Obituaries
SUZANNE( SUZY) BALES
Suzy died on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 after a valiant struggle with cancer. She was a creative presence, bringing a compelling appreciation for the beauty of nature and gardening to many through the 15 books she authored, the numerous newspaper and magazine articles she penned as well as her lectures on a variety of gardening subjects. She wrote eight books in the Burpee American Gardening series, and is best known for her books Garden Bouquets & Beyond and The Garden in Winter. Over the years she was a regular columnist / contributor to Newsday, The New York Times, Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle, and the Huffington Post. A former GWA member, Suzy’ s work garnered two Quill & Trowel awards.
She and her husband bought a house in Oyster Bay, Long Island in 1978. Over the years, Suzy kept adding and modifying gardens on the six-acre property( from a formal vegetable garden to a Belgian fence of apples and pears, a wildflower garden to a woodland walk and a bulb border to a meadow) turning it into a showplace. Most of her books included photos she took of her many and varied gardens as well as her artistic flower arrangements.
Suzy was committed to gardening and horticulture on many levels. She served on the boards of the American Horticultural Society and the Garden Conservancy and was a distinguished advisor to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Old Westbury Gardens.— Cathy Wilkinson Barash
MEL BARTHOLOMEW
Mel Bartholomew, creator of the revolutionary Square Foot Gardening system, passed away at the age of 84 in La Jolla, California on April 28, 2016. In poor health for a number of years, his son Stephen reported that the cause was liver cancer. Bartholomew’ s death was announced by the Square Foot Gardening Foundation, which promised to continue his mission of combatting world hunger.
Bartholomew trained as an engineer, and upon his retirement from his engineering and construction company at age 42, turned his attention to gardening. He found traditional gardening both frustrating and wasteful, especially regarding overseeding and then thinning to fit the space. He devised an easy and innovative method of intensively growing vegetables that has revolutionized the way millions grow food.
Bartholomew stated that his square foot garden— growing in a mix of compost, coarse vermiculite and peat moss— required no pesticides or tools, used only 20 percent of the space of a row garden and needed just 10 percent of the water. Plus, there was no weeding required. He emphasized that the grid( which is placed on top of the raised bed) helps gardeners space plants appropriately in order to grow intensively; it is an essential component of square foot gardening.
Bartholomew documented his techniques in his first book Square Foot Gardening( published in 1981 by Rodale), which was soon followed by a public television series“ Square Foot Gardening.” An updated edition of his book, All New Square Foot Gardening, was published by Cool Springs Press and updated as a second edition in 2013. The concept has been expanded to include Square Metre Gardening and Square Foot Gardening with Kids. Bartholomew has sold more than 2.5 million books on the subject, making him the bestselling gardening author in North America for more than a generation.
Bartholomew was convinced his methods could end world hunger, and thus, he created the Square Foot Gardening Foundation from the proceeds of his book sales. His work was tireless. Through his books, the PBS television show, innumerable personal appearances, and a wide network of certified instructors, Bartholomew encouraged gardeners all over the world to abandon row gardening and grow vegetables in his densely planted, gridded boxes.
Mel Bartholomew was an original. It is not an overstatement to suggest that his innovative system introduced millions to gardening. His methods have often been copied, but never replaced.— Billie Brownell, editor of Bartholomew’ s updated All New Square Foot Gardening.
GENE LOGSDON
On May 31, 2016, we lost a strong advocate for local farm systems and self-sufficiency. Gene Logsdon was born on Nov. 5, 1931, in Tiffin, Ohio, and lived most of his life 25 miles away on his 30-acre Upper Sandusky farm with his wife Carol. But his works and thoughts travelled far beyond the borders of the state. He promoted the idea of small farms, richly biodiverse in resources and products. He was a visionary and a practical man, a voice of reason, a humorist and a Contrary Farmer who didn’ t suffer fools easily.
Gene wrote 25 non-fiction books, four fiction, and hundreds of articles for the Progressor Times, Farming Magazine, Draft Horse Journal and more. His writings were a mix of philosophical insights and practical knowledge based on his experiences working his farm. He was a supporter of Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, and at the annual conference, Gene was often found in the Book and Raffle Room signing his books and connecting with farmers and gardeners. Little did many of us know that February 2016 would be the last time he would grace the book room with his presence.
Although Gene is no longer with us you can still access his wit on his blog at The Contrary Farmer and gather pearls of wisdom, hope and joy from a man who offered us a pragmatic, personal way to live on this earth.— Debra Knapke, The Garden Sage, Columbus, Ohio
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