Putting Down Roots: Gardening Insights from Wisconsin's Early Settlers by Marcia C. Carmichael Search Amazon for other books by or about Marcia C. Carmichael. Rating: Reviewed by: John L. Hoh, Jr.

Americans have been gardening ever since the Pilgrims stepped off the Mayflower. Today we have watering hoses, gasoline-powered rotor-tillers, hybrid seeds, and the like. But what did people do for gardens before there were hoses or rotor-tillers or hybrid seeds? What did the settlers of yore plant and how did they tend their gardens?

This book is published by the Wisconsin State Historical Society and focuses on Wisconsin gardens. The gardens are classified by the various ethnic groups that settled Wisconsin. One can compare how each group gardened. One might also enjoy the various tools used, like the water engine, which actually had no engine!

As many settlers planted vegetables and other vittles in their gardens, there are ethnic-oriented recipes in this book as well.