Book Review: 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

by Meredith Heuer

I opened William Alexander’s $64 Tomato reluctantly.  After finally purchasing my first home, I was about to achieve my long held dream of having my own little patch and I was afraid that this garden memoir that concludes how incredibly unprofitable a home garden can be would squash some of my enthusiasm.  On the other hand, I had to know.  My desire to grow my own food was for purely financial reasons; I liked the idea of growing organic, watching the whole process and being able to teach my son where food comes from, but I certainly wasn’t going to complain if it saved me a few dollars along the way.  Both afraid and intrigued, I took a peak.

Alexander’s book tells of his journey from suburban to country living and of all the (often painful) transitions in between.  He mingles his personal history with anecdotes about farm tools and short histories of fruits and vegetables as we follow him from Yonkers to a small town in the Hudson Valley where he moves with his wife and children into what is locally known there as “the Big Brown House” and into what would seem to be the ideal situation for a large garden. Alexander presents his garden memoir with the kind of humor reminiscent of Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence and I found myself entertained by his tales of woe while I carefully made mental notes of what I would and would not do in my own garden.  His run-ins with personified hedgehogs and psychotic sub-contractors are often funny and lead him to many insights about nature and his own spirit.  His idealism about how food should be grown is constantly tested and he is, more often than not, forced to compromise in order to have even one apple to pick from his tree.

What we learn over the course of Alexander’s (sometimes relentless) tale is that there is no such thing as state of perfection in a garden.  The gardener will always have to battle bugs, animals, weather and even his own physical, mental and moral limitations. My sympathy, however, began to wear thin about midway through the book when he decided to “plant a meadow”.  I had always been under the impression that meadows happened sort of naturally given the right conditions and while this is the conclusion that Alexander eventually comes to, it is not without some blood, sweat and much money spent.  Perhaps I am wrong to judge him given my newness to the field, but I felt myself losing patience with his desire to take anything he had seen anywhere else in the world or in some glossy magazine and try to plant it in his own yard without considering whether it would thrive there, or what ill-effects it might have on what he had already planted; many times during the book he equates his work in the garden to a battle and he seems to see it as a place where one wins or loses.  It is commonly believed to be a lost cause to be at battle with Mother Nature, but Alexander can’t seem to help himself.

In the end, I was glad to have read Alexander’s book, if only to have gleaned a little history and hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls that the he tumbles into.  There is a short summary of his expenses at the end of the book and I smugly noted that I would not be incurring many of the costs that he had (I could definitely forego steel edging at $1200 a pop), and so while I might not save money growing my own garden, I think I can avoid bankruptcy. In the end Alexander sums up exactly why I have dug up my own front lawn to most likely repeat many of his mistakes and frustrations:  “Gardening is, by its very nature, an expression of the triumph of optimism over experience.”  Just because it didn’t always work out for him, there is no reason that it won’t work out for me: we have different soils, different light and I am irrationally optimistic that the weather will be ideal for my garden this year.

Comments

[Peter Unterweger]

This is an enjoyable review of a book I haven't read. I did however hear William Alexander interviewed on NPR, and I helped dig up Meredith's front lawn (in he interest of full disclosure: I'm her step father). Having read the review and listened to the author I think the book is certainly worth reading for those contemplating a gardening venture.

[noxavemeereni]

Glucophage Metformin Clomid [url=http://members.americanangler.com/furosemidenoprescription/ ]Furosemide And Allopurinol No Prescription[/url] Is Amoxicillin Safe While Pregnant Strep Throat Canada Vardenafil Mg Pictures Of Allergic Reaction To Amoxicillin Side Effects Urinary Tract Infection And Amoxicillin Asymptomatic Bacteriuria [url=http://www.netvibes.com/zetia ]Zetia Mexico Purchase Buy[/url] Quinolone Amoxicillin Amoxicillin Allergy Symptoms Infant Prescription Vardenafil Hydrochloride Online Without Clomid After Molar Clomid With Estradiol [url=http://www.buncospace.com/clomidnoprescription/ ]Clomid No Prescription Order[/url] Furosemide Topical Hair Loss Amoxicillin To Get Sbe Anaphylaxis Amoxicillin Furosemide Potassium Uric Acid [url=http://www.buncospace.com/amoxicillinnoprescription/ ]Amoxicillin No Prescription Overnight Fedex Cod[/url] Pronounced Flagyl Side Effects Taking Clomid With Regular Periods Taking Benadryl With Amoxicillin Clomid Mood Hot Flashes Headaches [url=http://members.americanangler.com/flagylwithoutprescription/ ]Flagyl Without Prescription[/url] Flagyl Used To Treatment Amoxicillin Gram Negative Amoxicillin Alcohol Side Effects Amoxicillin Usage Bacterial Infections [url=http://members.americanangler.com/vardenafilwithoutprescription/ ]Vardenafil No Prescription Border[/url] Clomid While Pregnancy Amoxicillin 500 Infectious Mononucleosis Order Otc Amoxicillin [url=http://genericdrugsaving.com/buy-tofranil-europe.html]buy generic tofranil online[/url] Clomid Support Drug Prescription Amoxicillin Online Without Clomid Uterine Pain

