The plants then pump the water back out in the form of beauty, food, shelter, wildlife habitat, timber and forage, while controlling erosion, reducing down-stream flooding, dropping utility costs, increasing soil fertility, enhancing the soil carbon sponge, and improving water and air quality.This dramatically revised and expanded full-color second edition builds on the information in Volume 1 by showing you how to turn your yard, school, business, park, ranch, and neighborhood into lively, regenerative producers of resources. Conditions at home will improve as you simultaneously enrich the ecosystem and inspire the surrounding community.Learn to select, place, size, construct, and plant your chosen earthworks. All is made easier and more effective by the illustrations of natural patterns of water and sediment flow with which you can collaborate or mimic. Detailed step-by-step instructions with over 550 images show you how to do it, and plentiful stories of success motivate you so you will do it!

    Nine interrelated essays explore the biblical writers' pervasive concern for the care of arable land against the background of the geography, social structures, and religious thought of ancient Israel. This approach consistently brings out neglected aspects of texts, both poetry and prose, that are central to Jewish and Christian traditions. Rather than seeking solutions from the past, Davis creates a conversation between ancient texts and contemporary agrarian writers; thus she provides a fresh perspective from which to view the destructive practices and assumptions that now dominate the global food economy. The biblical exegesis is wide-ranging and sophisticated; the language is literate and accessible to a broad audience.

    Now scientific studies are verifying this understanding. Plant Spirit Healing reveals the power of plant spirits to join with human intelligence to bring about profound healing. These spirits take us beyond mere symptomatic treatment to aligning us with the vast web of nature. Plants are more than their chemical constituents. They are intelligent beings that have the capacity to raise consciousness to a level where true healing can take place.In this book, herbalist Pam Montgomery offers an understanding of the origins of disease and the therapeutic use of plant spirits to bring balance and healing. She offers a process engaging heart, soul, and spirit that she calls the triple spiral path. In our modern existence, we are increasingly challenged with broken hearts, souls in exile, and malnourished spirits. By working through the heart, we connect with the soul and gain access to spirit. She explains that the evolution of plants has always preceded their animal counterparts and that plant spirits offer a guide to our spiritual evolution--a stage of growth imperative not only for the healing of humans but also the healing of the earth.

    A great way to expand your knowledge in preparation for the full length book.

    Greg Judy's book responds to such hesitancy with enthusiasm and positive attitude and by articulating the basics in a very simple way, demonstrating to readers that it is possible to make these changes without a lot of infrastructure investment.Judy shows how to add sheep, goats and pigs to existing cattle operations. He explains fencing and water systems that build on existing infrastructure set up for Management-intensive Grazing. Sharing his first-hand experience (mistakes as well as successes), Judy takes graziers to the next level. He shows how High Density Grazing (HDG) on his own farm and those he leases can revitalize hayed out, scruffy, weedy pastures, and turn them into highly productive grazing landscapes that grow both green grass and greenbacks.If you have six cows or 6000, you can utilize High Density Grazing to create fertile soils, lush pastures and healthy livestock. Greg Judy, the master of custom grazing, shows how to earn profits with little risk while using other people's livestock on leased land. Judy details how to work with Nature without costly inputs, and how to let the animals be your labor force.Comeback Farms covers multi-species grazing; developing parasite-resistant hair sheep flocks and grass-genetic cattle; and how to select, train and care for livestock guardian dogs. It includes High Density Grazing fencing techniques, diagrams for HDG fencing and paddock moves; and how to calve with HDG.By following Judy's examples, you'll keep your neighbors talking and wondering how you keep your fields green and your livestock grazing year-around. In the process you'll be pocketing your profits.

    Comprehensive, colorful, and captivating, Storey’s Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs features full-color profiles of 163 livestock breeds. Whether you’re looking for a gentle domestic backyard animal or are hoping to introduce a rare heritage breed on your farm, you’re sure to find an animal that’s perfect for your needs.

    Rudolf Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, literary scholar, educator, artist, playwright, social thinker, and esotericist.

