Monday, August 24, 2009

Grocery Gardening -- Or Where I've Been Lately

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability," said renowned author and philosopher Sam Keen. But summer fun wasn't the reason why Seasonal Wisdom has been so neglected recently. There's a much better reason.


The story started on Twitter, believe it or not. That's where I was approached by social media maven Jean Ann Van Krevelen about co-authoring a book called "Grocery Gardening" to be published by Cool Springs Press. 

This isn't just any old gardening book either. What makes this book special is the fast turnaround (60 days) and the fact that the four authors have never before met. Technology tools like Twitter, Skype and Wiggio have enabled us to communicate and work effectively together.

So, who is doing what? Well, I'm reporting on nutritional facts, as well as the best ways to purchase quality fruit and vegetables. My talented colleagues are providing helpful gardening and preparing advice for a whole range of fruit, vegetables and herbs.

You probably recognize the other co-authors:
  • Jean Ann Van Krevelen (@jeanannvk on Twitter) wrote Growing Food: A Guide for Beginners and was named “2008 Top 50 Tweeple to Follow” on Twitter.
  • Amanda Thomsen (@kissmyaster on Twitter) writes a popular blog for Horticulture magazine
  • Robin Ripley (@robinripley on Twitter) is the national gardening columnist for Examiner.com

You can participate too!  "Grocery Gardening" is the industry's first crowd-sourced gardening guide. So, your comments are welcome too.

Contribute gardening tips, photos and recipes by participating in the Grocery Gardening community at http://grocerygardening.ning.com/. Who knows? Your ideas might just be featured in this book. But hurry! Time is running out. Preorder this book now.

Look for more stories to come.  California wildflowers and an innovative Idaho garden are just some of the topics coming in upcoming weeks. Hope to see you here again soon...