There are a lot of reasons to buy another gardening book: maybe it discusses a variety that most books forget; maybe it offers some unique tips on how to grow your favorites. But when you’ve already got shelves full of gardening books, the real reason to buy yet another one is when it is, as Simon Rickard’s “Heirloom Vegetables” is, not only both of these things but above all, a beautiful book filled with beautiful stories about heirloom produce.

“The main purpose of this book is to tell some of the interesting stories about heirloom vegetables,” Rickard writes on one of the first pages of “Heirloom Vegetables.” “As in all good stories, the plot jumps around a bit.”

So begins a journey into the world of vegetables — and people — because, as Rickard says, “Vegetables are human creations.”

That may be a tough pill to swallow for those of us who like thinking of nature as what happens when humans aren’t sticking our fingers in it, but Rickard’s point of view is both intriguing and truthful.

In its first chapter, the book delves into a lengthy definition of what, exactly, an heirloom vegetable is — and what it isn’t: “‘Pure’ and untouched by the hand of man.”

“Heirloom vegetables are entirely the work of human hands,” he writes. “True, nature originally created the prototypes of vegetables, but humans have spent thousands of years customizing them and pimping them up.”

Throughout the chapters of his book, Rickard details several examples of this customization. Each chapter focuses on an overarching family — peas or nightshades or gourds — and explores not only the ‘pure,’ original incarnation of some of our favorite veggies, but also the varieties that were carefully tended to by our ancestors, the farmers and gardeners who were able to seize genetic opportunities to make vegetables work for them.

“Our ancestors found the one weird potato plant with extra large tubers growing in the field of wildlings, and kept its tubers back to see what would happen,” Rickard writes. “They noticed the strange new grain with large, non-shattering seed heads, and saved its seed for next year.”

Through his prose, the reader learns how and where these varieties were created, what they taste like, and how they have been further modified to create new and exciting sub-varieties. The journey of their creation is one defined by a sustainable relationship, a back-and-forth, a give-and-take that has defined most of our relationship with vegetables, up until the modern industrialization of agriculture. It is this element of our relationship with vegetables that Rickard seeks to nourish with these stories, and it is an intriguing approach in the current media climate, where a completely different sort of genetic modification is gracing headlines more often than not.

The book is much more than a simple gardening guide, though it does offer a few tips for sustaining Rickard’s favorite heirloom varieties. This is, above all, a book for a lover of plants and vegetables, for those who seek to discover their history, and for those who are intrigued by the relationship that humans and vegetables have sustained for centuries.

Related on EcoSalon
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What if We Committed to Growing Food, Not Lawns? Foodie Underground
‘Bonjour Kale:’ Teaching the French How to Cook Kale

Image care of Penguin Books

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The season is here for the most delicious fresh produce, perhaps even grown by you. But whether coming from your backyard or a local market, you can enhance that delicious fruit and vegetable experience by opting for heirloom varieties.

Modern fruits and vegetables have come a long way from what our ancestors ate. We bred out bitter and sour flavors, enhanced color, shape, texture. These traits aren’t necessarily bad things, mind you, but if you crave a more balanced and full flavor, heirloom varieties express more of the essence of a plant’s true nature. Give some of these a try this season:

Tomatoes: The tomato is perhaps the poster fruit for heirlooms. You can thank the flavorless, mealy tomatoes that dominate the market for sending our pallets towards juicy, sweet and tangy heirlooms. They’re everywhere now, even your local supermarket. Look for these heirloom varieties: Brandywines,  Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Black Prince, Marvel Stripe and Flamme Orange.

Beans: Summer is full of bean varieties that bring so much nutrition and flavor to your plate. There are an incredible variety of heirloom beans as well. In fact, the Blue Coco variety is one of the oldest known heirloom beans available. It’s a pole bean, also known as Purple Pod and Blue Podded Pole.  Keep an eye out for others, including the Brown Lazy Wife pole bean, the butter bean variety Beurre de Rocquencourt Bean, the Hickman Snap Bean, and look also for fresh varieties of hardier beans like the Light Brown Zebra Bean, a variety of the pinto and Black Turtle beans.

Peppers: Sweet or spicy, peppers are crunchy, full of flavor and vitamins, and make any dish better. Check now for some of these sweet heirlooms: the Sweet California Wonder, Jimmy Nardello’s, Napoleon Sweets; and these spicy varieties: Anaheim chiles, Caribbean red, Cubanelle, Fresno Chiles, and the Purple Tiger.

Melons: Nothing says summer like juicy melon all over your face. No more should you eat watermelon that tastes as dry as cardboard! Give some of these delightful heirlooms a try: Canary yellow, Crenshaw, Iroquois,  Sakatas sweet and the Petit Gris De Rennes.

Cucumbers: Like their sweet melon cousins, cucumbers come in a tasty variety that make summer truly special. Try as many as you can as often as you can! The Lemon Cucumber may be my all time favorite heirloom summer treat. Others include: Arkansas Little Leaf, Crystal Apple, Lebanese Mirella, Tendergreens and Suyo Longs.

Don’t see any of these varieties at your farmers market or grocery store? There are thousands of heirloom varieties, so just ask your farmer or produce manager what heirlooms they’re stocking.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Image: zacklur

The post Know Your Heirloom Varieties: A Guide to the Season’s Best Heirloom Fruits and Vegetables appeared first on EcoSalon.

A gourmet slow food paradise in the Smoky Mountains.

In the misty foothills of eastern Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, Blackberry Farm is a delightful and unusual hotel offering a gastro-luxe farm-to-table experience, with southern hospitality.

This being Earth Month, we’ve been reflecting on various ways we’re bringing nature into our homes, for example with micro-sized sexy urban gardens. This rural hotel/farm is at the other end of that scale, a vast 4,200 acre estate with a range of animals including sheep, which produce milk (for cheese), wool and meat; pigs, for sausages and pork; and hens (free-range, naturally), for their eggs. The animals also regenerate the pasture, fertilize, control pests and consume waste products from the farm’s food production.

The gardeners produce heirloom varieties (organically developed over generations, un-genetically-modified) of fruit and vegetables, such as apples, beans and carrots, while wild mushrooms are foraged from the woodlands. They even have black truffles – perfect with fresh eggs for breakfast.

Foodies will truly find heaven, care of the artisans of the farmstead as well as the gardeners. The farm has its own bee-keeper, for instance, and cheese-maker, butcher, plus a preservationist who makes jams, pickles and preserves. There’s a cooking school with celebrity chef guests, as well as a packed program of other food and wine events.

Accommodation is either in a beautiful private house and cottages, or guestrooms in the guesthouse: all is comfortable and classic, with four-poster beds, low-key prints or chintz in muted tones. All rooms and houses have fireplaces, high-speed internet, and integrated surround-sound systems. As well as the outdoor pool, with mountain views, there’s the spa with a wet treatment room offering the latest technology, such as various high-pressure water therapies; yoga classes are also available. Croquet, wildflower hikes and horse-and-carriage rides are other low-impact activities designed to get you in tune with nature, without harming it.

Rates from $345 excluding tax (two night minimum).

Photos: Blackberry Farm

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

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