Vincent M. Russo and under the ownership of a different publishing company. That journal was published twice a year but over time morphed into the current format with six issues per volume. When I approached to take over the editorship, the process was handled in two telephone calls. During the early years of operation, the interaction between authors and myself was entirely with hardcopy, even though the interested authors were from largely the same countries as the current authors. They would mail the manuscript to me and I would take a red pen and make them bleed much like is done currently on an electronic venue. There was a mailing gratuity along with payment for my activities. The system took a long time to process manuscripts.
Okay, so where am I going with this. In July last I tendered my resignation as editor. I thought that six months lead time would be sufficient to find a replacement, after all they have head hunters for this sort of thing. As of the latest information I received, it appears that a new editor will be in place at the beginning of 2024. However, if something goes wrong I agreed to extend my editorship on an interim basis. This means I will be providing the same preview of manuscripts with returns for correction, and eventual decisions about acceptance as the process continues. Eventually, the new editor will be in place and take over the day-to-day vetting of manuscripts.
Over my tenure, I have been exposed to much that I was not familiar with in terms of what is considered a vegetable in different parts of the world. Except for a stint on Guam, my entire professional life has been in temperate climates, again except for time in Greenland while in the Army. There is no vegetable production in the part of Greenland where I was stationed. When they speak of “hell freezing over” I think this particular part of the world was the prototype.
Being exposed to the variety of crops considered as vegetables by various groups of people has increased my understanding of the variety of edible crops in nature and how people have adapted to their use, or how the plants were cultivated for use by people. Even though there will be someone else as Editor I suspect that is not going to change as the journal goes forward. This has been a learning experience for me and broadened my concepts of vegetable horticulture which are rooted in temperate, North America.
In some instances, the interaction between myself and authors has called for restraint on both parties. Authors have a concept of what their manuscript is stating, and then they run into the stumbling blocks of English sentence structure and grammar, and me. I hope that I have not stepped on too many toes and I thank you for your patience in dealing with direction that has come to you through me. It is my hope that the next editor is provided the same courtesies. I will be here as interim editor while the search for my replacement is completed. At some point, I will step down and do other things that are on the horizon.
Reviewers of submitted manuscripts
In addition to the Editorial Consulting Board, I extend my gratitude to the volunteer reviewers who provide their time and efforts to assure that the quality of the manuscripts meets the standards expected by the journal and its readers.