The Speedy Vegetable Garden

December 3, 2012
One of the pleasures of being a home gardener is the taste of freshly picked food that goes from garden to table in minutes. Farmer Diacono and journalist Leendertz’s first book is a colorful, mouth-watering guide to (almost) instant gratification in the garden. They’ve compiled a list of dozens of vegetables and edible flowers that can be reaped almost as quickly as they are sown. One can easily imagine a child being charmed by the magic of sprouting mung beans and a gourmand savoring the delicate flavors of soaked radish seeds or tender coriander and fennel microgreens. With each crop, the authors have included cultivation advice and clear how-to photographs alongside simple recipes that bring out the best in these speedy crops. Thus in one entry a reader can learn not only how to cultivate zucchini but also how to harvest the flowers and serve them tempura-style. For those looking for something new in the kitchen and the garden, this is an attractive guide. 250 color photos.

December 15, 2012
Here's the book for vegetable gardeners in a hurry. Diacono and Leendertz present 50 crops that are at their best when grown rapidly. These include plants that are not traditionally quick to harvest, but are actually improved by being picked when immature. Think sweet, tender baby carrots, for example. Sunflower and radish sprouts can be ready for sprinkling on salads in less than a week. Micro greens, tiny seedlings of arugula, fennel, cilantro, and various herbs, provide bursts of concentrated flavor as salad ingredients and flavorings when harvested a week or so after germination. Edible flowers and early-harvest vegetables (cherry tomatoes in 65 days) are just some of the rest rounding out quick-harvest choices, presented lusciously in full-color photos. The authors also remind readers that soaked nuts and seeds, ready in just hours, are delicious superfoods due to the bioavailability of nutrients during germination. With sources and index, this unusual vegetable-growing book should attract everyone interested in planting a kitchen garden.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)