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To Boldly Grow: Finding Joy, Adventure, and Dinner in Your Own Backyard
A love-letter to the unexpected delights (and occasional despair) of so-called “first-hand food”—meals we grow, forage, fish, or even hunt from the world around us. To Boldly Grow is “part memoir, part how-to guide and wholly delightful” (Washington Post).
Journalist and self-proclaimed “crappy gardener” Tamar Haspel is on a to show us that raising or gathering our own food is not as hard as it’s often made out to be. When she and her husband move from Manhattan to two acres on Cape Cod, they decide to adopt a more active approach to their raising chickens, growing tomatoes, even foraging for mushrooms and hunting their own meat. They have more ambition than practical know-how, but that’s not about to stop them from trying…even if sometimes their reach exceeds their (often muddy) grasp.
With “first-hand food” as her guiding principle, Haspel embarks on a grand experiment to stop relying on experts to teach her the ropes (after all, they can make anything grow), and start using her own ingenuity and creativity. Some of her experiments are a rousing success (refining her own sea salt). Others are a spectacular failure (the turkey plucker engineered from an old washing machine). Filled with practical tips and hard-won wisdom, To Boldly Grow allows us to journey alongside Haspel as she goes from cluelessness to competence, learning to scrounge dinner from the landscape around her and discovering that a direct connection to what we eat can utterly change the way we think about our food--and ourselves.
Journalist and self-proclaimed “crappy gardener” Tamar Haspel is on a to show us that raising or gathering our own food is not as hard as it’s often made out to be. When she and her husband move from Manhattan to two acres on Cape Cod, they decide to adopt a more active approach to their raising chickens, growing tomatoes, even foraging for mushrooms and hunting their own meat. They have more ambition than practical know-how, but that’s not about to stop them from trying…even if sometimes their reach exceeds their (often muddy) grasp.
With “first-hand food” as her guiding principle, Haspel embarks on a grand experiment to stop relying on experts to teach her the ropes (after all, they can make anything grow), and start using her own ingenuity and creativity. Some of her experiments are a rousing success (refining her own sea salt). Others are a spectacular failure (the turkey plucker engineered from an old washing machine). Filled with practical tips and hard-won wisdom, To Boldly Grow allows us to journey alongside Haspel as she goes from cluelessness to competence, learning to scrounge dinner from the landscape around her and discovering that a direct connection to what we eat can utterly change the way we think about our food--and ourselves.
8 pages, Audible Audio
First published March 8, 2022
35 people are currently reading
2968 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
March 5, 2022
I absolutely loved this! Self sufficiency and sustainability are both things I am really interested in. Although, I slightly had a hard time reading the meat parts, being vegan, I can greatly appreciate what the author is doing and teaching. It's not a long boring book at all. I think a lot of people can learn a lot about themselves and the world around them while reading this. I would definitely recommend it.
March 24, 2024
Haspel's book combines memoir elements right alongside a hardy DIY manual for gardening, foraging, keeping livestock, as well as fishing and hunting. Leaving NYC in 2008 for the wilds of Cape Cod, Haspel and her husband approach the "first-hand food" project with gusto, and seemingly complement each other in their strengths and skills, and tap into a large and knowledgeable community of others with similar passions of living off the land. The gardening/farming and foraging were the most applicable for my own hobbies and aspirations, and the other chapters combined fun anecdotes and humor. Haspel's writing and advice are approachable, humane, and down-to-earth.
April 14, 2022
It's settled. I must have chickens.
January 18, 2022
Self sufficiency, how to, and New England life all wrapped into an entertaining look at the authors adventures in eating local. From clamming to raising livestock to hunting, the author and her husband have tried it all in part of their bid to eat something they’ve produced each day. The author is often humorous and I found it entertaining though I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be raising turkeys any time soon.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for advanced review copy —all opinions my own.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for advanced review copy —all opinions my own.
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June 8, 2023Entertaining, light, & funny. I liked reading about this couple’s adventures in growing, harvesting, raising, and hunting their own food. Clearly this very privileged couple didn’t have to worry about money when it came to these food experiments, and had the means to go out to the grocery store when their efforts failed. But putt that aside and it’s quite a ride.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2022
Tamar Haspel was already a foodie and writer, but didn't consider herself an "adventurer." Her husband was very much an adventurer and doer, so he got them started in the food growing world with a rooftop vegetable garden. When they decided to move from New York city to Cape Cod, Haspel had the idea of trying to go a year eating at least one "first-hand" every day. She defines "first-hand food" as food they either grew, raised, foraged, or hunted themselves. Living on Cape Cod that meant a lot of fish and clams at the beginning, but as their food adventures continued their "first-hand food" menu expanded. Eventually they were gardening, foraging, raised chickens, turkeys, ducks, and pigs, and kept bees. They also fished and hunted. I was honestly more impressed that they started doing all this in their 40's - a lot of the things they did are very physically demanding. I was also super impressed (and somewhat surprised) that Haspel who was adamantly anti-gun would want to start hunting. Overall, it's a solid food/gardening/homesteading memoir.
