TOOLS OF THE EARTH
Jeff Taylor is a man who loves tools. He is also an enthusiastic gardener. The twin passions come together in Tools of the Earth, (Chronicle Books, 1998).
Taylor, who lives in Oregon, is a professional carpenter as well as a freelance writer whose columns appeared regularly in This Old House magazine. Something of an old hippie, he lives a rural, earth-friendly existence. The tools he describes in the book’s twenty-four chapters are not fuel-hogging behemoths, but basic instruments like trowels, rakes and hoes. As he says in the introduction, “This book is about tools that link our hands to the earth.”
Though he clearly loves antique tools and designs that have stood the test of time, practicality makes him receptive to innovation. Modern implements that have more efficient designs or provide more convenience or comfort to the gardener win his approval every time.
The first chapter, which is typical of those that follow, deals with shovels and spades, as well as and the author’s attempt to move and spread twenty tons of gravel using only a shovel, wheelbarrow and rake. By the end of the chapter he has delved into the history of digging tools, described the arrival of his own forbearers in America and commented on the effort of moving and spreading about four tons of the gravel. The chapter and the gravel spreading might have gone on considerably longer, but for the intervention of Taylor’s wife, the aptly named Joy, who decided to hire someone with a tractor to till part of the family acreage. The tractor operator took pity on the author and spread the remaining sixteen tons of gravel “in about ten minutes.” Taylor had the good sense to be grateful for this particular act of salvation and ends on a philosophical note that connects the mundane shovel to his own desire to dig deeper into the meaning of life.
A few chapters focus on objects like gloves, hats and hammocks, which many people would not characterize as “tools” at all. However, the author clearly believes that each is as integral to the gardening process as a watering can or a pitchfork. Equally integral and frequently mentioned is Joy, the wise, well grounded and well rounded earth mother who keeps the author and the garden moving forward. Serenity, the sometimes difficult thirteen year old daughter of Jeff and Joy, also wanders in and out of the narrative. For all his philosophical mellowness, Taylor is no different than any other parent of a teenager, regarding his offspring with a mixture of affection and consternation.
Gardening Jeff Taylor-style is far removed from the typical suburban preoccupation with ornamental plants. The crops that he describes in the greatest detail are mostly vegetables. Anyone who has ever gone overboard planting tomatoes will recognize his depiction of an unending tomato harvest and the Herculian task of processing all those ripe tomatoes before they begin to rot.
When Taylor does get around to the subject of flowers, the result is magical. In his elegiac chapter on life, death and secateurs or clippers, he concludes by saying that flowers “remind us of what is important.”
Taylor is a poet when it comes to describing various common implements and their relationship to the whole process of cultivating the earth. He respects his tools, and unlike ninety-nine percent of other gardeners, he actually cleans, sharpens and stores them properly at the end of each growing season. The chapter titled “Grindstone” details the painstaking process of sharpening various shovels, hoes and cutting tools on a small, hand-cranked grindstone. The sharpening is an end in itself, of course, but it is also a vehicle for meditation and the kind of discoveries that only come when you focus intently on one simple task. I am not likely to purchase or use a home grindstone, but thanks to Jeff Taylor, I just might be inspired to clean my tools properly this year.
Tools of the Earth will give you a few hints about tomato growing, compost making and tilling the soil. It will provide you with a lot of historical information on various tools and their uses. But it is really about the process of gardening and the ebb and flow of life in the garden and away from it.
Tools of the Earth is eight years old, so you probably won’t find it at your local retail bookseller. It is available new or used at www.amazon.com or used at www.bn.com.