Hey there, all my tomato-growing friends! I have a book review for you on what is likely the definitive book on growing tomatoes, for all of us home gardeners at least. As I’m getting my tomato plants in the ground (finally! after a long, drawn-out period of cold spring nights), I am reading the book “Epic Tomatoes” by Craig LeHoullier. I’d heard of this book a long time ago as I’ve listened to interviews with Craig. He has been a featured guest on several podcasts that I enjoy. I love hearing him speak about gardening in general and tomatoes specifically. Despite that, I held off for so long to even take a look through his book. Not sure why exactly, maybe it has to do with “who needs a whole book focused on only one vegetable” or something to that effect.
Well, I was in my local library recently, picking up some other books they were holding for me. Before checking out, I decided to take a quick peek at the gardening section. Sitting there among all the garden-related books, the spine of “Epic Tomatoes” caught my eye. Black with a colorful, creative hand-written title and author’s name, it seemed to stand out. I pulled it off the shelf and added it to my stack to check out. Why not? Nothing to lose. Side note – Don’t you just LOVE the public library?? I mean, any and every book you could ever wish to read, for free!
When I got home, I flipped through it to get a quick idea of what it was all about and it immediately drew me in. Although I’m still devouring this book, I’ll give you an overview of what it covers (hint: pretty much anything and everything on tomatoes). The book opens with a preface on how Craig came to write it and a description on the very interesting story of how the tomato as we know it, came to be. Included are nostalgic images of tomato seed packets of olden days. I love this sentence: “The right tomato can move you to tears, or to search for new adjectives, or to look for a place in which to spit out the remains.”
There is a chapter on the “Anatomy of a Tomato”, which includes a breakdown of tomatoes by: color (red, pink, black, yellow and orange, green and white, and swirls and stripes); flavor (mild, moderate, intense); seed type (hybrid, open pollinated, heirloom); growth habit (indeterminate, determinate, dwarf); and leaf shape (regular, wispy, potato-leaf, rugose).
There are chapters with extensive information on planning, growing, maintenance, harvest, seed saving, and breeding, among others. The chapter on troubleshooting for diseases and pests alone is worth the cost of the book. There are even a few recipes and instructions for canning.
Sprinkled throughout the book are photos and descriptions of his “Ten Tastiest Tomatoes”. Now I want to grow each and every one of those. Mind you, I’d already started any tomato plants I will grow this year, back in mid-March. So, adding any of these new-to-me varieties in at this point is not feasible. But that doesn’t matter, because… there is always next year! Craig tells us that the variety called Nepal is the one that converted him over to growing (mostly) heirlooms rather than hybrids. He says, “It is a tomato that is perhaps most like those special tomatoes tasted in our youth, obtained at local farm stands or a relative’s garden. It has an aggressive, full flavor that will delight those who love intense tomatoes.” I’m already searching for Nepal seeds to grow next year.
Craig has been very involved with the organization Seed Savers Exchange over the years. He has included in this book, copies of handwritten letters from his early days corresponding with other seed savers. He notes that he kept every letter and considers them priceless.
As if the very comprehensive body of knowledge in the book wasn’t enough, the design, graphics, and photographs are gorgeous.
I can feel the love that Craig put into this book. This may explain the “Wow Factor” that it has – so much information provided in such a beautiful package. To sum it up, I’m thankful I chanced upon it at my library (prompting me to then purchase my own copy). Still shaking my head because I resisted checking it out for so long. If you are serious about growing tomatoes, no matter what experience level you have, do yourself a favor and get this book. Or have you already read it? Did you love it?
3 Comments
Hi Angela ….. great post on the subject of tomatoes. I may have to get this book as tomatoes are what started me home growing 20 years ago. By the way, I’m going to “attempt” for the first time this winter …. tomatoes in my greenhouse. I researched and heard that “Dwarf Tomatoes” are the best for winter in-door tomatoes. I bought three different dwarf tomato seed packets. Your thoughts ?
Derald Carroll
Lebanon, OH
Hi Derald, thanks for visiting! I’ve not grown dwarf tomatoes (yet). My first thought is that because they are smaller plants, they can be more easily grown in smaller containers and easier to manage in an enclosed space. I searched through the Epic Tomatoes book and there are sections where he talks about them, but not in regard to growing indoors, that I could find at least. I’ll be excited to hear how your winter tomatoes do. Will you run a heater? I guess you’d have to… What a game-changer that will be, having homegrown tomatoes year-round potentially!! Keep us posted! Angela
Hi Angela ….I had electric and water lines run inside my greenhouse when I had it built, so yes I have a heating system that turns on when it gets too cool inside during the winter. When I re-pot all of my seedlings in early April, I move them all to the greenhouse until they’re reading to plant in the garden. It’s worked pretty well the last three seasons. As you noted, I’m told the dwarf tomatoes do not get very tall …. only about 30 inches. So I’m hoping this will work in container pots inside the greenhouse. If the winter sunlight isn’t sufficient to grow the plants, I can supplement with my grow light I use on my seedlings. I’ll just move it out to the greenhouse. Like you I’m motivated by the thought of a home grown tomato in the middle of winter. I’ll keep you posted.
Derald Carroll
Lebanon, OH