2 comments about American Tomato: The Complete Guide to Growing and Using Tomatoes.

1. if you are not a really good gardener, and maybe don't understand the standard lingo, then this good book could disappoint. it helped me diagnose an illness in one of my tomatoe plants, but i disagree with the comments on pruning. but the biggest problem is that it does not have pictures. so, if you are new to gardening, you also should buy the vegetable gardener's bible by edward smith. together, i think a beginner can do well. (if you don't prune, make sure you have LOTS of room. and stake, stake, stake!)



2. As a gardening and tomato enthusiast, I was excited to find a book dedicated to my favorite vegetable. This volume, however, was a complete let-down.
   
   Not only does it lack illustrations/photos, it offers gardening tips and information readily available in your standard gardening book or guide. From the information available on the author, it seems that he has little if any gardening background at all, making his many unusual and unconventional cultivating tips suspect at best.
   
   Although 'American Tomato' offers some lists of the different varieties of tomato available, the lack of illustration and absence of detail for the varieties named is both frustrating and disappointing.
   
   If you are very fond of growing unusual, exotic or rare tomato types, this book will surely disappoint. This book simply does not give the level of detail or description that one would expect from a book dedicated solely to the tomato. Content is rather basic, and seems directed to the casual or new gardener. This audience, however, would be better served by purchasing a general vegetable gardening book.
   
   It is interesting to note that the author has written several other books, all on wildly varied subjects. Perhaps the author should become better acquainted with one subject area and be able to write with more authority, rather than spending his time writing numerous books of lackluster quality on such a wide range of unrelated interests.

4 comments about Oriental Vegetables: The Complete Guide for the Gardening Cook.

1. Joy Larkcom's excellent introduction to growing Asian vegetables is informative, well-designed, and ably illustrated by Elizabeth Douglass. The section on vegetable cultivation and technique in China is particularly interesting. The recipes are helpful to Western gardeners exploring the savoury variety of Chinese greens, peas, and beans for the first time.
   

   Havi Hoffman
   




2. `Oriental Vegetables' by English gardening writer Joy Larkcom is the real deal. For foodies like myself, the most important thing to know about the book is exactly what deal it is real. I bought it with a bunch of other books on Asian ingredients without paying attention to much about the book except for the title, being lead to it by Amazon's cleverly surfacing books related to the books you have already chose to buy. Especially do not be deceived by the very nice blurb on the cover from Alice Waters and play extra attention to the subtitle, `The Complete Guide for the Gardening Cook'.
   
   This book is much more about gardening than it is about cooking, and it tackles the subject of gardening very, very well. It does an exceptionally good job on detailing for us the ins and outs of growing the primary subject of the book, oriental vegetables.
   
   The very best news about this book is that it was published 14 years ago, just as commerce between the West and China and Indochina was warming up. This trade has had these 14 years to mature into something that makes the access to unusual seeds even easier. A corollary to this is the fact that the book also predates the blooming of the Internet, so most of the sources Ms. Larkcom gives from the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan will probably be joined by others and be themselves more accessible.
   
   Ms. Larkcom began her inquiry into her subject already an expert on growing vegetables. She enhanced her credentials by making long trips to China and Japan and by enlisting the assistance of a large stable of translators. All of this linguistic help was probably even more necessary for Oriental plants, as the systematic naming of plants in China and Japan is probably far behind that in the west, plus the fact that there are simply so many different species to deal with. I have seen in other horticultural books that China is the source of far more plant species than any comparable region on the earth. Even a cursory look at Ms. Larkcom's table of contents gives weight to this observation. This lists 77 species or groups of species by `common name'. This is substantially less than Elizabeth Schneider's approximately135 species covered in `Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini', but this book is limited to less than a quarter of the world's land mass while Schneider covers the entire world (as seen from western Europe).
   
   If you already own Bruce Cost's classic `Oriental Ingredients', you have not touched the surface of what Larkcom's book can offer. Cost gives us the culinary and economic scoop. Ms. Larkcom focuses on the horticultural.
   
   Ms. Larkcom's favorite subject may very well be the cabbages, as they are her first subject and she lovingly describes them as being very easy to grow in western soils and climates. In her general introduction to these brassicas, she covers climatic factors, stages of use, fitting the oriental brassicas into Western gardens, cultivation, pests and diseases, grouping the oriental brassicas, and specific hybrid brassicas. The introductory section finishes up with an excellent diagram of how oriental brassicas are related. This may do nothing to improve your salads or stir-frys, but it's great in helping to choose substitutes when one species is out of season and a related species is in full bloom.
   
