Saving seeds to plant for the next year's crop has been key to human survival for millennia. However, the twentieth century witnessed a grand takeover of seed production by multinational companies aiming to select varieties ideal for mechanical harvest, long-distance transportation, and long shelf life. With the rise of the Slow Food and farm-to-table movements in recent years, the farmers and home gardeners who have quietly persisted in the age-old habit of conserving heirloom plants are ...

Develop mature compost right in your garden. Barbara Pleasant and Deborah Martin explain their six-way compost gardening system in this informative guide that will have you rethinking how you create and use your compost. With your plants and compost living together from the beginning, your garden will become a nourishing and organic environment that encourages growth and sustainability. You’ll also find that the enriched soil requires less tending, weeding, and mulching, so you can do less...

"This permaculture primer is fresh and vibrant. Bring it on!" — Permaculture MagazinePermaculture is more popular than ever, but it can still be a daunting concept. If you are new to permaculture and interested in learning more, Practical Permaculture offers authoritative, in-depth, and hands-on advice for a more holistic approach to sustainable living. Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein, two dynamic leaders in the permaculture community, explain the b...

Straw bale gardening is an inexpensive, low-maintenance way to grow a bounty of food in a small space. All you need is a bale of straw, some fertilizer, and your favorite vegetable seeds! Craig LeHoullier's step-by-step instructions show you how to do everything from sourcing the straw and setting up your bale to planting, dealing with weeds and pests, and harvesting.

When Nathalie Chambers and her husband, David, first took over Madrona Farm, 27 acres on southern Vancouver Island with a deep history, they never thought their small-scale agricultural business would blossom into an international political act. As pressures from heirs, land developers and industrial farmers grew alongside their rows of organically produced food, the Chambers took action. Considered by many to be revolutionary and by some to be rebellious, their story opened many eyes to t...

Grow twice the fruits and vegetables in half the space on the farm, in the backyard, or even in your window!Have you noticed the extraordinary flavors and yields emanating from even a small garden when the soil is just right? If you’ve ever been envious of your neighbor’s dirt or just curious about homesteading, then The Ultimate Guide to Soil is the perfect fit for you.This first volume in the series walks new and experienced gardeners through fun...

"Frost Dancing" is a pithy, fun garden book packed with more than 240 useful and usable tips and ideas particularly for short season gardeners. But no matter where your garden is located you'll find something of interest here. The information is firmly grounded in decades of experience growing food on a northwoods homestead; no fluff, just good old down-to-earth advise, well mulched and healthy. Sue gardens where 90 frost free days is a very good year and frost every month not unheard of y...

Straw bale gardening techniques as well as growing vegetables in Raised Beds are both covered in detail in this new exciting gardening method by Norman J Stone called an RS Combo.This gardening technique takes the best out of both these ideas to create an ideal vegetable growing habitat. This virtually guarentees that even with a tiny garden you can produce all the vegetables needed to keep stocked up with home-grown veggies.Check out the RS Combo by clicking on the buy but...

Grow twice the fruits and vegetables in half the space on the farm, in the backyard, or even in your window!Have you noticed the extraordinary flavors and yields emanating from even a small garden when the soil is just right? If you've ever been envious of your neighbor's dirt or just curious about homesteading, then The Ultimate Guide to Soil is the perfect fit for you.This second volume in the series walks new and experienced gardeners through tu...

Grow twice the fruits and vegetables in half the space on the farm, in the backyard, or even in your window!Have you noticed the extraordinary flavors and yields emanating from even a small garden when the soil is just right? If you've ever been envious of your neighbor's dirt or just curious about homesteading, then The Ultimate Guide to Soil is the perfect fit for you.This third volume in the series walks new and experienced gardeners through bri...

This vintage book contains a comprehensive handbook on farm crops, being an encyclopedia of common crops with information on cultivation, history, varieties, land preparation, weeding, propagation, pests and diseases, harrowing, and much more besides. Although old, the information contained within this volume is timeless and will be of considerable utility to modern farmers and allotment owners. Contents include: "Wheat", "Wheat - Continued", "Oats", "Barley", "Rye and Maize", "Flax, Hemp ...

Harness the power of beneficial insects to deter pests and reduce crop damage. This comprehensive guide to farming with insects will have you building beetle banks and native plant field borders as you reap a bountiful and pesticide-free harvest. With strategies for identifying the insects you’re trying to attract paired with step-by-step instructions for a variety of habitat-building projects, you’ll soon learn how to employ your own biocontrol conservation tactics. Lay out the brush pile...