Barbara Pleasant, Organic Gardening & Real Food Expert
Name: Barbara Pleasant, Organic Gardening & Real Food Expert
Occupation: Writer
Location: Floyd County, Virginia
Web Sites: BarbaraPleasant.com;
CompostGardening.com
Food and Gardening Background:
Barbara grew her first tomato while living in New Orleans in 1974, and since then she has kept organic food gardens in four states. A three-time winner of Garden Globe awards given by the Garden Writers Association, Barbara sees her job as helping people connect with the green world. As a Mother Earth News contributing editor for the past five years, she has covered topics ranging from green beans to watchdogs.
Barbara currently keeps a big, intensive food garden that is terraced into a west-facing slope. In addition to vegetables and herbs, she grows an expanding collection of berries, tree fruits and flowers. A gourmet garden cook, she also cans, freezes, makes pickles and keeps the dehydrator humming in late summer.
Current Projects and Other Fun Facts:
Proving that there are always new things to learn about growing and preserving food, last year Barbara was blown away by a fantastic batch of fermented pickles. Next she began making her own yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi. To nudge a little closer to food self-sufficiency (and because she likes to watch things bubble), this year Barbara is trying her hand turning raspberries, blackberries, apples, pears and grapes into wine.
Selected Articles:
Searching Barbara's name in Mother's archives will turn up 10 pages of results, so we asked her to select a few favorites. Here are her picks:
Protect Your Pollinators
Make Simple, Beautiful Garden Fences and Trellises
Composting Made Easy
Enjoy Fresh Blackberries
Plant Now for Great Garlic
Recent Books:
The Complete Compost Gardening Guide
Garden Stone
The Gardener's Bug Book
The Gardener's Weed Book