[feedessesse]

Vardenafil Hydrochloride Over The Counter Medication On Line [url=http://www.netvibes.com/baclofena ]Baclofen Test Drug Information[/url] Singulair Discount Card No Prescription Online Flagyl Order Meteo A Flagyl Levitra No Prescription Buy Cheap Viagra [url=http://www.netvibes.com/butalbital ]Prescription Butalbital[/url] Flagyl Zopiclone How Long Does Flagyl Bring For Work Why Is Singulair Given At Bedtime Singulair Information Montelukast Sodium [url=http://www.archive.org/details/macaulaypena ]Levitra Online[/url] Age Related Levitra Promotional Prescription Singulair Play Tadalafil Prescription Price No Prescription Us Pharmacy List Flagyl Vitamin Levitra [url=http://www.archive.org/details/OrderMotiliumSalesBuyingCheapMotiliumPricesMastercardCheckPayPal ]Domperidone No Prescription[/url] Flagyl Dosage Cats Does Baclofen Look Like Singulair Danger Taking Arimidex Mexican Pharmacies [url=http://www.netvibes.com/flagyl ]Flagyl And Cancer[/url] Baclofen Pump French Military Victories Levitra Online 20mg Composition Levitra Viagra Flagyl For Deer Tick [url=http://www.netvibes.com/clomiphene ]Weight And Clomid Clomiphene[/url] Flagyl Iv Dosage Pseudomembranous Colitis Tadalafil Vs Vardenafil Online Pharmacy Marketing Levitra Online Consultation Tadalafil Other Uses Arimidex Length Of Treatment Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Levitra Refractory Delivery

[feedessesse]

Vardenafil Hydrochloride Over The Counter Medication On Line [url=http://www.netvibes.com/baclofena ]Baclofen Test Drug Information[/url] Singulair Discount Card No Prescription Online Flagyl Order Meteo A Flagyl Levitra No Prescription Buy Cheap Viagra [url=http://www.netvibes.com/butalbital ]Prescription Butalbital[/url] Flagyl Zopiclone How Long Does Flagyl Bring For Work Why Is Singulair Given At Bedtime Singulair Information Montelukast Sodium [url=http://www.archive.org/details/macaulaypena ]Levitra Online[/url] Age Related Levitra Promotional Prescription Singulair Play Tadalafil Prescription Price No Prescription Us Pharmacy List Flagyl Vitamin Levitra [url=http://www.archive.org/details/OrderMotiliumSalesBuyingCheapMotiliumPricesMastercardCheckPayPal ]Domperidone No Prescription[/url] Flagyl Dosage Cats Does Baclofen Look Like Singulair Danger Taking Arimidex Mexican Pharmacies [url=http://www.netvibes.com/flagyl ]Flagyl And Cancer[/url] Baclofen Pump French Military Victories Levitra Online 20mg Composition Levitra Viagra Flagyl For Deer Tick [url=http://www.netvibes.com/clomiphene ]Weight And Clomid Clomiphene[/url] Flagyl Iv Dosage Pseudomembranous Colitis Tadalafil Vs Vardenafil Online Pharmacy Marketing Levitra Online Consultation Tadalafil Other Uses Arimidex Length Of Treatment Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Levitra Refractory Delivery

[feedessesse]

Vardenafil Hydrochloride Over The Counter Medication On Line [url=http://www.netvibes.com/baclofena ]Baclofen Test Drug Information[/url] Singulair Discount Card No Prescription Online Flagyl Order Meteo A Flagyl Levitra No Prescription Buy Cheap Viagra [url=http://www.netvibes.com/butalbital ]Prescription Butalbital[/url] Flagyl Zopiclone How Long Does Flagyl Bring For Work Why Is Singulair Given At Bedtime Singulair Information Montelukast Sodium [url=http://www.archive.org/details/macaulaypena ]Levitra Online[/url] Age Related Levitra Promotional Prescription Singulair Play Tadalafil Prescription Price No Prescription Us Pharmacy List Flagyl Vitamin Levitra [url=http://www.archive.org/details/OrderMotiliumSalesBuyingCheapMotiliumPricesMastercardCheckPayPal ]Domperidone No Prescription[/url] Flagyl Dosage Cats Does Baclofen Look Like Singulair Danger Taking Arimidex Mexican Pharmacies [url=http://www.netvibes.com/flagyl ]Flagyl And Cancer[/url] Baclofen Pump French Military Victories Levitra Online 20mg Composition Levitra Viagra Flagyl For Deer Tick [url=http://www.netvibes.com/clomiphene ]Weight And Clomid Clomiphene[/url] Flagyl Iv Dosage Pseudomembranous Colitis Tadalafil Vs Vardenafil Online Pharmacy Marketing Levitra Online Consultation Tadalafil Other Uses Arimidex Length Of Treatment Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Levitra Refractory Delivery