This is my highly subjective list of people who I think have contributed the most to the “grow your own food” community. If you know of someone I’ve missed please leave a comment below the list:
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Jules Dervaes
* Founded the “Dervaes Institute” in 2006 * Creator of the public urban homestead model “Path to Freedom” |
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D. G. Hessayon
* Wrote gardening manuals “Expert Guides” (50 million printed) * Guinness World Record for “bestselling non-fiction author of the 1990s” * Awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s “The Veitch Memorial Medal” |
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John Jeavons
* Developed the “Grow Biointensive” method * Wrote “How to Grow More Vegetables” (500.000 copies) |
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Eliot Coleman
* Wrote “The New Organic Grower” (1989) * Co-owner of “The Four Seasons Farm” * Executive Director of the “International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)” |
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Alan Titchmarsh
* Awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s “Victoria Medal Of Honour” in 2004 (RHS in UK) * Runs his own charity: “Garden for schools” and “Seeds for Africa” * Host of TV program “Gardeners’ World” in UK |
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Kent Whealy
* Co-founder of “Seed Savers Exchange” * Received “The Genius Award” |
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Amy P. Goldman
* Wrote “Melons for the Passionate Grower” (2002) (American Horticultural Society 2003 Annual Book Award) * Wrote “The Heirloom Tomato” (2008) * Wrote “The Compleat Squash” (2004) (American Horticultural Society Book Award) |
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Barbara Damrosch
* Co-owner of “The Four Seasons Farm” * Wrote “The Garden Primer” * Co-hosted the TV-series “Gardening Naturally” |
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Jeff Lowenfels
* The world’s longest running garden columnist (32 years) * Wrote “Teaming with Microbes” * Founder of “Plant a Row for The Hungry” |
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Maria Thun
* Publishes an annual biodynamic gardening calender in 18 languages * Wrote “Gardening for Life” (2000) |
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Mel Bartholomew
* Wrote “Square Foot Gardening” (1981) * Created the “Square Foot Gardening Foundation” |
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Michael Pollan
* Wrote “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” (2006) * Wrote “Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education” (1991) |
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Carol Klein
* Own plant nursery, “Glebe Cottage Plants” * TV show “Grow Your Own Veg” * In the TV show, “Gardeners’ World” |
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Carol Cox
* Ecology Action’s Garden Research Manager * Co-author of “The Sustainable Vegetable Garden” |
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Toby Hemenway
* Wrote “Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture” * Associate editor of “Permaculture Activist” from 1999 to 2004 |
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Barbara L. Bowling
* Wrote “Berry Grower’s Companion” (2005) * Was chairperson of the “American Society for Horticultural Sciences’ Viticulture and Small Fruit Working Group” |
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Joy Larkcom
* Wrote “Grow Your Own Vegetables” (2002) * Was in 1993 awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for her services to horticulture by the RHS, and was also Garden Writer of the Year in 1993 |
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Charles Dowding
* Wrote “Organic Gardening: The Natural No-Dig Way” (2007) * Created a market garden in rural Zambia * Gave lectures to the RHS in Tokyo |
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Eric Toensmeier
* Wrote “Perennial Vegetables” * Co-author with Dave Jacke of the two-volume permaculture design manual “Edible Forest Gardens” * Manages the Tierra de Oportunidades new farmer program of Nuestras Raices |
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Shane Smith
* Wrote “Greenhouse Gardener’s Companion” * Director and a founder, in 1977, of the Cheyenne Botanic Garden, Wyoming’s only public botanic garden |
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Stella Otto
* Wrote “The Backyard Orchardist” (1995) * Benjamin Franklin Award winner (1994) * Fruit farm owner |
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Fern Marshall Bradley
* Author of Rodale’s Vegetable Garden Problem Solver (2007) * Co-author of “Vegetable Gardening” (2006) * Managing an organic market garden in western New Jersey |
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Mike
