Heirloom Fruits of America features 100 full-color illustrations selected from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection, an archive of 7,584 paintings, lithographs, and line drawings created from 1886 to 1942 by about sixty-five commissioned artists. These images served as de facto trademarks in the highly competitive and fraud-plagued American fruit industry in a time before patent protection extended to living organisms. They are also meticulously and beautifully rendered, uncovering a cache of botanical diversity in turn-of-the-century American agriculture. Yale historian Daniel J. Kevles's introduction deepens viewers' appreciation of these plates by placing these images in their historical context.

Jordan begins with the heirloom tomato, inquiring into its botanical origins in South America and its culinary beginnings in Aztec cooking to show how the homely and homegrown tomato has since grown to be an object of wealth and taste, as well as a popular symbol of the farm-to-table and heritage foods movements. She shows how a shift in the 1940s away from open pollination resulted in a narrow range of hybrid tomato crops. But memory and the pursuit of flavor led to intense seed-saving efforts increasing in the 1970s, as local produce and seeds began to be recognized as living windows to the past.

“For all of us who cherish the apple, its utility, its flavors, and its powers of revelation and connection.” —Adrian Higgins, garden columnist, The Washington Post The apple is one of the most iconic fruits, traditionally picked on cool fall days and used in pies, crisps, ciders, and more. And there is a vast world of varieties that goes well beyond the common grocery store offerings. With names like American Beauty, Carter’s Blue, and Fallawater, and flavors ranging from sweet to tart, this treasure trove of unique apples is ripe for discovery. There is no better guide through this tasty world than Tom Burford, whose family has grown apples in the Blue Ridge Mountains since 1715. His celebratory book Apples of North America is brimming with beautiful portraits of heirloom and modern apples of merit, each accompanied by distinguishing characteristics and common uses. You will also find information on growing apples at home—with specifics on planting, pruning, grafting, and more—and instructions on how to preserve apples through pressing, fermenting, cooking, and drying.

A garden of delight-and healthy, economical eating. In The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Heirloom Vegetables, readers will learn the rewards of growing heirlooms; find hundreds of descriptions and histories of a variety of available vegetables and find out how to make pollination work. ?Helps readers grow and eat locally, reduce or eliminate pesticides and additives, and save money along the way ?Includes step-by-step instructions for harvesting, drying, cleaning, and storing heirloom seeds ?For economical reasons-as well as concern for the environment and personal health-the popularity of gardening has grown in recent years

The United States Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection encompasses 7,497 botanical watercolor paintings of evolving fruit and nut varieties; alongside specimens introduced by USDA plant explorers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Assembled between 1886 and 1942, these remarkable, botanically accurate, watercolors were executed by some 21 professional artists (including nine women). Authored largely before the widespread application of photography, the watercolors were intended to aid accurate identification and examination of fruit varietals , for the nation's fruit growers. Documenting the transformation of American pomology, the science of fruit breeding and production, and the horticultural innovations accountable for contemporary fruit cultivation and consumption, the USDA's collection offers fascinating anthropological and horticultural insights on the fruits we ecstatically devour, and why. Encompassing fruit-suffused anecdotes and observations drawn from the fields of archaeology and anthropology, horticulture and literature, ancient representation and contemporary visual art, Atelier Éditions' kaleidoscopic examination of the USDA's pomological collection, offers readers an engaging, biophillic meditation upon the sweetest of all earth's produce.

Growing your own vegetables has never looked, or tasted, so good. Are heirloom vegetables more difficult to grow than conventional hybrids? The Beginner's Guide to Growing Heirloom Vegetables debunks this myth by highlighting the 100 heirloom vegetables that are the easiest to grow and the tastiest to eat. Marie Iannotti makes it simple for beginning gardeners to jump on the heirloom trend by presenting an edited list based on years of gardening trial and error. Her plant criteria is threefold: The 100 plants must be amazing to eat, bring something unique to the table, and—most importantly—they have to be unfussy and easy to grow. Her list includes garden favorites like the meaty and mellow 'Lacinato' Kale, the underused and earthy 'Turkish Orange' Eggplant, and the unexpected sweetness of 'Apollo' Arugula.

A celebration of the beauty and rich history of heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables have been a central part of our diets since time immemorial, and the history of their cultivation is rich with intriguing facts: Samuel Pepys’s diary entry for August 22, 1663, reveals that “Mr Newburne is dead of eating Cowcoumbers” (cucumbers); many tomato varieties were first bred in the United States and are still available, from“Striped German” to “Pink Ping Pong” to “Zapotec.” Today, numerous traditional fruit and vegetable varieties—the so-called heirloom or heritage varieties—-are disappearing, a catastrophic loss of horticultural heritage and genetic diversity. But gardeners have reason to be optimistic. A group of dedicated growers around the world is seeking to conserve surviving heritage varieties for their significant advantages over newer cultivars: they are more adaptable, they have good storage properties, and they often have a superior taste. Presented by season, this overview first tells the story of the cultivation of fruits and vegetables through the ages, and then each type is discussed: where it originated, indigenous uses and folklore, how it got its name, legends and beliefs that have become attached to it, and the odd uses to which it has been put.