Although organic gardening may be considered a shift in thinking to modern agriculture, it wasn’t too long ago that ALL gardening was done without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. However, the connection between soil and plants has not always been easily understood.
One forward thinking gardener of the past also happens to have been one of the forefathers of our country – President Thomas Jefferson. He was a great plantsman and used his garden to test agricultural theories that we still apply today.
As a gardener, Jefferson wasn’t afraid to fail. He confessed often in his writings, to failing in his garden. There were many pest problems, as well as irrigation problems. He had to use trial and error to figure out what was the best direction to go when he encountered a problem. He said, “The failure of one thing is the repair and success of another”.
On this episode, Joe heads to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, VA during the local Heritage Harvest Festival.
This yearly festival is a family oriented and educational event held on the grounds of Monticello that celebrates gardening, sustainability, local foods, and the preservation of heritage plants. The Heritage Harvest Festival celebrates a gardening president and organic plantsman.
Additional Information:
Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book
Organic Gardening: It’s Easier Than You Think
About GGWTV
Growing A Greener World is a national gardening series on Public Television that features organic gardening, green living and farm to table cooking. Each episode focuses on compelling and inspirational people making a difference through gardening. This gardening series covers everything from edible gardening and sustainable agriculture to seasonal cooking and preserving the harvest.
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Super interesting episode. I have a great interest in historical gardens/gardening. I have to get to Monticello !. Perhaps in the future you can do another episode featuring gardens from the past. Growing a Greener World is my favorite show. Thanks.
Hi Brian. Thank you! Yes, this was one of our all time favorites as well. In the 5 years we’ve been filming our shows, we’ve been there 3 times and plan on going back. Can’t get enough of that place. And yes, we love historical gardening and plan on doing more from other places soon. Thank you for you comment and kind words! All the best.
Is it possible to purchase dvd of this episode?
yes Allene. Just email us at info@ggwtv.com and we can give you the details. Episodes on DVD are $12.50 including shipping.
I am an English botanist who lives in Italy and has been growing and selecting new varieties of tomato since 1994.
Yesterday to my surprise I received this contact from an American niece. Many years ago, when they visited me here, I gave her son Dusty several of the tomatoes I had been selected, including “Amy’s Apricot”. If you would like to know more about the very very interesting origin of this tomato I would be pleased to give you all the details.
For 20 years now I have been growing , here in Northern Italy, the progeny of a “volunteer” tomato plant which appeared in my small kitchen garden in 1994, which instead of giving red fruits, gave me 6 bright yellow fruits of differing shapes and sizes. Google: suzanne arregger -tomatoes.
I should be pleased to pass on what I have learned in the field to anyone interested. I am now 81 years old and the new Science Museum in Trento where I live – MUSE – are hopefully going to carry on my work.
I very much hope you will be back in touch with me, Suzanne.
Hi Suzanne. Thanks for sharing your fascinating story. I am infatuated with tomato stories and how varieties came to be. I did google “suzanne arregger -tomatoes” but everything is in Italian. If you care to send anything I can read in English, I’d love to learn more. You can email that to info@ggwtv.com. Thanks so much for sharing your story. I look forward to learning more!