Heirloom Vegetables: A Home Gardener's Guide to Finding and Growing Vegetables from the Past

An absolutely beautiful book - the photographs are simply gorgeous. This is the book that got me started with heirloom gardening. The glorious diversity of heirlooms leaps off the pages. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, corn, beets, kales, winter squashes, and potatoes are all presented in a rainbow of colors, shapes and sizes on double page spreads. The author starts with an overview of the origins of different food crops, followed by an explanation of the importance of preserving in the face on increasing pressure for uniformity. She continues with a discussion of gene banks and seed saving organizations and basic seed saving techniques for the home gardener. The book ends with a directory of heirloom vegetable varieties and a resources list to help you find them, as well as references for further reading. Every time I open this book I am inspired. To me this is what home gardening is all about - unique and delicious food grown in a sustainable manner. BTW, I agree with the reviewer who said it could use updating in the resource section, but a quick online search using the names in the resources gets you where you need to go, if the company/organization has a website (some still do not).

One of the first things that appealed to me about this book was that it's reach of heirloom varieties is not limited to that of the American bio-region, but also includes the European, former Soviet Union, Asia and Africa. The format of the book affords the reader the option of reading straight through or making quick reference. Color photography and nice illustrations complement the text. I especially like the 2nd part of the book which is a comprehensive directory that also includes a resource listing of seed suppliers. Since this book was published in 1998, it would definitely benefit with an update to its resource listings (since some lack website references). While the directory listings a summary for each vegetable of the general growing conditions necessary, it would be a significant enhancement if the directory listed the specific requirements for each heirloom variety (e.g. pH, temperatures, etc.) It should be noted that the specific germination periods are given for each variety. Overall, this book served me well in sending me down the path of Heirloom Vegetable Gardening. It provides a solid foundation of historical information/data as well as presenting the argument for preserving the heritage varities.