Some quotes I liked:
"Gardening and clamming, the activities, don't bear much resemblance to each other. One is terrestrial and one, aquatic. One yields a plant, and the other, an animal. The skills and tools involved are completely different. Only one requires waders, which are unflattering to absolutely everybody. But the satisfaction of the food itself was identical. In the next few years, I'd discover it was the same with fish I'd caught, venison I hunted, mushrooms I'd foraged. Yet there was no name either for that satisfaction or for the category of food that elicited it. The category, I've taken to calling first-hand food." (p. xx)
"Many of us who believe livestock should have a decent life are trying to convince American consumers that it's worth it to spend a little more for eggs, milk, and meat from well-treated animals. One of the arguments, often, is that those products taste better. If those products don't taste better, the American consumer who ponies up the extra bucks only to find that the expensive stuff tastes just like the cheap stuff is going to feel, quite rightly, that she's been sold a bill of goods." (p. 66) [I disagree with the author on this one. While it may be true that blind egg tasting can't distinguish free-range eggs over factory farmed eggs, there is a HUGE difference in nutritional content. I wish she had explained that and there are studies that show it as well. Sustainably raised meat is light years in nutritional content above factory farmed meat.]
"All our first-hand food activities have connected us to our community and introduced us to people we wouldn't have met otherwise, but none as much as hunting. I'm a left-leaning centrist with a libertarian streak, and the hunting world most definitely leans right. Meeting people who don't share your politics, outside the realm of politics, gives you a chance to see them as three-dimensional, as people who share an interest with you, as people you might even like." (p. 216)
Some quotes I liked:
"Gardening and clamming, the activities, don't bear much resemblance to each other. One is terrestrial and one, aquatic. One yields a plant, and the other, an animal. The skills and tools involved are completely different. Only one requires waders, which are unflattering to absolutely everybody. But the satisfaction of the food itself was identical. In the next few years, I'd discover it was the same with fish I'd caught, venison I hunted, mushrooms I'd foraged. Yet there was no name either for that satisfaction or for the category of food that elicited it. The category, I've taken to calling first-hand food." (p. xx)
"Many of us who believe livestock should have a decent life are trying to convince American consumers that it's worth it to spend a little more for eggs, milk, and meat from well-treated animals. One of the arguments, often, is that those products taste better. If those products don't taste better, the American consumer who ponies up the extra bucks only to find that the expensive stuff tastes just like the cheap stuff is going to feel, quite rightly, that she's been sold a bill of goods." (p. 66) [I disagree with the author on this one. While it may be true that blind egg tasting can't distinguish free-range eggs over factory farmed eggs, there is a HUGE difference in nutritional content. I wish she had explained that and there are studies that show it as well. Sustainably raised meat is light years in nutritional content above factory farmed meat.]
"All our first-hand food activities have connected us to our community and introduced us to people we wouldn't have met otherwise, but none as much as hunting. I'm a left-leaning centrist with a libertarian streak, and the hunting world most definitely leans right. Meeting people who don't share your politics, outside the realm of politics, gives you a chance to see them as three-dimensional, as people who share an interest with you, as people you might even like." (p. 216)
November 15, 2024
4.5 stars rounded down to 4. The messages, I aligned with. The content, I found interesting and engaging.
I’ll carry a few of the lessons with me, in future gardening/foraging endeavours. The book also leaned into some topics I am not entirely certain about my own personal opinion on as a vegetarian (consumption of meat, etc) and liked the insight I gained.
I’ll carry a few of the lessons with me, in future gardening/foraging endeavours. The book also leaned into some topics I am not entirely certain about my own personal opinion on as a vegetarian (consumption of meat, etc) and liked the insight I gained.
May 13, 2022
This was light reading about foraging, harvesting, and being creative with foods in their natural and original form. A good book for a budding gardener and those looking to live on the natural resources all around us.
March 3, 2022
Big thanks to Goodreads for the opportunity to review the book.
Growing up on a farm, the memoir brought back memories of raising chickens, which included picking them up at the store, feeding and watering, picking eggs and of course the task of catching and caging when it was butchering time. I never swung the hatchet, but can still smell the odor of singed feathers.
