THE $64 TOMATO by William Alexander is more than just another story about a family that moves to the country and battles all of the assorted wildlife, weeds, and weather to grow a garden. This humor filled book gives us a look into the life of a delightful family that just happens to have a passionate gardener as a husband and father.
Even if you don’t have any interest in vegetable gardening, you will find plenty to like about the book, including the story of how they came to own an old house that sits on a less than ideal plot of land. However, since I am a gardener, I thoroughly enjoyed every word of THE $64 TOMATO and was literally unable to put the book down.
I think one of the reasons this book appeals to me so much is that I too have been faced with contractors that were completely incompetent, incredibly difficult clay soil, and a variety of garden pests. I’ve bitten off more than I could chew in the vegetable garden, tried all sorts of ways to block weeds, and have used any number of irrigation methods, just as Mr. Alexander has. I give THE $64 TOMATO five out of five sunflowers.
About the book:
Title: The $64 Tomato
Author: William Alexander
Publisher: Algonquin
ISBN: 1-56512-503-7
Date: April 2006
Pages: 250
Price: $22.95
The $64 Tomato : How One Man Nearly Lost his Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden
