The Tao of Vegetable Gardening: Cultivating Tomatoes, Greens, Peas, Beans, Squash, Joy and Serenity

by Carol Deppe, 288 pages, 7½x9½, softcover. Armed with her scientific expertise (PhD in genetics from Harvard), her acute sense of observation, and years of field experience, her far-reaching no-nonsense perspective, and her love of the Tao, legendary plant breeder Carol Deppe focuses on growing a few staple crops: peas, beans, tomatoes, squash and eat-all greens. If you’ve ever wondered why tomatoes of the same variety, picked from the same plant in the same year but at different times vary so much in flavor, Deppe unlocks the secrets. If you’ve noticed a correlation between varieties with green shoulders and great tomato flavor, Deppe tells you why. I hope she is wrong (she probably isn’t) that late blight is going to doom our beloved heirloom varieties, but she gives us all the tools to do something about it before it is too late. Witty, opinionated and always breaking new ground, Carol and her book are true treasures. -NK