   For each individual species, Ms. Larkcom follows Bruce Cost's practice by giving the most common English name, the biological family, the two part Latin name, other common English names, plus names in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese. Even among the Mandarin and Cantonese speakers, some plants may have several different names. After this linguistic heading, there are paragraphs on background, use, characteristics, types, climate, soil, cultivation, intercropping, pests and disease, harvesting, storage, and varieties. Whew! All this information includes a culinary aspect I have simply not seen elsewhere. This is the fact that several plants go through different stages and while some stages may be commercially less desirable in western eyes, they are really quite highly prized by Oriental users.
   
   After Brassicas, the other major groups of plants are beans, cucurbits (gourds and melons), onions, radishes, water vegetables, tubers, and herbs and wild plants. If I were to take away one plant from this book and give it a shot at growing in my back yard, it would probably be the radishes. The rich assortment of oriental radishes is in strong contrast to the variety available in even a better than average American megamart.
   
   The biggest surprise I found was that ginger received a light coverage as an herb and its relative, galangal is not mentioned at all. I am certain this is because neither of these two plants is easy to grow in home gardens, and growing is what this book is all about. This reinforces the fact that for the foodie with a black thumb, this book needs a companion with a culinary focus to fill out one's picture of Oriental veggies.
   
   The main body of the book dealing with individual plants is supplemented with an excellent chapter on growing techniques. I am not as familiar with the soil as I am with the stove, but from what I can see, this chapter is first rate, covering techniques which you may not find in your average Better Homes and Gardens title. This is followed by a chapter on cooking which is even better than what I saw in other books on vegetables where the emphasis was more on cooking than in this horticulturally slanted book.
   
   The appendices to this book alone are worth the price of admission with its excellent tables of gardening terms, growing calendars, plant names, and bibliographies. While there is some danger that the references to suppliers may be out of date, I do recognize several current major players such as W. Atlee Burpee and Johnny's Selected Seeds.
   
   If any of this interests you, this book is for you!



3. The author focusses on China and Japan, paying far less attention to Korea, Southeast Asia and the South Asian region. This probably accounts for the omission of galangal (as noted by one reviewer above) and for the omission of important herbs such as rau ram (Polygonum odoratum), alluded to only vaguely by a Polygonum entry which says (roughly) "there are many oriental polygonums; you can find them sold in stores".
   
   However, she goes into *exhaustive*, blinding detail on a whole range of arcane Japanese and Chinese vegetables. I learned critical things about okahijiki and yomogi from reading this book, as well as the procedure for blanching mitsuba, and read about a veg I had not heard of before - Chinese artichoke - when I've reached a point where few things surprise me. On the better known vegetables - edible chrysanthemum, gobo, ong choy, Chinese celery, celtuce - she gives helpful information and detailed growing instructions, and an overview of actual Asian growing practices, which I have not found elsewhere. Sadly it is not possible for Kitazawa Seed to cram all this information onto the back of seed packets and into its catalogue headings; if it had, several prior sowings of mine would have grown better.
   
   Finally, the author includes information on the CORRECT method for sprouting mung beans, which people (like me) who have been cursed with ratty bean sprouts will welcome!



4. This book has really helped me understand the wonderful variety of Asian plant seeds offered by Johnny's and Fedco Seeds. It has an emphasis on the brassicas, probably because the author lives in Britain, and those crops can grow there all year. Keep her climate in mind when you read this book (average of 60 degrees in the summer, minimum low of 20 degrees in the winter, and plenty of rain).
   
   Oriental vegetables, especially the brassicas, seem to be easier to grow and hardier than the traditional cabbages, broccoli, etc., that I've grown side-by-side with them. It is great to have a book that helps sort out the confusing names. For example, I learned that Senposai (a seed I bought from Fedco - called "one thousand treasure vegetable" in Japan) is a cross between ordinary cabbage and komatsuna, and tastes much like ordinary cabbage. Then there is a lot of information on komatsuna, chinese cabbage, pak choi, mibuna mizuna, choy sum, etc., with a chart to help you sort them all out.
   