We also had a large garden and I learned a lot about pickling, freezing and canning, which to this day I still do. People have no idea how much better a fresh fruit or vegetable tastes right off the vine.
Thanks for bringing back memories for me Tamar Haspel.
Growing up on a farm, the memoir brought back memories of raising chickens, which included picking them up at the store, feeding and watering, picking eggs and of course the task of catching and caging when it was butchering time. I never swung the hatchet, but can still smell the odor of singed feathers.
We also had a large garden and I learned a lot about pickling, freezing and canning, which to this day I still do. People have no idea how much better a fresh fruit or vegetable tastes right off the vine.
Thanks for bringing back memories for me Tamar Haspel.
November 14, 2022
DELIGHTFUL. This was the best Audiobook I've listened to in a long time. I loved what Tamar and Kevin did and found it inspirational. I also appreciated the way she approached both raising and killing her own livestock - it gave me a lot to think about. Also, this book was genuinely funny and Tamar made for a very good reader. She may also be one of my favorite people now. Highly recommend if you have any interest at all in growing/raising your own food.
August 8, 2022
Witty, breezy, makes me want chickens. BTG #6
Want to read
July 28, 2024DNF at 30%
June 25, 2025
This was just lovely. Did it inspire me to take up hunting? Absolutely not. But what it has inspired me to do is make better use of what I grow in my garden this year.
August 8, 2025
This is an engaging story of learning to live off the land and the evolution of a couple of city dwellers to folks who have been intricately involved in food harvesting, growing, hunting, and foraging for more than a dozen years.
The story is inspiring, and I really enjoyed listening to the author narrating her own story.
The story is inspiring, and I really enjoyed listening to the author narrating her own story.
January 22, 2026
This was excellent, if I ever go to Cape Cod I would love to have lunch with the author. Her writing style is entertaining and interesting, and now I'm inspired to plant a bunch of plants in my garden.
April 7, 2022
Dull, dull, dull. DNF.
October 4, 2022
Tamar is a gifted storyteller who takes us along her journey into “first hand food.” With humor, she recounts her successes as well as her failures. There are many adventures: mischievous turkeys, hunting while listening to an audiobook, using goldfish as bait and many other failed attempts at living off the land. Admittedly, I’m not quite ready to raise poultry but I might try some of the recipes in particular, the dandelion wine. The mushroom advice is prudent and the “How to Tell If Mushroom is Edible” flowchart is priceless!
May 24, 2022
Perfect for intellectuals who need another intellectual to tell you (with a sensible sense of humor) what’s so dope about growing or acquiring your own food
March 15, 2022
Audiobook. I really like this. I have an extreme bias due to an interest in gardening and self sufficiency. So it’s hard for me to know if others without particular interest in the topic would also like it. But I think so. Several funny moments and the author does a good job narrating, and it feels like she is just telling you a story.
March 24, 2022
I did receive an ARC of this book.
I will fully admit that I was wondering why I received this ARC. It is not one of my normal reads. I did decide that I wanted to add more non-fiction to my TBR pile this year and I am so thankful this book was there.
This book was not written for me, I do not have any of the abilities or even desires to do half the things written about. I can not grow a thing to save my life, I do not like game meats, fishing is boring and I am not a fan of most fishes, I could go on and on, but you get the point. All of that said, I was hooked before I finished the first chapter. I was listing the friends who need to read this book with each chapter I finished. I would say, if you enjoy gardening, gathering, reducing your strain on the environment, ever dreamed of homesteading or just really enjoy a well written book, pick this up, you will not be disappointed.
I will fully admit that I was wondering why I received this ARC. It is not one of my normal reads. I did decide that I wanted to add more non-fiction to my TBR pile this year and I am so thankful this book was there.
This book was not written for me, I do not have any of the abilities or even desires to do half the things written about. I can not grow a thing to save my life, I do not like game meats, fishing is boring and I am not a fan of most fishes, I could go on and on, but you get the point. All of that said, I was hooked before I finished the first chapter. I was listing the friends who need to read this book with each chapter I finished. I would say, if you enjoy gardening, gathering, reducing your strain on the environment, ever dreamed of homesteading or just really enjoy a well written book, pick this up, you will not be disappointed.
June 2, 2022
Absolutely loved it. Makes me want to get out of my armchair and do things - anything
December 21, 2021
I had a Cape Cod honeymoon, so I am drawn to books (fiction and nonfiction) that are set on the Cape. This hybrid memoir/self-sufficiency guide is different from other memoirs about life on Cape Cod; the others seem more focused on the beach life aspect. This is quite different, as Haspel and her husband are year-round residents.
