PRIMARY GRATITUDE goes to my mother and grandmother, excellent plain cooks with the ingredients available to them. They put all their efforts into my survival during the famine in western Holland that became known as the Hunger Winter of 1944–1945. By a miracle, they themselves survived to cook again. Uncle Wim shared out vegetables from his small farm until that severe winter closed down the earth. He was my gardening teacher from the moment I could toddle, introducing me to his beloved pole beans, currant bushes, and happy chickens.
I thank all vegetable-growing friends for stories that found their way into this book. Special thanks go to Chris Watters and Daryn Howell, who helped design and run an eight-week course in Strathalbyn about growing vegetables on one square yard. We charged a nominal fee of one dollar per session for potting soil and seeds to give participants hands-on experience in raising their own. Chris, passionate tomato aficionado, introduced us to mixed salad boxes. Daryn, who grew carrots in his driveway, was a mine of horticultural information. Both shared their food gardens with the participants, some of whom returned to do the repeat course. Thanks also to Jane Henderson who demonstrated vegetarian gourmet cooking, and Thelma and Mario Ielasi for sharing their skills in preserving home-grown produce. Percy McElwaine allowed me to photograph his food garden and bequeathed me his portable plastic roof. Else Jansen started a kitchen garden just when I needed more photos. My first herb, a yarrow, came from Mrs. Moss, whose pioneering herb nursery at Mount Barker spawned most subsequent herb nurseries, including my tiny Middle Hill Herb Nursery. Gratitude goes to three gardeners, Louise, Jeff, and Vivienne, who, over the decades, helped out with the ornamental gardens on a regular basis, allowing me more time to experiment with vegetables.
Three authors who profoundly influenced my thinking about food growing at home were Mel Bartholomew, author of Square Foot Gardening, more recently Colin Tudge with So Shall We Reap, and Michael Pollan with In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
At Wakefield Press, Michael Bollen acted as the devil’s advocate every non-fiction book needs, and Bethany Clark edited the text with tender care and much enthusiasm. I accept that any errors or omissions may well be mine, but regret having let go of some elaborating little chapters. All the same, neither time nor effort was spared by all involved in producing this book to make it the most accessible grow-your-own text for food gardeners born and yet to be born.
As the North American edition goes to press, my thanks go to Matthew Lore at The Experiment for his enthusiasm for the concept and emphasizing the organic method that underlies the book, while Elisabeth Watson deserves credit for extended research on specific American issues, the White House food garden story, providing plants with their American names and turning chooks into chickens.
Special thanks go to Batya Rosenblum for undertaking the task of splicing gardening sections from Outside the Magic Square: A Handbook for Food Security into the best garden plots from the original One Magic Square, to come up with the best magic book for food gardeners old and new.
Lastly, a very special thanks to my partner Burwell Dodd, computer and compost specialist, who turned a spade when I couldn’t, put in posts for fences and espalier fixtures, and has eaten the results of my food-growing experiments without a murmur.