Ron spent his formative years working on the family onion farm in Florida, New York. From there he went on to earn his BS, MS, and PhD in Biological Sciences from the State University of New York at Albany. After five years of developing and directing the Environmental Studies program at Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, he moved on to the University of Massachusetts as Extension Educator in the Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program. Now retired, Ron continues to work part time for UMass Extension and as a horticultural consultant, writer, and lecturer, that is, when he is not tending his vegetable garden. He and his daughter, Jennifer, authored the book, "Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook", published by Storey Publishing.