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Jul 29, 2010

Ciara rated it:

i expected this to be something in the vein of all those sustainable gardening/lefty quasi-gentleman farmer memoirs making the rounds these days, with page after page dedicated to the author's environmental rights decision-making processes & lofty pronouncements on the superiority of home-grown tomatoes. what i actually got was so much funnier & more satisfying! i mean, yes, the dude acknowledges that he could conceivably be seen as a gentleman farmer, he describes himself several times as a lib More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

May 05, 2009

Petrea rated it:

I gravitate toward books about gardening, and this seemed a likely choice. I was a touch disappointed because the author was quite negative--he kept saying how much he loved gardening, but then complained about the bugs and weeds and too abundant harvests, and the critters. Some things he brought on himself by trying not to spray for bugs, until it was too late, then he sprayed a lot, also he was gardening in the Hudson River Valley and he didn't want to put up a fence to keep out the deer--i More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 24, 2011

NJMetal rated it:

"The $64 Tomato" is a light laugh out loud look at one man's over-the-top gardening obsession on his three acre property in New York's Hudson Valley. Though the title may lead one to believe this to be a story about trying to grow a few tomato plants and the headaches and costs incurred with even that simple task, this book is much more broader in scope then that.
The author, William Alexander, purchases a somewhat large piece of property in upstate New York and immediatly has d More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 31, 2011

Karen rated it:

I enjoyed reading this quite a bit. While I don't agree with a lot of his actions and the chapters were a little too formulaic, I learned a lot and had fun reading it.

Explanation: The title implies that he goes to extremes normal gardeners wouldn't, but that's not entirely true. He analyzes the dilemmas and challenges most "weekend farmers" grapple with and he may spend a bit more than some, but the 64 dollars is the price he calculated out from how much hard cash he spent o More...

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Nov 02, 2011

Katrina rated it:

of all the things gardening can do to you, the rarest seems to be inspire humorous self-assesment. this man is a gem. instead of some self-righteous monologue on the superiority of locavores and organics, glossy photos of the beauty his hands have wrought, his children eating off the fat of the land, and his wife as a piece of wallpaper, we have here the hilarious tale of a man, a family, and an obsession.

i have to point out that the tomato didn't really cost $64 dollars. he worked ou More...

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May 03, 2011

Amy rated it:

One word: Hilarious!
The narrative of a gardener who wasn't really aware of the challenge he is taking on, hence hilarious events unfold. Love the slightly sarcastic but casual tone he took on.
It's easy to condemn the author for failing to stick with pro-organic, pro-animal, and pro-environmental style of gardening, but that is precisely the point that the book is trying to make. Those 3 pro may be easy for some depending on their garden size and experience, but not everyone. Gardeni More...

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May 29, 2009

Norita rated it:

William Alexander, you are a talented writer. In less capable hands, I probably would have dispensed with the book entirely or thrown it across the room. Unfortunately, that is about the only nice thing I can say because Mr. Alexander, you are a pompous boob.

The book itself is a train wreck of a tale about bourgeois "gentleman farmer" (the term gentleman farmer is his, not mine) who spends a fortune on the ideal of a garden that never quite realizes its Platonic form. Al More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2011

Jillaire rated it:

This amusing title caught my eye at the library a few weeks ago and I zoomed through it in a matter of days. Alexander has a casual yet sophisticated writing style that really engaged me as I read about his adventures in morphing from a mere backyard gardener to a "gentleman farmer." He goes through the design and construction of their 22-bed vegetable garden and the ensuing "cultivating" (not weeding), pest-eradicating (look out deer & Superchuck), and harvesting that it r More...

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Jun 07, 2009

Scuppers rated it:

The author and his wife decide to design a garden... Hilarity ensues. From the beginning, the garden's fraught with disaster, from "Superchuck," the uber-persistent groundhog, to the creepy Christopher Walken gardener.

Alexander takes us along on his 20-year gardening adventure. Even if he ultimately decides the garden fails as a business venture, (as the title implies), his love of gardening, and gratitude for the opportunity to learn shine through.

The book r More...

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Jan 23, 2009

Stormie rated it:

This book was hilarious! I felt that he epitomized everything that I have ever gone through when setting out to do some sort of big project. It seems like he takes 2 steps forward and 3 steps backwards. The only complaint that I had was his lack of up-to-date gardening methods and his anal-retentiveness for straight lines. He could have had a beautiful garden if he didn't insist on seeing his expensive dirt show in between his rows of tomatoes. For goodness sakes, plant some basil and marig More...

