Three local hotels have enlisted a top US gardening expert to help them build on-site "gardens of the future.'' Mr. Mel Bartholomew, an author and inventor who had his own TV gardening show on the US Public Broadcasting System, is in Bermuda to train locals in the ways of square-foot gardening, a condensed method of planting that will allow the hotels to grow twice as many fresh herbs and vegetables "in less than half the space.'' The process, which could revolutionise the way countries -- particularly those in the developing world -- grow their crops, has already been adopted in areas as diverse as the US, Haiti and the Indian subcontinent.

Basically, square-foot gardening eliminates waste and increases crop yields by limiting the growth area of a garden to planting blocks of four feet by four feet.

Each of the blocks, Mr. Bartholomew explained, can contain up to 16 plants.

The number of plants depends on the type of crop to be grown, he added.

"I think that 80 percent of gardening is actually waste,'' Mr. Bartholomew, who has authored two books on the subject, said yesterday.

"Consequently, you can do your planting in a lot less space -- approximately 20 percent less.'' Another advantage to the square-foot style -- a concept that Mr. Bartholomew came up with some 15 years ago -- is the emergence of "the best possible soil'' as a result of the technique.

"You never actually step on the soil,'' the retired engineer cum inventor said, "since the first time you prepare it is the last time you ever use a shovel.

"And,'' he continued, "every other chore that you do is reduced by 80 percent as well. That means there is 80 percent less weeding, 80 percent less watering.'' Particularly attractive to an island community like Bermuda, Mr. Bartholomew said, is the self-sufficiency that square-foot gardening can allow.

A previous visitor to the Island, he also pointed out that the process can hold a number of economic advantages for both the hotels that have commissioned his expertise and Bermudians in general.

"It (the technique) reduces imports and will allow the hotels to have fresh herbs and vegetables that have been grown by local people,'' Mr. Bartholomew said. "It is also easier to protect a crop from the wind damage you get in Bermuda on a smaller plot than it is on a big one.'' Asked if he felt that the technique was the way of the future, he added: "I think it will be. I really do -- especially for emerging nations and those that want to achieve a relative degree of self-reliance.'' The three hotels that are making use of Mr. Bartholomew's skills are Clear View Suites and Villas, Ariel Sands Club and Cottages and the Southampton Princess Hotel.

Clear View and Ariel Sands have already installed their gardens, the gardening expert said, while the Southampton Princess' is in development.

Mr. Bartholomew, who lives in the Long Island community of Old Field, was brought to Bermuda by the Botanical Gardens and the Bermuda Hotel Association.

He will be at the Gardens tomorrow to install a demonstration garden that will be part of the facility's regular tours.