It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order. Permaculture design is a system of assembling conceptual, material, and strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms. The philosophy behind permaculture is one of working with, rather than against, nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their functions rather than asking only one yield of them; and of allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolutions.

    Robert Hart's book beautifully describes his decades of experience gardening in the Shropshire countryside. The principles of backyard permaculture he has developed can be applied successfully in every temperate zone of North America, helping to transform even a small cottage garden into a diverse and hospitable habitat for songbirds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Blending history, philosophy, anthropology, and seasoned gardening wisdom in a lucid sequence of essays, Forest Gardening examines the pleasure of hands off as well as hands-on gardening. This book offers fresh ways of understanding the relationships between people and growing plants. For gardeners who aspire to create ecological as well as beautiful gardens, Forest Gardening will be an inspiration and a pleasure.

    Andre Voisin's rational grazing method maximizes productivity in both grass and cattle operations.

    

    Holistic Management Handbook offers a detailed explanation of the planning procedures presented in those books and gives step-by-step guidance for implementing holistic management on a ranch or farm. Holistic Management and Holistic Management Handbook are essential reading for anyone involved with land management and stewardship, and together represent an indispensable guide for individuals interested in making better decisions within their organizations or in and aspect of their personal or professional lives. Jody Butterfield is a former journalist specializing in agriculture and the environment and cofounder of Holistic Management International. Sam Bingham is a Holistic Management Certified Educator and the author of five books and numerous articles. Allan Savory is a former wildlife biologist, farmer, and politician who left an international consulting practice to found Holistic Management International in 1984.

    This fascinating, readable volume is filled with enticing, detailed information about more than thirty different Incan crops that promise to become important contributors to the world's food supply. The New York Times Book Review calls Lost Crops of the Incas a book that will ..". inspire those with an interest in agriculture and an entrepreneurial spirit to experiment with these obscure plants of the Inca Empire."

    Think of the author as a sort of jujitsu gardener; in her hands the very strengths of weeds are turned to her advantage."—New York Times Book Review"In this manual cum philosophical treatise, Stein discloses an amazing amount of information, from anatomy to propagation, about more than 100 species of North American weeds."—Washington Post Book WorldFrom the author of the native gardening classic Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyard comes My Weeds, a foray into the secret and fascinating lives of the world’s most hated plants. By asking of the common weed, "What kind of plant is this? How does it behave? What is it up to in my garden? Can I thwart its plans?" Stein shows how a thorough understanding of the enemy is the gardener’s best defense. Incredibly adaptive, weeds are also good teachers, and Stein shows us what they tell us about our gardens and the lives of all plants. She entertains with tales of famous—and notorious—weeds of the world, compares weeding tools and methods, and discusses the uses of weeds. Along the way, Stein also explains the intricate workings of photosynthesis, plant anatomy and reproduction, evolution, and the laws of succession by which nature tries to reclaim the land a gardener has disturbed. First published in 1988, My Weeds was among the first generation of books to advocate the use of native plants, and Stein’s discussions of backyard ecology, pesticides, and the threat of exotic species were as groundbreaking then as they are relevant today.  A biography of the plant world’s most maligned members and a fascinating primer of the most useful aspects of plant biology and ecology, My Weeds is essential reading even for the gardener who never leaves the armchair!Sara Stein is the author of Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards and Planting Noah’s Garden: Further Adventures in Backyard Ecology.

    

    look for more! Good book for all of those interested in the back to nature movement. learn all of the practical survival skills. Build shelters, obtain water, preserve food, plant and grow vegetables.