Dream Gardens for Real Gardeners: Part 3 -- Organic Gardening
Written: Apr 02 '01 (Updated Apr 10 '01)
Product Rating:
Pros: Good resource for environmentally-friendly gardening advice
Cons: Ad policy doesn't support their ideals
The Bottom Line: For the dedicated organic gardener, or one who would like to move in that direction, a good all-around resource. Heavy on the ads, and light on content for the price.
With spring a reality for some and only a promise for others, gardeners' minds and imaginations are turning toward this year's better-than-ever garden. The bright covers of the garden magazines beckon from newsstand and checkout displays. Which to buy? I can get a half flat of annuals for the price of most magazines, so I want to choose carefully! And this goes double if I am considering a subscription.
[Note: There are wide differences among garden magazines in terms of editorial vs. ad content, and how much actual substance you get for the price, so I have calculated this information and added it at the end of the review.]
I am of two minds about "Organic Gardening" (published by the pioneering and commercially successful Rodale Press). I am a dedicated composter and mulcher, I really do believe in minimizing the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and I like to learn new techniques for managing my garden organically. On the other hand, in a crisis I may just panic and grab the nearest spray can. Moreover, OG has a religious gleam in its eye, and that sort of thing tends to set my teeth on edge (oh, all right, it makes me feel guilty).
A Walk Through the Current Issue (March, 2001)
Up Front: The cover is cluttered with come-ons; still, I can't resist ‘em. "Bravo!" "Gorgeous!" "Delicious!" "Yuck!" First thing in the magazine, though, is a double-page spread for an environmentally unsound vehicle. The Table of Contents page directs me right to the feature articles, and I can't wait to get to the piece on antique roses, but I will stick to my duty and continue the walk-through. The editor's column and Letters are sort of lost amongst the ads, but I do have to pause for reader pictures of a tomato dressed up like a man, and a zucchini that looks like a duck. I am not, as the man says, making this up.
"New Ground" is a potpourri of items – raspberries, deerfly defense, new flower varieties. "Organic Gardening Watchdog" presents news briefs (biotech bad, Minneapolis good); I don't want to hear it (guilt, guilt), I just want to get to the roses. "Healing Garden" and "Healthy Eating" talk about lemongrass and radishes, plus a review of organic salsas – great if you can find them without driving across town, emitting toxic fumes all the way, to get to the health food store. "OG Basics" is a nice direct tutorial on heeling-in, which I would never in a million years bother to do. "Organic Living" is an essay on lawns: "I have weeds, not a problem."
The Main Event: "Divine Diversity" is a long – too long – feature on a wonderfully bearded guy who is dedicated to saving heirloom varieties. "Broccoli Bonanza" has all you need to know about growing and eating my favorite vegetable. AH! Here are the roses! I *love* old roses. This is a pretty good brief primer, with luscious photographs and a chart of suggested varieties for cold and warm climates. Unfortunately, it doesn't give me the one crucial piece of information: how much shade will they tolerate. On the other hand, I already have that information, since I spent hours and hours last summer finding roses that would do well in my rather shady yard. (As of today, "Gruss an Aachen" made it through the winter, "Zepherine Drouhin" looks to be coming back strong, but "Mirabilis" and "Buff Beauty" are looking pretty sad after a long cold spring). Unfortunately, once I have chosen disease resistant varieties, I part company with OG on the matter of roses. "...where Japanese beetles are pests, you can combat them by handpicking." EEEEEWWWW! I use systemic pesticides; that way at least I'm not spraying poison into the air. Or touching the bugs.
The final editorial piece is "Editors' Choice" – favorite garden tools. This is much more useful, I think, than "favorite varieties." Choice of plants is very very subjective, but a good tool is a good tool. They start off, not surprisingly, with five votes for the Felco hand pruner. I am saving my butter-and-egg money for one of these expensive beauties. The list also includes my very favorite tool, the Soil Scoop. It's a trowel and so much more – it has a pointy point for making seed furrows, saw-blade sides for hacking through roots, a good deep bowl, and an ergonomic design, and if it were on Epinion's product list I'd be right on it.
Back of the Book: Mike McGrath's column is a hilarious story about his cats. "?Solutions!" is a good Q&A, and "Gardener to Gardener" is tips from readers, including the "Yuck!" item: five ways to get rid of slugs, each grosser than the next (you don't want to know). The rest of the book is ads, boring. Oh, wait, here's the "Wild Things" page, all about spring peepers. Almost missed it.
Details: OG has an informal, friendly sort of air about it that offsets the tendency to preach. It's a good resource for folks whose ideals are at war with our desire for the quick fix. On the other hand, its idealism is undermined by its advertising – a lot of paper goes into the inserts that fall out all over your lap, and its advertisers include tobacco, plastic bags, and the previously mentioned vehicle. Makes you wonder if being PC isn't just one more way to make money.
Website: http://www.organicgardening.com/
Pages: 73
Ratio of editorial to ad content: 1.15 (in favor of editorial content)
Price of editorial pages (based on current issue and newstand price): 12.8 cents a page
Number of irritating postcards:11
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