   In the back, there is all the obligatory information on gardening techniques that is covered better in other books, but with helpful some references to Asian techniques and tools. She speaks with authority on plant protection, telling you specifics on what works for her. There is a nice, but small section of recipes. The growing information and plant name charts are VERY helpful. And finally, the index is thorough.
   
   If you are planning to grow Asian vegetables, especially brassicas, this book is worth consulting.
   
   If it were updated, I would give it five stars.

1 comments about The Midwest Fruit and Vegetable Book. Missouri Edition. (Midwest Fruit and Vegetables).

1. I live in Oh and bought the book in OH. I have not figured out how to tell which state the book is for. I can tell you that everything matches with what I know. It is excellent! It includes lots of good practical information. I grow Blueberry, Red and Black Raspberries plus the garden vegtable and fruit plants.

1 comments about The New Book of Apples: The Definitive Guide to Over 2,000 Varieties.

1. The definitive book on apples if you are interested in all the varieties. For further and wider apple reading try Browning's Apples the Fruit of Temptation, and Juniper's The Story of the Apple.

2 comments about The Southern Kitchen Garden: Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs and Flowers Essential for the Southern Cook.

1. Anyone who is either new to food gardening in the South or has been unsuccessful in their previous attempts will appreciate this very useful new gardening book. Adams and LeRoy clearly explain the tricks to growing edibles from delicious veggies and fruits to fragrant herbs and flowers. Unlike many typical how-to books, this wisdom comes from the author's own hand-in-the-dirt experience, and it is beautifully illustrated with photographs sure to inspire the reader to create their own kitchen garden space. An excellant gift book that will be treasured for years.



2. Excellent book. A must have resource for anyone wanting to grow a great kitchen garden in the south.

No comments about Fruit (Agile Rabbit Editions).

5 comments about All About Citrus & Subtropical Fruits (Ortho's All about).

1. I read the book from Ortho on "All about Citrus and Subtropical Fruits" but in my reading was not able to find out which type of trees could and could not be planted around a swimming pool. I am very interested and would appreciate a more detailed review on this.



2. I bought this book when I was in middle school and memorized it :-p. Now I am a college junior and I'm working towards interning at a tropical fruit grove later on. I won't say this book started me on that journey, but it's a pretty good guide for learning



3. If you want to know how to take care of your tropical fruit you won't learn it here! If you want to see pictures of citrus fruit, that you will see. I have pineapple plants along with banana, mango, orange, key lime, tangerine, and papaya trees. This book was worthless to me. I already know what they look like.



4. This book provides a very helpful overview of subtropical fruits. I was interested in finding good fruits to plant that are hard to obtain in stores and do well in my climate. By perusing this book multiple times over the course of several months, I was able to begin to get a feel for what would be good candidates. I have since planted several of them, am enjoying good fruit, and still like glancing through this book in a free moment...



5. I purchased this book since I have citrus trees in my back yard in Florida and had a particular disease or pest. The photos helped some. I did have to consult a much larger book at the Home Depot on citrus problems published by Ortho. Between all the reading, the internet and talking with others, I chose the proper chemical and am pleased with the results. The info on Hawaii wasn't of much value, however I guess they are in a sub-tropical area as well. Not sure how one achieves the beautiful fruit pictured on the front cover though. Our trees in this area have had a blight spread by wind and many nice trees have been cut down to prevent the transfer. Of all the varieties I have seen growing here, very few have nice skin or unblighted foliage. Hopefully I will be able to reach that goal. The book also covers a number of fruits that I have not observed in our area. The book is well laid out and is a good guide for basic reference. Appreciate Ortho publishing this book for us amateurs.

1 comments about How to Grow Tomatoes: A practical gardening guide for great results, with step-by-step advice and 200 colour photographs (How to Grow...).

1. Sixty four pages, counting the table of contents and the index. A maximum of four pages of marginally useful info. Mostly photographs and common sense boilerplate. Not worth your time. I'd give it zero stars if I could.

1 comments about Kitchen Harvest: Growing Oragnic Fruit, Vegetables & Herbs in Containers.

1. This book is just what I was looking for. It has good tips for organic edible container gardening. The pictures are great and I am inspired to try lots of new things in containers this summer. I'm short on ground space, but I can fill some containers up!

No comments about Fruits & Berries of the Pacific Northwest.