KGI: How are these changes reflected in the second edition?
BD: The food growing sections have been much enriched by my having become a vegetable farmer for the last 16 years or so. There is better information on helpful insects, season extension, seed saving, invasive plants, styles of compost bins, new tools, native lawn grasses just to name a few additions. All the chapters have had new plants added to them, the majority of which are native to North America. I've also tried to include more that will do well in the arid parts of the country. The book is quite a bit longer. All the garden plans have been re-done and many plant varieties have been updated to reflect the current market. The list of nurseries, plant organizations and books in the back have all been completely updated.

KGI: What about the larger trends in our food and garden culture during this time? What changes give you hope or pause?
BD: During the years since the Primer first came out the popularity of food gardening has waned, but recently I’ve seen it start to reemerge. The growing national focus on real food -- it's really a whole alternative universe of people shopping at organic food coops, subscribing to CSA's, seeking out local farmers--can't help but lead to an increase in people who want to try growing their own. It's the inescapable conclusion if you really value food and want the freshest, the safest, the best. Organic food is a huge trend, but the organic label doesn't mean quite as much to people as it once did, now that organics have become so large scale.

Am I hopeful? Well, I tend to be an optimist, and while I see industrial food production getting worse and worse, I see people's awareness of that growing, both here and in other countries. The biggest challenge is to convince people that cheap industrial food is not a bargain. The hidden environmental and nutritional costs are ones that we all bear, as taxpayers and as people who drink the water and breathe the air. I refuse to think of good, wholesome food as a luxury item, an elitist concept. The world used to feed itself in more traditional ways and it still can. Most of the worlds hunger issues are political and social ones. I believe that home gardeners can do a huge amount to set us back on the right path, one backyard at a time. Another trend is that people are busier, and hence want smaller gardens that they can take care of. Ornamental gardening is still very popular, bit nobody wants to recreate Sissinghurst in their yard.

KGI: One way of describing your own journey as a gardener is to say “Interstate 95 North”. You moved from Connecticut to Maine, from a four-season garden to Four Season Farm which you run with your husband Eliot Coleman. What’s it like having two strong-minded garden experts under the same roof?
BD: Gardening with Eliot has been fantastic. When we first got together there was a bit of sorting out of turf. I think the first argument we ever had was about where to plant bulbs. After he saw what kinds of ornamental gardens I could create he pretty much left them to me. And he is so much more experienced as a market gardener, having done it for most of his life, that I defer to his wisdom on that, though we bounce ideas about the farm off each other all the time. In addition to the home gardens I also manage the cut flower operation at the farm -- cut flowers are the second most profitable item there, after tomatoes!

Since I also like to grow food, and have specific things I like to grow for the kitchen, I do have my own vegetable and herb gardens near the house, over which I rule. But we really love working together both in the yard and in the farm fields and greenhouses, and miss it at times when our activities take us in different directions.

KGI: So what’s next? It’s still a bit early to begin thinking about the 40th anniversary edition of the Primer. Do you have any other book projects on the boil?
BD: Right now I'm really not thinking about starting a new book. Writing for The Washington Post and my work at the farm keeps me very busy. But given how much I like to cook, there is probably a cookbook somewhere in my future.

KGI: Tell us something about food on the farm. Have you served any memorable meals lately?
BD: Having a big noon meal that the whole farm crew eats at a long table, made from food we have all worked to grow, is a great tradition. It holds the farm together. I could tell you what some of the crew’s favorites are. Each of the farm workers, when they are moving on to their next job, get to choose a "last meal" and some of the recent choices have been black-eyed peas cooked with kielbasa, and fried rice made with pork, vegetables and Chinese fermented black beans. Eliot's favorite is shepherd's pie.