Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Everybody! From teens going green to my 92 year-old aunt who is composting in her retirement home. And everyone in between who is looking for a safer way to grow food and flowers in their backyard, front porch or NYC fire escape!

Q: What is the book about?
A: From Booklist review, March 2010:
“While offering plenty of sound and sensible organic gardening advice, Spiegelman lightens the load with quippy and pithy observations that make the experience feel more like a casual conversation with a good, green-thumbed friend than a lecture from a stuffy horticulturist.

A transplanted Manhattanite who found herself gardening in California, Spiegelman wisely enrolled in master gardener classes before she killed so many plants she’d qualify for a ‘most wanted’ poster at the local nursery. She shares her hard-won knowledge glibly but with a great deal of gravity, too. Gardens are fun, yes, but the benefits they provide, from the aesthetic to the ecological, should be taken seriously.”

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: Because I was a really bad gardener and now I’m a really good gardener. Ta-da!

I am now a Master Gardener and a garden columnist for the Pacific Sun newspaper in California. I’m also a concerned, opinionated and outspoken parent. I’m passionate about passing on land and water that is safe and clean to the next generation. If we don’t clean up our act environmentally, they’ll think their parents were so lame!

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: It’s written by an ex-New Yorker who works in the movie business and somehow, down the road, fell in love with soil. Go figure? If I can do it, anyone can.

Topics in the book:

• The secret to great soil (the only way to have a healthy garden)
• Organic rose care and flowers that invite the good bugs
• The least toxic ways to combat pests in your yard
• Learning to worship the worm and build a compost pile
• Tips and tricks for growing killer tomatoes
• A seasonal breakdown of gardening chores to stay on top of your garden year-round

Each chapter ends with a plant recommendation by Annie’s own Dirt Diva Royal Horticultural Society along with a rating system of how easy or difficult the plant is to grow and upkeep. Packed with tips for shopping, learning, and promoting environmentally sound garden practices, this one-stop handbook is ideal for anyone looking to grow their green thumb.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Yes, these people are talking dirt about me:

It’s hard to resist a gardening book that’s both chocked full of information, and fun to read. It doesn’t matter if you are a novice gardener or more experienced, Annie, “The Dirt Diva,” shows the way to growing and enjoying a natural, sustainable, organic garden.
—Nell Newman, Co-founder and President of Newman’s Own Organics

Annie Spiegelman (AKA the Dirt Diva) understands what gardening is really about: having fun…even when you aren’t having fun! This book is laugh out loud useful and smart. Frankly, it’s the best book on Organic Gardening that I’ve seen in 11 years (since mine came out). The Dirt Diva Royal Horticultural Society is the only gardening club I really want to be a member of.
–Maria Rodale, CEO of Rodale Inc.

Fun, factual, and filled with ideas. What sets Talking Dirt apart from all other organic gardening how-to guides is Anne Spiegelman. The information is presented with personality and wit making this book a must have resource for the aspiring organic gardener.
–Michael C. Metallo, President National Gardening Association