Haspel entertainingly details their journey into the self-sufficiency lifestyle, starting with gardening, which led to keeping chickens, keeping turkeys, fishing, and hunting. (Might want to save the hunting/butchering parts for after dinner!) Each chapter ends with tips/best practices.
Librarians/booksellers: Definitely purchase if "living off the land" or self-sufficiency memoirs are popular.
Many thanks Penguin Random House and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Haspel entertainingly details their journey into the self-sufficiency lifestyle, starting with gardening, which led to keeping chickens, keeping turkeys, fishing, and hunting. (Might want to save the hunting/butchering parts for after dinner!) Each chapter ends with tips/best practices.
Librarians/booksellers: Definitely purchase if "living off the land" or self-sufficiency memoirs are popular.
Many thanks Penguin Random House and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 31, 2022
Lots of people have led interesting lives, and poorly elaborate on them through writing. I blame tiktok:) Tamar is a rare find who writes prose so well she could turn a very bland experience hysterical, but since she leads a fairly extraordinary life, this is the sort of book you devour in one sitting.
While you could take away some real intelligence about growing or hunting or foraging.... the charm of the book is that you could take away nothing but the insanely amusing stories of her adventures. I'm reminded of James Herriot or Bill Geist, true memoirists with a dry wit and spectacular sense of snarky humor.
Sometimes you just want to read a book that makes you happy and fits the bill.
While you could take away some real intelligence about growing or hunting or foraging.... the charm of the book is that you could take away nothing but the insanely amusing stories of her adventures. I'm reminded of James Herriot or Bill Geist, true memoirists with a dry wit and spectacular sense of snarky humor.
Sometimes you just want to read a book that makes you happy and fits the bill.
January 24, 2023
A total joy to read!
I honestly can’t express how much I loved this book, I’m sure I’ll read it many times over.
There was no mention of how people native to Cape Cod farm and forage, which was a bit disappointing. I’d also love a European version of this book.
There were a few choices I disagreed with but overall I feel like the author did an excellent job of giving pragmatic takes on what it can be like to forage and grow your own food.
I honestly can’t express how much I loved this book, I’m sure I’ll read it many times over.
There was no mention of how people native to Cape Cod farm and forage, which was a bit disappointing. I’d also love a European version of this book.
There were a few choices I disagreed with but overall I feel like the author did an excellent job of giving pragmatic takes on what it can be like to forage and grow your own food.
February 13, 2025
Was really excited for this book, however, it really lacked specificity. Great concept , just wished it wasn’t so broad in scope.
August 25, 2023
Great Precursor to Homesteading
This is a great book to read before starting your journey towards living off the land. It's an honest narrative encompassing the annoyances and joys of raising, growing, and finding your own food.
Pros:
- It's funny! I like that the author isn't afraid to admit their failures and make light of them. There are so many little things that can go wrong with homesteading that can turn into big things if you don't have the right mindset
- Helpful/Realistic. The author shares great insights on which endeavors aren't worth your time and what it all entails (in case you're still thinking about learning the hard way)
- Not preachy. I like that it's written as an autobiography rather than a "how to" book with just straight facts and directions. It's much easier to relate to.
Cons:
- Not an easy read. I'm a well-educated person with a pretty broad vocabulary, and even I had a hard time with some of the word choices and sentence flow. Maybe it was due to cultural dialects; Maybe it was due to overuse of the synonyms feature?
- Everything was definitely done the harder way. Maybe the author was trying to prove a point by doing everything "DIY" or "on the fly" or maybe the resources weren't available at the time, but a lot of the trials and tribulations could have been avoided by doing a little premeditated research or spending a few bucks at the co-op.
- Some bad advice. Never, EVER nibble on an unidentified mushroom. Even some of the easy-to-ID choice mushrooms should never be eaten raw. A simple spore print can help rule out many look-alikes without the need to update your life insurance policy.
This is a great book to read before starting your journey towards living off the land. It's an honest narrative encompassing the annoyances and joys of raising, growing, and finding your own food.
Pros:
- It's funny! I like that the author isn't afraid to admit their failures and make light of them. There are so many little things that can go wrong with homesteading that can turn into big things if you don't have the right mindset
- Helpful/Realistic. The author shares great insights on which endeavors aren't worth your time and what it all entails (in case you're still thinking about learning the hard way)
- Not preachy. I like that it's written as an autobiography rather than a "how to" book with just straight facts and directions. It's much easier to relate to.
Cons:
- Not an easy read. I'm a well-educated person with a pretty broad vocabulary, and even I had a hard time with some of the word choices and sentence flow. Maybe it was due to cultural dialects; Maybe it was due to overuse of the synonyms feature?
