how-to books are generally valuable; I taught myself how to knit from books. My only reservation is that I never seem to find gardening books that apply to growing vegetables in my area of the country. I know that most books offer general information, but when I read that the author lives in California or Idaho I always wonder whether the advice in the book will really help me in NC.