June/July 2007
Complementary Currencies for Social Change: An Interview with Bernard Lietaer
Ravi Dykema
To Remake the World: Something Earth0changing is Afoot Amonth Civil Society
Paul Hawken
Leave No Child Inside
Richard Louv
Research Shows Television Watching Affects Children's Development
Jody Woodruff
Harvey Wassermann
Global Warming Can't Buy Happiness
Bill McKibben
Worldwide Shift to Compact Fluorescents Could Close 270 Coal-Fired Power Plants
Lester R. Brown
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
Deepak Chopra
Principles for Spinal Safety
John Stern
The Economic Potential of a New Energy Revolution
Jerome Ringo
The Campaign for a Department of Peace: A Holistic Approach for Reducing Violence
Pip Cornall
Translated Ancient Buddhist Texts: Teachings of Life Free From Agression, Full of Compassion
Lama Chönam, Sangye Khandro & Jules B. Levinson
Cosmic
Calendar
Salina Rain
Edible Forest Gardens
Ecological Vision and Theory for
Temperate Climate Permaculture
Dave Jacke & Eric Toensmeier
Chelsea Green Publishing, 2005
8 x 10 Hardcover, 377 Pages
Edible Forest Gardens, the first volume of two, combines an in depth view of indigenous practices with excellent science which provides an inspiring vision for the stewardship of perennial “polycultures of multipurpose plants in small-scale settings” along with practical information on both ecology and design.
“Picture yourself in a forest where almost everything around you is food. Mature and maturing fruit and nut trees form an open canopy. If you look carefully, you can see fruits swelling on many branches—pears, apples, persimmons, pecans, and chestnuts. Shrubs fill the gaps in the canopy. They bear raspberries, blueberries, currants, hazelnuts, and other lesser-known fruits, flowers, and nuts at different times of the year. Assorted native wildflowers, wild edibles, herbs, and perennial vegetables thickly cover the ground. You use many of these plants for food or medicine. Some attract beneficial insects, birds, and butterflies. Others act as soil builders, or simply help keep out weeds.
“Edible forest gardening is the art and science of putting plants together in woodlandlike patterns that forge mutually beneficial relationships, creating a garden ecosystem that is more than the sum of its parts. You can grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, other useful plants, and animals in a way that mimics natural ecosystems. You can create a beautiful, diverse, high-yield garden. If designed with care and deep understanding of ecosystem function, you can also design a garden that is largely self-maintaining.”
From their website, EdibleForests.com, the authors explain: “Forest gardening is an idea whose time has come. We can consciously apply the principles of ecology to the design of home scale gardens that mimic forest ecosystem structure and function, but grow food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, ‘farmaceuticals,’ and fun. Indeed, we must begin learning to apply ecological principles to the design of our food production systems now—we are rapidly approaching or are already at the peak of planetary oil production, and the world of energy descent is upon us. This sea change in our culture will require that we learn to live within our energetic means and begin to rebuild ecosystems that support human and humane lives without diminishing the ability of the ecosystem to support our children and grandchildren.
“While this global problem is huge, most of the solutions available to us are local, personal, empowering, and potentially enlivening, enlightening, and fun. Edible forest gardening is one of these solutions, and we now have the resources at hand to transform our own yards and gardens into productive paradises. This website and the book Edible Forest Gardens are intended to put in your hands the most sophisticated and down-to-earth information available to maximize your success as a forest gardener.
“Forest gardens have much to offer on a practical level, and they have much to teach us about how to live in community as free and interdependent beings in a functional way. We hope that you will trust your innate ability to learn and contribute to the larger community of human beings who care about living sanely and humanely as we journey through energy descent. Welcome to the adventure of our lifetimes.”
Winner of the 2006 Media Award Silver Medal from the Garden Writer’s Association, Edible Forest Gardens examines the history of forest gardening in modern North America with a holistic vision of forest ecology along with guidance for forest garden design and management. Included also are forest gardening’s “Top 100” species, and many, many valuable resources.