- Everything was definitely done the harder way. Maybe the author was trying to prove a point by doing everything "DIY" or "on the fly" or maybe the resources weren't available at the time, but a lot of the trials and tribulations could have been avoided by doing a little premeditated research or spending a few bucks at the co-op.
- Some bad advice. Never, EVER nibble on an unidentified mushroom. Even some of the easy-to-ID choice mushrooms should never be eaten raw. A simple spore print can help rule out many look-alikes without the need to update your life insurance policy.
December 31, 2022
Notes of Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan and other authors. But none presented the material so humorously as Haspel. The effect is an eminently readable book and a desire to at least try everything in the book. Raise chickens? Nbd. Start and oyster farm (why wasn’t there a whole section on this?!?!)? Seems logical. The challenge, of course, is that this “just try it” attitude is actually very challenging for oh, most of our country who lacks access to land, the capital to get these project off the ground, let alone if they fail, and years to dedicate to each project that is pretty much the only way to make sure you aren’t actively loosing money buy starting 15 different hobbies. I’ve gardened a fair bit, and while it would be nice to go in with a light-hearted “oh the bugs might eat everything” that’s certainly not how I felt after spending weeks tilling the soil (by hand because I’m cheap), weeding (again, by hand because I didn’t want to buy row cover), hauling water from the spigot (by hand because I didn’t want to buy a hose) and just getting myself to the garden (it was a community garden plot about a mile from my house). That being said, I do love her points about the power of growing your own food, even if it’s a small portion of it. And yes, I absolutely want to grow mushrooms. One day. When I have my own land and logs.
August 20, 2025
One of the many things that I will miss about my delivery job is the opportunity to listen to audiobooks and podcasts all day long (I won't mind all the time alone with my thoughts day after day, but I digress 😂). I wish I'd listened to more audiobooks, but I did enjoy a few recently and this was a highly unexpected winner.
I typed Joy into the Libby app and filtered out audiobooks and available. This looked interesting and it turned out to be more than I expected.
This is the story of a woman's 12 year journey after she suggested to her husband, Kevin, that their New Year resolution be to consume one food item they had sourced themselves every day for an entire year.
What follows is an incredibly humourous recounting of their many adventures from gardening, to turkey slaughtering, to fungus growing.
I'll likely never homestead myself but the way Haspel hilariously weaves her tale while providing ample suggestions on how to DIY many of these projects had me enthralled for the entire 7 hours. It's different. It's hilarious. It's inspiring. It's motivating. I definitely recommend it.
I typed Joy into the Libby app and filtered out audiobooks and available. This looked interesting and it turned out to be more than I expected.
This is the story of a woman's 12 year journey after she suggested to her husband, Kevin, that their New Year resolution be to consume one food item they had sourced themselves every day for an entire year.
What follows is an incredibly humourous recounting of their many adventures from gardening, to turkey slaughtering, to fungus growing.
I'll likely never homestead myself but the way Haspel hilariously weaves her tale while providing ample suggestions on how to DIY many of these projects had me enthralled for the entire 7 hours. It's different. It's hilarious. It's inspiring. It's motivating. I definitely recommend it.
April 5, 2022
I listened to the audiobook and it was fantastic. Tamar is really funny. This book is filled with many nuggets of lessons that I really appreciated. I loved hearing about her excitement of experiencing many firsts in her journey to learn, solve problems, and enjoy the rewards of stretching limits. I enjoyed following the thought process between her husband and herself when decisions were made about new tasks and the ownership of them. She points out that the wins of all their first hand food activities (fishing and hunting) connected them to so many people she would probably never have interacted with before in her community. There were so many quotes from the book I enjoyed like this one: "If you help the strangers in your local waters, maybe they'll go home and help the strangers in theirs" and this one about the mind blowing process of salt harvesting: "If you're worried about risk, don't text and drive, your salt is fine". (she's so funny) Tamar's encouragement to start small is the best advice. I'll definitely keep that in mind as I make my own plans to boldly grow as a generalist!
June 6, 2022
From the first word to the last this book is a testament to the good life —deliciously and generously lived. There is no food writer out there more humble, hilarious, truthful, and wildly fun to read than Tamar Haspel. Every chapter, page, and word in this book proves it. Haspel is a brilliant journalist and obsessive researcher but also — incredibly and adamantly! —not obnoxious about her expertise. Just the opposite. She’s wide-open minded and generous with what she learns and knows. By the end of To Boldly Grow you’ve spent many joyful hours sprawled on Haspel’s couch listening to her stories, you’ve eaten dozens of crazy delicious meals at her table, and you’ve been invited in as witness to her powerfully loving, titanium-strength marriage. Devour these pages and share them with everyone you know!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews