Smith & Hawken: 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden [Paperback]

One of the toughest jobs for the author must've been trying to narrow down her choices to just 100 varieties to feature in this book. With literally thousands to choose from, I'm glad I didn't have to make that list.

I would say that this is not the ideal book for a person who is interested in growing heirlooms but doesn't have any previous experience. There are limited growing instructions, but I would start with something more detailed.

As I write this, I have 15 varieties of heirloom tomatoes growing in my garden, and I'm already jotting down notes about varieties featured in this book for my next years garden. The information on the individual featured varieties is clear, concise, and makes you want to grow all of them.

Bottom line: For the tomato lover, or the gardener interested in making the jump to heirlooms, this is a great book. For the beginning gardener, I would start with a book with more fundamentals, and use this one to help me try to select varieties to grow.

You definitely have to get this book, because it is amazing once you read about each of the tomatoes, how much greater-tasting they are compared to supermarket tomatoes!! A VERY good read.

Written by an avid Seed Savers' Exchange member after she had grown more than 1,000 heirloom varieties of tomato, this book is an introduction to open-pollinated (as opposed to the unjustly popular hybridized) tomatoes for home gardeners. Dr. Male manages to discuss the historical and present significance of cultivating these heirlooms in a rational voice while yet relaying her passion for the flavorful heritage they represent to her. The field guide has full-page photographs of each kind with notes on their colorful origins, flavor types and everything else you could want to know about these personal treasures. Soon you will find yourself caught up in the mania to seek out the assortment of seeds that will yield tomatoes with character, lore and unbeatable taste.

Although it has a truncated field guide format and flexible cover, 100 HEIRLOOM TOMATOES also serves as an excellent primer for general tomato culture. In the first 42 pates you will learn about selecting the right heirloom for your purposes, germinating and transplanting, common diseases and conditions, saving your own seeds, etc. Dr. Male looks at various standard schools of thought thoughout this section while presenting good arguments for her own practices.

I found this book to be one of the more honest examinations of tomato varieties, from Dr. Male's frank mention of both pros and cons down to the photos, which displayed typical physiological flaws alongside more perfect examples of the fruit and foliage. After growing and sampling for myself several of the tomatoes recommended here, I can testify that the descriptions are spot-on while leaving some room for differing climatic and cultural conditions. Dr. Male's degree in microbiology and her regular gardening magazine article contributions further reinforce her as a noted authority in this field. This is a guide that the home gardener can have confidence in.

Recommended for any home vegetable gardener and not a few specialty market gardeners besides.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle.