Tao of Vegetable Gardening

Groundbreaking garden writer Carol Deppe (The Resilient Gardener, Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties) offers some crucial advice to gardeners of all abilities in her  latest book, The Tao of Vegetable Gardening.

Called a “vegetable gardener’s treasury” by Booklist, this book focuses on some of the most popular home garden vegetables—tomatoes, green beans, peas, and leafy greens—and through them illustrates the key principles and practices that beginner and experienced gardeners alike need to know to successfully plant and grow just about any food crop.

In addition to practical advice on topics like how to deal with late blight and establishing your own DIY seed bank, Deppe explores the deeper essence of gardening both in terms of nature and ourselves. Her work has long been inspired and informed by the philosophy and wisdom of Tao Te Ching, the 2,500-­year-­old work attributed to Chinese sage Lao Tzu. She has organized her book into chapters that echo fundamental Taoist concepts: Balance, Flexibility, Honoring the Essential Nature (your own and that of your plants), Effortless Effort, Non-Doing, and even Non-­Knowing.

The “Non-Doing” concept may be hard for some to comprehend. Isn’t gardening supposed to be hard work? Deppe explains how easy it is to fall into a pattern of unnecessary efforts.

Groundbreaking garden writer Carol Deppe (The Resilient Gardener, Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties) offers some crucial advice to gardeners of all abilities in her  latest book, The Tao of Vegetable Gardening.

Called a “vegetable gardener’s treasury” by Booklist, this book focuses on some of the most popular home garden vegetables—tomatoes, green beans, peas, and leafy greens—and through them illustrates the key principles and practices that beginner and experienced gardeners alike need to know to successfully plant and grow just about any food crop.

In addition to practical advice on topics like how to deal with late blight and establishing your own DIY seed bank, Deppe explores the deeper essence of gardening both in terms of nature and ourselves. Her work has long been inspired and informed by the philosophy and wisdom of Tao Te Ching, the 2,500-­year-­old work attributed to Chinese sage Lao Tzu. She has organized her book into chapters that echo fundamental Taoist concepts: Balance, Flexibility, Honoring the Essential Nature (your own and that of your plants), Effortless Effort, Non-Doing, and even Non-­Knowing.

The “Non-Doing” concept may be hard for some to comprehend. Isn’t gardening supposed to be hard work? Deppe explains how easy it is to fall into a pattern of unnecessary efforts.