Mel Bartholomew was the founder and inventor of the Square Foot Gardening method and the author of All New Square Foot Gardening, the best-selling gardening book in America for a generation. The guide has sold 2.5 million copies since Bartholomew wrote the book in 1981. He hosted a PBS TV show for five years, and then was telecast for three more years on the Learning Channel and Discovery Network. Bartholomew presided over the nonprofit Square Foot Gardening Foundation, which encourages every household around the world to have a small garden and eat fresh, healthy vegetables that are uncontaminated. He passed away in May, 2016.

The Square Foot Gardening Foundation is a nonprofit organization that operates an extensive outreach network to bring Square Foot Gardening to vegetable gardeners and to countries with hunger issues. Consisting of several full-time staff and a small board of directors, the Foundation is based in Halesite, New York. Through a large network of certified Square Foot Gardening instructors, the Foundation conducts seminars and classes throughout the United States to teach the Square Foot Gardening method pioneered by the late Mel Bartholomew.