The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential...

The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the ... | William Alexander | very entertaining book

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The $64 Tomato: Ho...

	The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the ... William Alexander Algonquin Books, 2007 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 48 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Bill Alexander had no idea that his simple dream of having a vegetable garden and small orchard in his backyard would lead him into life-and-death battles with groundhogs, webworms, weeds, and weather; midnight expeditions in the dead of winter to dig up fresh thyme; and skirmishes with neighbors who feed the vermin (i.e., deer). Not to mention the vacations that had to be planned around the harvest, the near electrocution of the tree man, the limitations of his own middle-aged body, and the pity of his wife and kids. When Alexander runs (just for fun!) a costbenefit analysis, adding up everything from the live animal trap to the Velcro tomato wraps and then amortizing it over the life of his garden, it comes as quite a shock to learn that it cost him a staggering $64 to grow each one of his beloved Brandywine tomatoes. But as any gardener will tell you, you can't put a price on the unparalleled pleasures of providing fresh food for your family.

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Can't put it down

A entertaining read while learning all types of mistakes in gardening in the Northwest. Love love love.

very entertaining book

Loved this book. I so identified with the author. There were so many times I just laughed out loud. I too have grown the $64 tomato!

You'll never look at a tomato the same way!

I'm not into gardening, or have I ever attempted to build a garden, but you don't need a green thumb to enjoy this book! Bill encounters one headache after another. You almost want him to throw in his gardening gloves forever. It's admirably how he sticks with it and fights every battle, while his wife, Anne, calmly goes about enjoying the beauty of her flowers. Their children,Zach and Katie, could care less about the garden, unless of course they would like to eat fresh vegetables. I now have a new appreciation for this hobby. Gardening can be both romantic and nightmarish. The $64 Tomato is a fun,quick read for the summer. I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time. When I go for my walks, I check out the neighbor's gardens now,and I laugh when I see dead grass under their rose bushes.

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A reminder for kindred souls who see ONLY WORK in their gardens. Stop! Remember the JOY!

You know you're a gardener when: you see only the work and the imperfections, not the beauty of what you've done.

My cousin groaned and said it was too hot and humid. Her garden did not produce this summer. Which probably means it did pretty well. Just not fabulous. Gardeners are quick to forget the good and concentrate on the bad. I told her about this book and yet another groan, "Why would I want to read that? I have my own garden problems."

Which is one reason she might want to read this.

Alexander writes, "People--all people, including me--have no objectivity when it comes to their driving, their cooking, or their gardens."

Alexander's painfully honest memoir of his obsessive gardening life dwells on the struggles and foibles he creates for himself by dreaming the dream of the perfect garden.
He reminds us how great it is to dream that dream. Like any gardener, he is a romantic. When the seed catalogs arrive in the dead of winter, he has visions, lovely visions.
He is a hopeful gardener. He likes to grow his own food and to cook. He can swing a hammer and change a lightbulb. So far I like him.

But, Alexander has endless problems with clay and mud and critters and weeds and watering delivery escapades and pests and dumb decisions and too many ripe peaches.
Even a gardening novice can relate to being disappointed and frustrated sometimes.
He's angry that his wife, Anne, gardens when she feels like it and doesn't see ALL THE WORK that needs to be done.
As his obsession spins out of control, he holds his head and draws some conclusions. First, he should learn from his wife and try to ENJOY the garden. He gets the concept, the theory of taking pleasure, of smelling rich dirt and laying in the grass under the moon, but he may have crossed a line that there's no coming back to.

Thank goodness he has a sense of humor- the poor guy. The chapter about garden statues and whimsical ornaments is wonderfully rife with cringe inducing, tacky images we all can appreciate. This helps us understand a few things, one being-men and women garden differently. As we do everything else. Men want to conquer, women don't mind futzin' and fiddlin' around. His wife likes flowers and thinks she might want a garden statue, heaven forbid. He wants viable crops and none of that sissy stuff. This tells us a lot, that it's not just about gardening...

The key to the hook of this book takes place when he and Anne are canning peaches late into the night. Pots are boiling, there's soooo many peaches. Is it still a joy, or is it a chore, "a ritual that no longer held any meaning or purpose."

And every time we think, Jeez, this is too much--he makes us laugh. He is a self proclaimed, "natural fibers, NPR-supporting, recycling, compost-making, left-of-center environmentalist, " who is very aware of himself and his relationships.

I thank him for helping me see the light again--the orchid that just flowered--not the weeds or bare spots in the grass, or the fern that needs to be trimmed or, that beastly plant my husband likes so much, the one I wish we could get rid of ...

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