This book is the culmination of some thirty years of firsthand knowledge of growing, tasting, and cooking with heirloom vegetables. A staunch supporter of organic gardening techniques, Will Weaver has grown every one of the featured 280 varieties of vegetables, and he walks the novice gardener through the basics of planting, growing, and seed saving. Sprinkled throughout the gardening advice are old fashioned recipes - such as Parsnip Cake, Artichoke Pie, Pepper Wine, and Henry Ward Beecher's Favorite Turtle Bean Soup - that highlight the flavor of these vegetables. This is the first comprehensive garden book on this subject that also includes meticulous research on the origins and dates of introduction for most of the varieties discussed, as well as fascinating stories and lore about the vegetables. It is illustrated with over one hundred color photographs taken in the author's garden and with over two hundred line drawings and includes a listing of commercial seed and plant stock sources.