*Starred Review* Think of Diffley's organic memoir as Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love (2006) without the travel. There's plenty of eating of the delectable fruits and vegetables her family produces and sells. As for love, the pain of a failed first marriage is mitigated by the birth of her daughter and eradicated when she falls for Martin, a fifth-generation organic farmer whose rural Minnesota acreage is doomed to be suburbanized by Minneapolis developers. The praying comes in when the Diffleys have to battle the powers-that-be not once but twice after their second homestead is threatened by the construction of a crude-oil pipeline. Weaving the story of how they battled big government and big oil while coping with Mother Nature's daily and seasonal challenges of hail, drought, frost, and wind, Diffley fluently conveys the mind-boggling demands of organic farming in intimately personal and intricately factual ways. From the microbial soil that nourishes crops and the native grasses that lure pollinating bees to the ancient trees that shelter scavenger owls and the dedicated people who stay attuned to the delicate symbiotic relationships among them all, the thriving ecosystem of a family farm nurtures a world far beyond its borders.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2010 Booklist

Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Organic farmers have a tough row to hoe, as Diffley-half of the husband-and-wife team who built Minnesota's Gardens of Eagan, one of the Midwest's first certified organic produce farms-knows too well. Threats to her livelihood are legion: ever-encroaching suburbia, foul weather, nitwits spraying poison too close to the vegetable patch, and pipeline companies seeking eminent domain are just some struggles she's survived to tell. In fact, Diffley thrives. Like her own farm, this book offers an abundant crop: practical-minded readers will appreciate the how-to's of soil building and crop rotation as well as information on the rigors of meeting FDA organic standards. Those seeking inspiration will enjoy the story of a single mother's dogged effort to follow her bliss. Verdict All readers will enjoy the organic ethic beautifully demonstrated in the author's close observation of and deep deference to nature. One might quibble with Diffley's attempt to reconstruct dialog from journals; too often her speeches sound stilted, and her repeated use of the "I say" phrase has a numbing effect. Still, this is a satisfying, instructive book.-Robert Eagan, Windsor P.L., Ont. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In addition to being a charming memoir of love and living off the land, Diffley's debut is a timely tale of modern farming, the growing organic movement, and the problems that arise when urban development runs up against fertile fields. Diffley met her husband Martin when she visited the roadside vegetable stand at his farm, Gardens of Eagan in Minnesota, which had been in his family for five generations. For years, the couple grew organic crops and sold them to food co-ops, until suburban developers encroached upon their land. They soon became "nomadic farmers," working fields around town while they searched for a new plot on which to settle. Once they found a new home for Gardens of Eagan, business thrived, but when a letter arrives from notorious Koch Industries explaining their intentions to build a crude oil pipeline through the farm, the Diffleys are more determined than ever to save their livelihood. What ensued was a remarkable legal battle, whose outcome prompted the Diffleys to start Organic Farming Works LLC, an agricultural consulting business. Equal parts anecdote and practical organic farming guide, this book is a powerful testament to the Diffleys' passion for their work and a terrific guide to the trials and tribulations of sticking to the land, sticking to the Man, and going organic. Color & b/w photos. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.