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Acknowledgments
I owe my understanding of greenhouses to Charley Yaw. Charley Yaw passed me on to
Scott Titus, who heads up the Center for Holistic Advanced Organic Studies (CHAOS)—
and yes, he really does have a good sense of humor—from whom I got a new perspective
on topsoil.
Both Charley and Scott have become dear friends, and together with Deb Mitchell—
a delightful master gardener/lecturer connected to Washington State University—I have
a rich source of local knowledge and continual advice.
While in the midst of reading twenty-four excellent reference books, from which I
wanted to extract useful snippets of information to offer in this book, I came across
Stephen Albert’s Kitchen Garden Grower’s Guide and his website, Harvest to Table (www
.harvesttotable.com). Steve had already done my homework, having researched each plant
comprehensively with the practiced eye of a true expert. My sketch pages for each plant were
greatly aided by all his hard work.
Sandy Silverthorne went beyond his usual cartoon whimsy and outlined all my plants
with his customary economy of strokes. I love his work!
The nutritional numbers have been through multiple layers of analysis, with a final
pass under the eagle eye of my very long-term friend and culinary associate Suzanne
Butler—or “Butters,” as I often call her. It’s as close as she ever gets to being saturated!
Every word, indeed every keystroke, was the work of our personal, private, and confi
dential secretary, Wendy, and without her, our little world would be snow white blank
pages, without a digital stroke in sight.
Then there’s my dear friend John Duff, with whom I have created six books. I strayed
for a season of three more literary efforts, and now I’m happily back in the fold and ben
efiting from his understanding of good food, good gardening, good books, and, as a result,
the truly good life.- •xixi