Frank Salerno, a native of Corona Queens, is an avid backyard gardener and author of From Seed to Salad, A Step-by-Step Manual for Backyard Gardening. Aside from laying out the basics of beginner’s gardening, Salerno offers a lifetime’s worth of gardening anecdotes while trying to impress upon his readers the inherent value of working with the soil and growing your own food.
Salerno, who worked as an electronics technician, became familiar with effective writing styles while reading up on topics within his professional field. He realized he could use his experience with technical articles and manuals, and combine them with his gardening skills to produce a backyard gardening manual. “I decided to write a book that would teach how to garden from the bottom up,” Salerno said.
For Salerno, gardening offers a cathartic, yet productive activity. In addition to the tranquility of the garden, Salerno describes “the pleasures of picking and eating the fresh vegetables that result, and the fun of sending “the kids” home with a bagful of produce.” Bringing a garden to fruition, despite setbacks, is always rewarding. “Problems turn up in the garden, you troubleshoot them, you fix them, and now you feel a little smarter than you felt before. It’s all so satisfying.”
Another benefit to gardening, as Salerno describes it, is a deeper understanding of life cycles. “To a serious gardener dirt is not dirt – it is soil. Water is not only something that comes out of a faucet – it is the blood of all life. The length of the day, the shadows that fall, the heat and the cold, they all take on new meanings because they affect how your garden grows. This understanding of the nature of things makes us see that we all are a part of the community of life, and we all are linked together,” Salerno said.
Ultimately, Salerno would like to reintroduce you to your own backyard. “In your own backyard is a place to spend countless hours feeling useful, feeling meditative, and feeling relaxed. And it doesn’t cost you a nickel,” Salerno said.
Frank Salerno is currently accepting all questions and comments about his work, or for information about ordering his book, at seedsalad@verizon.net.
Check out our forum discussion on gardening tips -
the best tips will be rewarded with a free copy of Frank's book!
Update, March 27, 2012:
Thank you to everyone who participated in our forum discussion on gardening tips. We have selected the official winners, who will be receiving a free copy of Frank's book, From Seed to Salad, A step-by-Step Manual for Backyard Gardening. The winners are Cruzer, KMBurgod and EleanorBB, for their advice on controlling garden pests, creating a makeshift greenhouse for winter herbs and appropriately timing your garden variety. Thanks again to all who participated and especially Frank Salerno for providing the rewards and topic of discussion. For information on ordering a copy of Frank's book, contact him at seedsalad@verizon.net.