EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW...

I was reminded of my "gardening roots" when I looked through my well worn book, "The New Victory Garden, by Bob Thomson that I bought back in 1992 just as I was embarking on the biggest garden of my career. I have found that gardening is all about reading...self-education is key to growing your gardening knowledge!

Bob Thomson took over for Jim Crockett who had passed away during the 5th season of "Jim Crockett's Victory Garden" on PBS. While I watched a few of the shows during that early era, it was when Bob took over that I became completely engrossed. While Jim was a traditional Eastern gardener, Bob went beyond tradition and embraced the newest season-extending technologies.
I had found my gardening guru. He was not only knowledgeable but could explain to viewers like me about what he knew.
We made our cold frame per his instructions and diagrams, made sturdy tomato cages and wrapped them with plastic to make mini-hot houses for them as he had shown. I learned about raised beds and soil preparation. I built my first mulch bins with the info in this book.I used floating row covers and wire hoops to protect plants from wind and cold.
He was to gardeners what Julia Child was to cooks. And just coincidentally both shows were conceived and produced by Russ Morash of WGBH Boston. Russ' wife Marian also added to the Victory Garden show with a short cooking segment at the end of the show and produced an excellent garden cookbook guide.
I'm sure that both these books are long out of print but once in a while I see them at used bookstores...as far as I'm concerned, nobody has come close to producing such an excellent, all encompassing guide for new and experienced gardeners alike.