* Blogs about a 2 acres market garden * His blog has 1400 daily readers * 1300 links back to his blog from other websites |
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Rose Marie Nichols McGee
* Co-author of “McGee & Stuckey’s Bountiful Container” * Blogs about gardening and food (100 links back to her blog) * Rose Marie is President of Nichols Garden Nursery |
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Joe Swift
* Wrote “Joe’s Allotment” (2009) * Wrote “Joes Urban Garden Handbook” * Host on BBC’s “Gardeners’ World” |
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Steve Solomon
* Wrote “Gardening When It Counts” (2006) * Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades (2006) * Wrote and self-published “Growing Vegetables South of Australia” (2002) http://www.soilandhealth.org/05steve%27sfolder/05aboutmeindex.html |
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Gayla Trail
* Wrote “You Grow Girl: The Ground Breaking Guide to Gardening” (2005) * Blogs about gardening * 2200 links back to her blog from other websites |
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Marjorie Harris
* Wrote “Seasons of My Garden” (1999) * Wrote “The Healing Garden” (1996) * Wrote “In the Garden: Thoughts on the Changing Seasons” (1995) |
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Jerry Baker
* Wrote several books on gardening * Host on gardening TV and radio shows |
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Liz Primeau
* Wrote “Front Yard Gardens: Growing More Than Grass” (2003) * Founding editor of Canadian Gardening magazine * Former host of Canadian Gardening Television on HGTV |
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Steve Ott
* Wrote “Homegrown Vegetable Manual” (2009) * Co-author of “The A-Z Guide to Growing and Cooking Farm-fresh Food” (2008) * Editor of Kitchen Garden magazine |
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Sarah Raven
* Wrote “The Great Vegetable Plot” * Guest presenter on BBC’s “Gardeners World” |
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Alys Fowler
* Wrote “The Thrifty Gardener” (2008) * Horticultural researcher on “Gardeners’ World” on BBC in the UK |
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Suzanne Peabody Ashworth
* Wrote “Seed to Seed” (2002) * Owner of “Del Rio Botanical” |
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Stu Campbell
* Wrote “Let it Rot: The Gardener’s Guide to Composting” (2003) * Wrote “Mulch it!” * Wrote “Improving Your Soil” |
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Anais Dervaes
* Blogs about urban homesteading in California * 1900 links back to her blog from other websites |
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Andy McKee
* Wrote “The Polytunnel Handbook” (2009) * 500 links to his blog from other websites |
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Carleen Madigan
* Wrote “The Backyard Homestead” (2009) |
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Carole B. Turner
* Wrote “Seed Sowing and Saving” (1998) |
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Dick Raymond
* Wrote “Joy of Gardening” * Head vegetable gardening specialist at Garden Way Gardens |
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Edward C. Smith
* Wrote “The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible” * Wrote “Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers” |
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Kenneth E. Point
* Internship on a forty acre organic farm (1985 – 1994) * Blogs about gardening (2005 – 2009) * 800 links to his blog from other websites |
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Tonopah Rob
* Owner of 2,800 square meters farm in Tonopah, Arizona * Sold more than 550 kg produce in one weekend at Tonopah Rob’s Vegetable Farm stand |
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Gillian Carson
* Blogs about gardening * 1000 daily readers * 800 links to her blog from other websites |
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Sally Jean Cunningham
* Wrote “Great Garden Companions” (2000) * Has a TV and radio show on gardening |
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R. J. Ruppenthal
* Wrote “Fresh Food from Small Spaces” (2008) |
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Emma Rawlings
* Co-author of “The A-Z Guide to Growing and Cooking Farm-fresh Food” (2008) |
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Jeff A. Hartenfeld
* Co-author of “The Farmers’ Market Book” (2007) |
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Cavagnarok David
* Co-author on “The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically” (1997) |
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Sharon L. Lovejoy
* Wrote “Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children” (1999) * Serves on the National Children and Youth Garden Advisory Panel of the American Horticultural Society |











































