Epic Tomatoes by an old friend Craig is a very nicely done book I would suggest for every tomato grower to own. The book I began my tomato growing journey with, is authored by another old and very much missed friend, Carolyn Male. She could be a little acerbic at times (early on in our acquaintanceship, she would chastise me every so often for not understanding the way of a tomato or of the world). As we got to know each other better it was smooth going.
Carolyn's 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden has been a tomato growers bible for me since I moved on from my father's round, red, tasteless boy/girl/better/best hardware bought tomatoes. My gardening world has since exploded with real tomatoes...and then real everything else in the garden (not just heirlooms and open pollenated fruits and vegetables and some, albeit very few, hybrids.
100 Heirlooms has been out of publication for a while but it is available if you look. Even though Craig is considered a friend, I still use the growing methods Carolyn described in her book. I have not grown all of her 100 varieties as my interest bobs and weaves as some of the 12000 varieties pique my interest. Since 1999 when I discovered heirlooms (just like Gore "discovered the internet") even in my small gardens maybe 500 different varieties have been grown. I have a long way to go and not nearly enough time to even scratch the surface so why would I ever go back to my father's tomatoes?