    After tireless hours of research to bring the most accurate and up-to-date information, as well as the most intriguing facts and historical illuminations 75 Remarkable Fruits for Your Garden provides a history of each plant, thoughts and tips on growing it, and ends with a simple recipe for serving up these mouth-watering fruits in salads, side dishes, breads, and desserts.Fruits Include:Apple 'Ashmead's Kernel', Blood Banana, Currant 'Pink Champagne', Boysenberry, Autumn Olive, Fig 'Petite Negra', Grapefruit 'Red Rio', Honeyberry 'Blue Sky', Lime 'Key Lime', Mulberry 'Dwarf Weeping Black', Persimmon 'Jiro', Prickly Pear 'Burbank', Rhubarb 'MacDonald',Author Bio: Jack Staub is one of the country's leading experts on fruit and vegetable gardening. He frequently lectures on the subject, and his articles have appeared in numerous magazines and print publications, including Country Living, Fine Gardening, and The New York Times. He is also a featured guest on NPR. You can learn more about Jack and Hortulus Farms at http: //hortulusfarmdiary.blogspot.com.

    The author strips away all complications, showing how you can make everything you need yourself, using recycled materials and simple tools: you do not need to buy any additional equipment at all! After reading The Barefoot Beekeeper I knew immediately I had found what I had been thinking about and searching for for years. It inspired me to immediately build several Top Bar hives and change my manner of keeping bees...read as much as you can about bees and beekeeping but do buy this one and follow it's suggested path. N, Spain ...the best book out there as far as I'm concerned for those interested in pursuing sustainable beekeeping. MH, USA ...a very helpful primer and a VERY inspiring discussion of sustainable beekeeping. CS ...as an argument for sustainable beekeeping, the writing is unparalleled. G, UK

    Unless attitudes change now, our lands, forests and rivers, flora and fauna, that we have wilfully mistreated for far too many years, will be degraded beyond repair.

    The family was too young for sell-by dates -- there was too much to live for. And so they did. But when he finally died, Barney felt alone and exhausted. Their savings had all gone and now she must support their child single-handedly. She would just have to take life one day at a time. She took to tending her small, scruffy allotment. Fresh air, wildlife, exercise, nature's cycles of growth and decay -- she found solace in it all.This is the diary of her year in the garden. It begins with January's brisk walks, nourishing soups, and dreams of spring. In May comes a messy abundance of bluebells, tadpoles, and honeybees. In summer the sunflowers shout. And inautumn aharvest of blackberries, beans andsquash. The garden's meditative atmosphere also provokesdeeper musings. Barney recounts the myths and emotions associated with particular plants;shepaintsmemories of childhood; she evokes the changes of mood as the seasons shift. Above all, she charts how her own life is slowly restored, under the garden's healing influence

    The first to be published outside Australia. Detailing the principles, techniques and systems for sustainable development of rural and urban landscapes. Keyline methods enable the rapid development of deep biologically fertile soil by converting subsoil into living topsoil. Keyline pattern cultivation enables the rapid flood irrigation of undulating land without terracing. Incidental results are the healing of soil erosion, bio-adsorption of salinity and the long term storage of atmospheric carbon in the soil as humus. The Keyline Scale of Permanence provides a priority guide to planning the various factors of broad scale development. This is a recommended text for Permaculture students. It includes updated selections and information; from P.A. Yeomans's books: - The Keyline Plan (1954); The Challenge of Landscape (1958); (Water for Every Farm (1964 and 2nd edition 1968) and The City Forest (1971). www.keyline.com.au

