Mel Bartholomew (December 14, 1931 – April 28, 2016) was an American gardener, engineer, inventor, businessman, television presenter and writer. He was born in Kingston, New York, but was raised in California. He was known for creating Square foot gardening. His first book "Square Foot Gardening" was the largest selling gardening book in American history. He had a show about his gardening skills called "Square Foot Gardening" for eight years.