'Heirloom Harvest' Is Amy Goldman's Latest Celebration of Heirloom Produce

Bloomsbury published Long Island native and internationally recognized heirloom vegetable grower Amy Goldman’s latest book, Heirloom Harvest, Modern Daguerreotypes of Historic Garden Treasures in October. Featuring breathtaking photographs by Jerry Spagnoli, this tome is sure to be treasured by gardeners as much as Goldman’s previous books about heirloom tomatoes, squash and melons.

At her book signing at Marders in Bridgehampton last month, Goldman said that her tomato and melon books are in the process of being expanded and re-released. She also revealed that she is currently working on an all-new book about heirloom peppers.

The latest book is a departure from Goldman’s earlier works, which typically have featured practical advice and facts and figures alongside gorgeous photos. Heirloom Harvest is comprised of a moving essay by Goldman about her love affair with growing heirloom varieties and the evolution of her Hudson Valley farm complex, complemented by page after beautiful page of exquisitely moody Daguerreotypes of heirloom plants and rare livestock taken from a variety of angles and in various settings.

As Goldman writes, “What was once a field of golden-colored little bluestem is now a more fruited plain filled with gardens and orchards, intricacies and delights. And I am a different person. The land has changed me as much as I’ve changed the land.” The book concludes with a fascinating Q & A with the photographer.

This book is, bar none, THE gift of the year for the gardener, farmer, foodie or photo enthusiast on your holiday shopping list. Much like the family Bible and the Farmers’ Almanac—no good home should be without a copy of Heirloom Harvest.

Goldman says it best in her essay, “Heirloom Harvest is an act of preservation and a way of honoring beauty, diversity and history in the face of pressures not to garden, not to save seeds…What better way to pay homage to heirloom plants than to marry them to the most heirloom of heirloom photography?”