    It is a trip filled with surprises. And it is a beautifully illustrated tour, featuring 132 vibrant color photographs and a captivating sixty-minute DVD documentary. Along the way, readers learn about the mystical allure of chocolate for the peoples of Mesoamerica, who were the first to make it and who still incorporate it into their lives and ceremonies today. Although it didn’t receive its Western scientific name, Theobroma cacao—“food of the gods”—until the eighteenth century, the cacao tree has been at the center of Mesoamerican mythology for thousands of years. Not only did this “chocolate tree” produce the actual seeds from which chocolate was extracted but it was also symbolically endowed with cosmic powers that enabled a dialogue between humans and their gods. From the pre-Columbian images included in this sumptuous book, we are able to see for ourselves the importance of chocolate to the Maya, Aztecs, Olmecs, Mixtecs, and Zapotecs who grew, produced, traded, and fought over the prized substance. Through archaeological and other ethnohistoric research, the authors of this fascinating book document the significance of chocolate—to gods, kings, and everyday people—over several millennia. The illustrations allow us to envision the many ancient uses of this magical elixir: in divination ceremonies, in human sacrifices, and even in ball games. And as mythological connections between cacao trees, primordial rainforests, and biodiversity are unveiled, our own quest for ecological balance is reignited. In demonstrating the extraordinary value of chocolate in Mesoamerica, the authors provide new reasons—if any are needed—to celebrate this wondrous concoction.

    Now for the first time this book is made available to people around the world by its inventor, award-winning architect Nader Khalili (1932-2008), whose specialty was skyscrapers and who dedicated his life to teaching others how to build shelter for humanity. This book, with over 700 photos and illustrations, shows how to use sandbags and barbed wire, the materials of war, for peaceful purposes as the new invention known as Superadobe or earth-bag, which can shelter millions of people around the globe as a temporary as well as permanent housing solution. This affordable, self-help, sustainable, and disaster resistant structural system is a spin off from Khalili's presentation to NASA for habitat on the moon and Mars, which successfully passed rigorous tests for strict California earthquake building codes. This book along with a small library of films and kits can guide anyone to learn and teach how to build a home or community.

    Using insights from political economy and commodity studies, the essays in Taking Southeast Asia to Market trace the myriad ways recent alignments among producers, distributors, and consumers are affecting people and nature throughout the region. In case studies ranging from coffee and hardwood products to mushroom pickers and Vietnamese factory workers, the authors detail the Southeast Asian articulations of these processes while also discussing the broader implications of these shifts. Taken together, the cases show how commodities illuminate the convergence of changing social forces in Southeast Asia today, as they transform the terms, practices, and experiences of everyday life and politics in the global economy.

    This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

    They’re fascinated by the way a seed, when planted, watered, and cared for, sprouts into a baby plant that’s soon putting out its first roots and leaves. Inspired by children’s innate affinity for gardening, Tina Davis has created Sow and Grow—a year’s worth of playtime ideas that combine fun and learning with a child’s sense of wonder at the natural world.In this, the third in her enchantingly designed series of children’s books, Davis has devised a calendar of indoor-gardening and related activities, all linked to seasonal celebrations and changes: For April, she suggests planting tiny spring gardens in eggshells. For September, pressing late-summer flowers and autumn leaves. For December, decorating the house with living greenery. Each activity is described in child-friendly language—and parents are invited to participate!Sow and Grow also acquaints children with the basics of plant biology, teaching them the meanings of words like “fruit” and “flower” and explaining the roles of light, air, and water in plants’ development. Like Davis’s other books, Sow and Grow is illustrated with charming vintage drawings from children’s books of the past. Its lay-flat wire-o binding makes it easy to refer to during use.

    It is a comprehensive and clearly written, practical guide on all of the grafting techniques the professional and home gardener is likely to need.The book begins with an introduction to vegetative propagation, which includes growing plants from cuttings as well as from grafts. It provides a brief history of the subject, explains how grafting works and shows why it is now the preferred technique for propagating most commercial plants. The following chapter introduces the reader to the tools that are needed and the basics of budding, grafting and multi-grafting. It gives step-by-step instructions for making grafts, advice on selecting scion wood, production and preparation of rootstocks and after-care of grafted plants.Separate chapters on budding and grafting describe the complete range of methods that can be used. The budding chapter covers T-budding, chip budding, patch budding and V-budding. The chapter on grafting covers the splice graft, wedge graft, whip and tongue graft, side graft, approach graft, seed grafting, grafting of herbaceous plants, machine bench grafting and top working established trees. The remainder of the book has separate entries discussing the preferred method of propagation for each of the plant species.