Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties of All Time Paperback – December 10, 2014

I’m so glad I purchased this. What a great book. Craig covers all the different aspects of growing tomatoes, including inground vs. container. He also talks about disease and the various things you can do to ensure a killer tomato garden.This is probably one of the best books I’ve ever read about tomato gardening! Thank you Craig!

Epic Tomatoes is out of this world. I really dug it. I found the backstories fascinating, the pictures beyond breathtaking, information pertinent and well organized. The recommendations (250!) are phenomenal. Absolutely I wish I had the space to grow them all! Definitely appreciate the chart to break down the characteristics in order to help narrow the selection for the season and make it simpler to decide the best fit. Much appreciated!

Wow - after finding out about GMOs in our food, I ordered over 20 books to start growing my own - this is my favorite so far!It is fun, fun, fun! Lots of huge, nice, color pictures that inspire and make you smile to look at: tomatoes of so many different varieties pictured on the vine, cut open, and described, so you get a real close look at them and can decide if you would like to grow that variety yourself. Lots of good tips on how to do that. Love the author's style: for example, he says, rather than telling you how to plant he wants to share what has worked from him and still learn from others - he has experience in two different climates. Lots of good tips to get me started in the southeast, for sure. Even the table of contents is presented in a fun style with chapter headings printed on little seed bags and labels - just gives you a good feeling to look at this book. It is huge (8.5 by 11 inches - like a piece of paper) and has good quality material and easy to read print.The only thing I don't like is that it has a horrible smell to it - maybe my copy did not have the print cured/dried properly - but I am hoping that will dissipate with time and I am happy to deal with that in exchange for the thick, glossy, almost three dimensional color pictures of the tomatoes.Two more great points about the book are the loving presentations of the "Ten Tastiest" tomatoes, again with super color pictures and descriptions - makes me want to try at least two more that I have not thought about before - the kind of 'gotta have this one in our family' feeling that gets you going - and the lovely presentation of letters from seed savers like you and me, again with pictures of the actual letters - nice to see.There is also a section on problem solving - a most useful book for any tomato fan and a beautiful book to look at, too - it's like a tomato art gallery on my book shelf, that I can visit any time now. =]

This year, I decided to grow tomatoes (for the first time ever). With all of the info available online, I saw no reason to go in search of books.At the advice of many online experts, I eventually spent quite a ridiculous amount of money on pots, grow boxes, soil amendments, lights... you name it. And -- this should come as no surprise to anyone -- the "experts" all contradicted each other. I followed the advice of one "expert" in my kind of tomato-gardening-difficult area (Pacific Northwest). Bad decision. As a result, I started my tomato seedlings indoors a month too early and six times as many seedlings as I should have started.Eventually, thanks to more online recommendations, I bought a different book (Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, 35th Anniversary Edition: The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening -- which contained a lot of interesting information, to be sure, but mostly only confused and discouraged me.Then -- again thanks to online recommendations -- I checked this book out of the library.Within two chapters, I knew that I had to buy a copy.I'm now about 2/3 of the way through the book, and it just gets better and better.This book is eminently readable. It answers ALL of my questions. LeHoullier spells out what to do, when to do it, and pros and cons of different approaches -- and explains WHY very clearly with just enough detail to make sense but not enough to have you saying "Enough already" and skipping parts.At this point, thanks entirely to this book, I actually feel like my too-early start will be correctable. (I fixed the "too many" part by giving away dozens of seedlings.) I no longer feel overwhelmed and confused by online "experts" all offering contradictory advice. I only wish I'd bought this book to begin with, because I'd have saved myself a lot of money in unneeded (and, sadly, not returnable) supplies.If you're embarking on a tomato-growing journey -- even if you're not doing it as cluelessly as I started off -- be smarter than I was, do yourself a favor, and start by buying this book. Seriously

I bought this along with a soil science book for my retired husband who's having trouble with his tomatoes. He's never had a problem before. The soil science book is a harder read, but I believe he'll have it read before next summer planting. He said the tomato book is interesting and easy to read. He did say that in trying to identify the problem with his plants, this book hasn't really nailed down what his problem is. It will tell a scenario and suggest the problem, but will end it with 'however it may not be the problem'. So he's no better off than before. I also got him a soil tester kit and hope this identifies what's possibly lacking in the soil.

This is a great book for tomato growers. Good information. Shipping needs work. All four corners were scuffed up. Disappointed, as I am giving this as a gift.