Customer Reviews

Smith & Hawken: 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the book for anybody who has ever bitten into a store-bought tomato and wondered whatever happened to rich, juicy flavor. Three years ago I was asking myself that same question when I stumbled across Dr. Carolyn Male's 100 HEIRLOOM TOMATOES FOR THE AMERICAN GARDEN.

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.

I confess to a passionate love of growing tomatoes that goes back to childhood. And I have an equal love for the taste of those sun-warm, acid-sweet juicy fruits that make summer taste like summer. This year, finally moving to a tomato-friendly climate for the first time in two decades, I rushed to plant an heirloom tomato even in a container, before I could cultivate a true garden.

Heirloom tomatoes come from seeds saved by tomato enthusiasts who have done us all the huge favor of preserving varieties of tomatoes that taste great, look interesting (all kinds of colors) and far better than the F1 hybrid boring red globes palmed off by the average seed company. While F1 hybrid tomatoes are easy and reliable and very disease-resistant, they often lack that huge tomato taste we all remember from childhood. (These hybrid tomatoes do have their place, however. Some of the modern hybrids will mature in a very short time, thus are the only tomatoes you can grow in hostile climates like Germany and New England.)

This book has all the information I need for next year's adventure in tomato culture. It lists 100 heirloom varieties, gives their strengths (resistance to common tomato ailments, pleasing taste, form) and their weaknesses as well. In addition, Dr. Male provides the history of the variety, which is interesting reading. The pictures by photographer Frank Iannotti are not only mouthwateringly lovely, but they accurately show a typical batch of tomatoes from a given cultivar--not all the fruits are perfect, some have typical defects such as stitching, weird shapes and other oddities. This gives you an accurate idea of what to expect. I compared Dr. Male's description of Yellow Brandywine to my experience this year. Right on every point, and her explanation of "Blossom End Rot" (an ailment that produces soft black disgusting spots at the blossom end of the fruit) was excellent. I found out my tomatoes were stressed by our constant brisk winds here in Delaware, not a deficiency of calcium in the soil or water. I know now I must plant a variety that is not prone to this defect, because it is often breezy here.

The front section of the book is devoted to tomato culture, and is very complete, showing staking and trellises, saving seeds, transplanting starter plants, and more.

I rate this a big green THUMBS UP and will be salivating all winter as I plan my next tomato garden for 2003.

While I was impressed with the exhaustive (yet lively) information
provided by Dr. Carolyn Male, perhaps MOST IMPORTANT to tomato
growers are the realistic pictures. Instead of 100 photos of
"perfect tomatoes" - you see the imperfections associated with
each variety: i.e. if the tomato is prone to cracking, green
shoulders, or catfacing... she tells you this AND provides
pictures! Two years ago, I was kicking myself for producing oddly
shaped and sometimes ugly heirloom tomatoes. Sure wish I had this
book back then.
If YOU plan to grow heirloom tomatoes... BUY THIS BOOK!!!

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!

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.

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!

I thank Dr. Male for writing such an informative book about the old fashioned heirloom tomato.

I own and operate a greenhouse. I also sell hundreds of different varieties of tomato plants. My customers in this midwest farm country prefer heirloom tomatoes. Why? Because they just taste better.

Now, thanks to Dr. Male, my customers and folks just like them, have the opportunity to see realistic photographs,read descriptions,and compare the different tomato varieties.

All one need do, is taste the difference between the little red rock that one buys in a grocery store sold as a tomato, and compare it to the marvelous full flavor of a home grown heirloom tomato to be convinced that there really IS a difference.

This is a beautiful, and useful book.

Professor Carolyn Male, Retired Professor of Biology, College of Saint Rose, Albany, New York, brings not only her lifetime interest in gardening, but also her expertise in Biology into preparing a book on a topic with which she has been passionately involved. In the first place, she introduces her readers to a wide range of characteristics of varieties of tomatoes. If one has witnessed a passionate wine lover evaluating wines, but has never imagined that the same kinds of passion can extend to evaluating tomatoes, he/she will discover a whole new world of experience by spending several hours with this book -- which will then become a handy reference for one's own passionate exploration of the queen of fruits (dressed with basil, the king of herbs, of course).

This book has a lot of good information on heirloom tomatoes, along with some absolutely beautiful photography. Unfortunately, the average American wouldn't know a good tomato if it hit them in the head. They are so used to the tasteless supermarket varieties that it's almost like a moment of revelation when you see them try a home-grown, vine-ripened heirloom tomato for the first time.

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.

I've been waiting for a book of this caliber on heirloom tomatoes. Dr. Male does an excellent job explaining each of the 100 varieties of heirloom tomatoes she recommends. There are excellent color photographs. This book is extremely helpful to the average gardener toying with the idea of getting away from hybrids and trying heirlooms. It is a must for any tomato fanatic.