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Sep 11, 2011

Veronica rated it:

Oh boy where do I start with this one. It was very entertaining, informative and just truthful. As a gardener I shared his emotional ups and downs of his garden journey - struggling with the organic approach, etc. I have experienced my own "Superchuck" of pests and nearly lost my mind in the process. However, gardening is more about the journey than the end result. Except for some truly hardcore gardeners, most of us can not live off what we grow but the journey sure is fun. Yes, More...

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Oct 09, 2009

Laura rated it:

I compleatly enjoyed this book. It was lent to me by a fellow gardening friend who said that "any gardener will understand this..." And she was right.

The book chronicals the journey of a gardener. And all the adventures and misadventures. Family that doesn't understand, dirt that doesn't cooperate, critters that try to raid the crops, the battle against the critters, bugs, weeds, time, the delemia of what to do with everything now that you have a sucessfull garden...
More...

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Sep 19, 2007

Kristen rated it:

The storytelling was somewhat engaging, however the author's quirks were so irksome that it made this read a bit painful. At times I wanted to pull him aside and tell him what an arse he is but, all I could do was roll my eyes and flip the page.

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May 07, 2008

Deidra rated it:

I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone because there were some boring parts but it was totally worth a read for me. He's kind of funny but then he'll go on about kinds of apple trees and I would sort of glaze over some. Still, I enjoyed it!

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Jul 15, 2011

Janet rated it:

I can't remember where I saw this book recommended, but it was on my "to read" list, and when it popped up in the list of eBooks available at the library, I checked it out. It was a quick read and entertaining. I don't garden, but I admire people who do. William Alexander polks fun at himself and his garden obsession and ultimately realizes that something must give in his life. I liked it, but did not love it. I especially enjoyed his battles with animals, in particular the lowly More...

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Jan 01, 2009

Barbara rated it:

I had such high hopes for this in the first few pages. I didn't think it was negative (as several reviews imply), it's just that gardening IS difficult. It's full of setbacks. It never quite matches our dreams. That's not negativity, that's reality. Initially I related, I laughed...and then he started talking about pests. And that's where he lost me. A so-called environmentalist doesn't resort to malathion or diazinon under ANY circumstances. And for me, you cross the line when you can't More...

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Dec 10, 2008

Jeremy rated it:

That was fun. Bill Alexander is kind of an idiot and spends way too much time and money chasing a dream to become a "gentleman farmer" on his three acre home in New York. It is one disaster after another as fends off deer, groundhogs, sodworms, squirrels, beetles, contractors, snow, drought and his own inane ambitions as he struggles to maintain a large and ever-expanding kitchen garden. As the title suggests, he eventually calculates the cost of a single tomato, factoring yearly co More...

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Jul 20, 2009

Osho rated it:

This gardening memoir is a fine object lesson about how a hobby or passion can become a burden or obsession. Alexander shows the progression from the idea of the garden, the expansion of the idea, the expansion of the expansion, and the realization that joy has become drudgery. Alexander is both humorous and self-deprecating. Those reviewers who focus their criticism on his switch from organic to non-organic pesticides make a useful point about garden practices but miss the focus of this particu More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 14, 2011

Jenny rated it:

Well-written in a conversational tone, I really enjoyed Alexander's tales of gardening exploits, travails and successes. My biggest takeaway is thank heavens I haven't spent the kind of money he has satisfying a passion for fresh, homegrown produce--especially tomatoes. The losing sanity part reminded me all too well of my "orchid period." Those years where my collection of orchids grew to over 100 and I spent over two hours each week painstakingly watering and caring for them. It beca More...

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Sep 07, 2009

Liz rated it:

For some reason I thought this book was going to be a survey of gardening and local food on a social scale. Instead it's a memoir of one man's overly ambitious gardening projects at his home in the Hudson Valley. Many of the chapters are funny, and as a mostly-unsuccessful vegetable gardener I could relate to a lot of his trials and tribulations, even though the author was working on a much larger scale and spending incredible sums of money. (It really doesn't have to cost $64 to grow a tomato.) More...

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Mar 23, 2009

Mary rated it:

This was a book that had potential--- the author has a funny, warm, engaging side, some of the gardening stuff, the family stuff, the cooking stuff is really relatable. But then he has this other side that I think his editor really ought to have pushed harder to get rid of, where he needs to tell you minutia about how deep to bury the fence wire to address groundhogs and precisely how many stakes you need if you're edging a garden like his with metal. Where they're part of the overall story, oka More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 29, 2009

Molly rated it:

This book was educational, entertaining, and thought-provoking to a degree. Also, funny and sad at times. I have much empathy with the author since this will be my fifth year to garden in a community plot.

A friend said to me yesterday "gardening is for optimists". This author said the same near the end of his book. A quick read - I would recommend it especially if you do garden. You will feel as if you found a new friend who understands. If you haven't gardened yet but want More...

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Jan 17, 2011

Suzanne rated it:

I enjoyed this book. Anyone who gardens will appreciate the great lengths this man goes to plant his garden. At times it seems extreme, but nonetheless entertaining.

The reader goes on a gardening journey with Alexander and all the adventures and misadventures it entails and there are many!! His family doesn't understand, he has dirt that is useless, critters and bugs trying to eat and terrorize his crops, then the endless battle against the critters, bugs and of course weeds. Then t More...

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Apr 07, 2009

Kimberly rated it:

Very enjoyable, quick read. I learned and laughed and sighed. It's almost always fun for me to read a gardening memoir. The catch phrase on the back of the book is true - . . . "The joy of finding a gardener who is more obsessed than you are: Priceless"
I'm learning to be less judgmental of those who turn to chemicals in gardening even though I still pledge never to do so. Now I have a better understanding of the frustration involved in losing treasured food through my own exper More...

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Sep 09, 2011

Rebeccah rated it:

The story of a yuppie from Hudson Valley who decided to start a garden... without any real experience. The garden he started was not your typical 5x10 foot starter-garden. It was a 2000square foot garden with 22 beds. This guy spent an incredible amount of money on this garden, which was designed and built by a contractor. The stories are humorous and well-written, but it's worth it to keep in mind that most people will not have the financial means to copy his garden and techniques. Nonetheless, More...

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Feb 13, 2011

Karin rated it:

Nonfiction rarely appears on my to read shelf,this one was a great exception because it is laughing out lound funny.Anyone,who has ever tried growing something even on the smallest plot,can feel this man's joy and pain.It's easy to read,no technical jargon,no complicated reasonings just telling it like it is.Some years ago I rented an appartement from a family who had a beautiful backyard garden with flowers and tomatoes and there were two peach trees which had just started bearing fruit.When th More...

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Aug 09, 2011

Beth added it

This was a great read. It's the perfect correction to the Barbara Kingsolver grow-your-own-toilet-paper zealotry. Alexander is really honest and reflective about the labor involved in gardening, and he definitely doesn't approach this book with the attitude that he's living the Perfect Life that we should all imitate. I found his evaluation of his own screwy approach to a "hobby" (intense effort, guilt, exhaustion, despair) really interesting. It's easy to make completion of the goal ( More...

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Feb 11, 2012

Tristin rated it:

When Bill Alexander makes up his mind to plant a large vegetable garden he finds himself at odds with nearly all of creation. Near the top of the food chain are the landscapers, always behind schedule, often strange and occasionally frightening. Then there is the wildlife, the herds of deer that pummel the electrified fence to get at Alexander's crop, and the groundhog (Super Chuck) who merely squeezes through the wires, apparently savoring the shocks. Most menacing of all are the colonies of ma More...

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Jun 18, 2008

Erikka rated it:

This book was everything Doug Fine wished his book (Farewell, My Subaru) could be and more. The man posed in the author's photo on the back dust cover is a HOT older man, just adding a little more...motzy to the witty tone and intelligence apparent in all the writing. I laughed aloud many times, jotted down a few notes on future gardening techniques, and enjoyed the read.

In one sense, Alexander is a little like Fine in that he takes on a bigger garden dream in the financial realm th More...

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Oct 14, 2010

Mike rated it:

OK read, but the author seems like someone with a lot of disposable income to throw around with no regard for how real people garden, plus he seems to be a completely inept gardener.

The calculations involved in arriving at the $64 figure are faulty as well. He uses market value to calculate the value of the other crops he grew, then subtracts that from the overall cost of the garden for that year. What is left over is divided by the number of tomatoes he grew. Huh?!?

What he More...

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