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Title: 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden (Smith & Hawken) by Carolyn J. Male, Frank Iannotti, Kent Whealy ISBN: 0761114009 Publisher: Workman Publishing Company Pub. Date: July, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5
Rating: 5
Summary: Fantastic book on a fascinating subject
Comment: Dr. Male has written a beautiful and extremely helpful guide to wonderful heirloom tomatoes. I like to try different tomato varieties every year, and this book will be my guide to what to grow next year. I must add that I am mystified by the comments of Ms Emily White, who accuses growers of heirloom tomatoes of being snobs and fanatics. We just like good tomatoes. Heirlooms were handed down through the generations by family farmers, not snobs. I know quite a few people who grow heirloom vegetables, and they grow them for the taste, not some elitist attitude or for specialty markets. All my heirloom tomatoes end up on my surburban dinner table. I seriously question whether Ms White has ever grown anything. If she does grow tomatoes, I suggest that she try some heirloom varieties before criticizing those who grow them. If you love garden fresh tomatoes, buy this book!
Rating: 5
Summary: Whets one's appetite for tomatoes--and for growing them!
Comment: Dr. Carolyn Male's book on heirlooms is all a gardener needs besides seeds to undertake a tomato garden. Anyone who's read her pithy, sometimes acerbic remarks on AOL's Tomato Forum or vegetable boards will not be surprised by the wealth of information between the covers of her book--or the style with which she conveys it. Just as a bite of a ripe tomato can burst with goodness, a Dr Male sentence bursts with information--there are no wasted words, much less sentences: the book is a nutritious read for those hungry to learn about tomato gardening.
Workman Press has also published gardening books about 100 Roses and 100 Orchids, which suggests that Dr. Male may have been constrained by their format. She has certainly optimized the possibilities within these limits, but it would be grand if she were allowed more freedom and space to share her wisdom, and to go into greater depth and detail. A big, fat, heavy, exhaustive tomato tome by this author would certainly find a place on my bookshelves.
And in the best of all possible worlds, the excellent photographs of the individual tomato varieties would be supplemented by more photographs of tomatoes actually growing in gardens: this would help both experienced and less experienced gardeners to plan their own, and to grasp the fine points of supporting the vines, as well as to visualize what to expect when the indeterminate plants are left to sprawl. The few excellent photographs of tomatoes "in situ" that are included are wonderfully informative and helpful.
Any gardener who acquires this book should be warned in advance that reading it will doom them to growing heirloom tomatoes. This year's crop of non heirlooms are still green on my vines, and I've already planned an extensive heirloom garden for next year. Thanks, Doc Carolyn, for the inspiration!
Rating: 5
Summary: An excellent guide to heirloom tomatoes
Comment: By far the most popular vegetable--er, fruit--that North Americans grow in their home gardens is the once scorned tomato. Nowadays, the majority of the tomatoes grown are red, hybrid and fairly disease and crack resistant varieties. Most are, without a doubt, excellent tasting, much better than the "tomatoes" found in the local supermarket--even during prime tomato season--yet for those who have grown and enjoyed heirloom tomatoes, even these hybrids (and a few open-pollinated varieties) are second rate.
I'll admit, I have yet to grow more than one heirloom varieties--something will change this summer, should the weather in these parts ever decide to return to seasonal. That one variety is a German commercial variety known as Matina, about which I will mention more in a moment.
There is a growing movement of tomato growers who are becoming interested in heirloom tomatoes, and since knowledge about all of the varieties of heirlooms--some of which have sadly been lost--has declined as gardeners turned to more dependable hybrids, books like Carolyn J. Male's 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden is a welcomed and important work.
The author, a professor of microbiology, is one of the most knowledgeable enthusiast of the heirloom tomato, and has apparently herself grown c. 1200 varieties. It is her passion of the heirloom, along with her extensive experience and her committed effort to researching the origins of numerous heirloom varieties, that led her to compile this book of one hundred varieties that she feels are the best that both the experienced and neophyte heirloom tomato grower will enjoy growing.
Central to the book is, of course, the section dealing with the individual varieties, but one should not over look the beginning of the book where the author deals with matters such as the history of the tomato, saving seeds and creating your own heirlooms in a clear and understandable manner.
Most people who get their hands on this book will, no doubt, do what I did and start with the "field guide".
The heirloom varieties are arranged in alphabetical order, and for each there are two pages, one with a brief description, and the other with a beautiful colour photograph.
Each description is fairly short, perhaps three or four short paragraphs and is followed by information sorted by following categories: type, origin, maturity, colour/shape, size/arrangement, yield, plant/foliage, taste, seeds (availability). Each photo is that of an entire stem that has been removed so that one can see how the fruit is clustered, as well as the type of foliage; in some cases one of the tomatoes has been sliced so that one cane see what the insides of the given variety looks like.
Since I have yet to grow a significant number of heirlooms, it is difficult for me to comment on the Male's choice of varieties. I do wish, however, that I would have made more of an effort to get my hands on this book before I ordered my seeds (which I did in a manner that I believe most people do, by basing my opinion on the little blurb that the seedhouse includes with the variety, no to mention the name (I also chose by stated place of origin (Germany and Russia).) One variety that I would definitely chosen was Black From Tula, a dark reddish/black with green shoulders midseason variety from the Ukraine. Others of note are Hungarian Oval, Marizol Gold, and Orange Strawberry.
That one heirloom variety that I have grown--having purchased the seeds unaware that it was an heirloom--is called Matina. Although this variety bears uniform 4 to 6 oz. red fruits, and is quite prolific, I did not find it to be the most enjoyable of tomatoes. I therefore was a little surprised to find it among the one hundred chosen for this volume. (It must be noted that several varieties that the author claim to be "highly recommended", such as Jeff Davis, Fritz and Old Virginia could not be included in the because they were "not available for photographing".)
I have no hesitation in saying that 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to get into heirloom tomatoes, or even those who simply have a passion for vegetable gardening.
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Title: The Great Tomato Book by Gary Ibsen, Joan Nielsen, Joan Nielson ISBN: 1580080480 Publisher: Ten Speed Press Pub. Date: July, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Melons for the Passionate Grower by Amy Goldman, Victor Schrager, Doyle Partners ISBN: 1579652131 Publisher: Artisan Sales Pub. Date: 25 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Taylor's Guide to Heirloom Vegetables : A Complete Guide to the Best Historic and Ethnic Varieties by Benjamin A Watson ISBN: 0395708184 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: February, 1996 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: How to Grow World Record Tomatoes: A Guinness Champion Reveals His All-Organic Secrets by Charles Wilber ISBN: 0911311572 Publisher: Acres USA Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Edible Heirloom Garden (Edible Garden) by Rosalind Creasy ISBN: 9625932941 Publisher: Periplus Editions Pub. Date: March, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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