Gardening

Build and sustain fertile, living soil—the essential foundation for thriving crops—with Jean-Martin Fortier's biointensive techniques.

Living Soil: A Grower's Guide reveals the secrets to creating fertile, healthy soil—an essential foundation for abundant, nutrient-rich harvests. With Jean-Martin Fortier's biointensive methods, gardeners and farmers alike can improve soil health while supporting thriving ecosystems.

This richly illustrated, full-color guide includes:

• An overview of "The Market Gardener Method"—a proven formula for small-scale, high-yield farming
• A deep dive into soil composition, including humus, microbes, and mineral content
• Simple DIY assessments and advanced tests for understanding soil biology and structure
• Low and no-till techniques to enhance soil fertility, including composting, mulching, crop rotation, and green manures
• Strategies for regenerating and sustaining soil over time.

Living Soil is part of the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener series, offering practical knowledge for all growers. From beginner gardeners to seasoned farmers, these guides equip you with the tools and insights needed to grow sustainably using principles of biointensive, regenerative agriculture on a human scale.

Master the art of growing nutritious, versatile, and flavorful root vegetables with Jean-Martin Fortier's biointensive farming methods.

Root Vegetables: A Grower's Guide uncovers the secrets to cultivating a wide range of root crops, from familiar favorites like potatoes and carrots to lesser-known gems like oca and salsify. Jean-Martin Fortier's biointensive approach maximizes yield while nurturing soil health, making this guide invaluable to home gardeners and market farmers alike.

This richly illustrated, full-color guide includes:

• A step-by-step introduction to "The Fortier Method" for sustainable, high-yield microfarming
• Botanical insights into root vegetables, from ancient wild varieties to modern cultivars
• Detailed profiles of 20 nutritious and versatile crops, with practical advice on growing each
• Techniques for soil preparation, sowing, transplanting, fertilizing, and irrigation
• Organic practices for managing pests, diseases, and crop rotations
• Tips for optimizing harvest and storage to preserve flavor and nutrition.

Root Vegetables is part of the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener series. It's designed to provide novice to expert growers with practical knowledge to succeed using the principles of biointensive, regenerative agriculture on a human scale.

Enhance Your Home and Health with Seasonal Herbs

The ultimate guide to seasonal herbs, Seasonal Living with Herbs is a transformative book that explores the medicinal, culinary, and crafting uses of herbs.

Unlock the full potential of seasonal herbs. This is your go-to resource for discovering the extraordinary benefits of nature's bounty. Learn how to preserve herbs and harness their medicinal properties, explore creative ways to use herbs in your everyday life, and cultivate a deeper connection to the natural world.

Discover the secrets of herbal abundance with Seasonal Living with Herbs—a comprehensive book that invites you to embrace the beauty and benefits of seasonal herbs. With guidance for growing and caring for herbs in every season, you'll learn to harness their full potential. Delight in the herbal spotlights specific to each season, savor the flavors of seasonal recipes, and create stunning crafts that celebrate the natural world. From cultivating your own herb garden to preserving their essence, this book empowers you to infuse your daily life with the magic of herbs.

Inside, you'll find:

• Herbal spotlights highlighting the unique properties of seasonal herbs
• Recipes using herbs that showcase their flavors and aromas
• From your garden to your craft projects inspired by the beauty of herbs
• Step-by-step instructions on how to preserve herbs and their benefits

If you enjoyed books on how to use herbs like The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook, The Herbal Kitchen, or The Healing Kitchen, you'll love Seasonal Living with Herbs.

Master Flower Gardening and Learn to Grow Flowers for All Seasons

“Anyone wanting to get started with a flower garden will find plenty of expert guidance here.” ―Publishers Weekly

#1 Best Seller in Annual Flowers Gardening, Bulb Flower Gardening, and Perennial Gardening

Master the art of cultivating cut flowers, from seed to stunning arrangements, with this indispensable guide for gardening novices and pros alike.

Create botanical beauty. Niki Irving’s Growing Flowers whisks you away to the serene mountains of Asheville, NC, where her boutique flower farm thrives. Learn to grow florets and cut flowers with the same sustainable, natural practices Niki employs on her mountain-fresh farm.

Boost your horticultural skills. This garden journal not only introduces you to the pleasures of growing a cutting garden but also guides you to arrange your flowers into simple-yet-gorgeous bouquets. Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of flower farming and discover techniques using not just blooms and greenery, but even artichokes, vines, and berries.

Inside, you'll find:

• Practical guidance on organic flower gardening, from selecting the right seeds and seedlings to mastering seasonal rotation
• Insightful techniques for arranging cut flowers
• Tips and tricks from Niki Irving's successful boutique flower farm for cultivating your own cutting garden
• Engaging photographic content that transforms the book into a delightful coffee table addition

Growing Flowers is a wonderful addition to any collection of garden books. If you’re looking for gardening gifts for gardeners or enjoy flowering plant books and flower books like Floret Farms Cut Flower Garden book, Floret Farm's A Year in Flowers, or The Flower Gardener's Bible, you’ll love Niki Irving's Growing Flowers.

Save time, reduce work, and grow more crops with this practical year-round guide to small-farm and garden success

Organization is the key to growing success. The Well-Planned Vegetable Garden covers everything you need to know from optimizing your space and selecting seeds and equipment, to sowing, transplanting, maintaining, and harvesting your crops. It's all rounded out by an extensive perpetual garden calendar that will help you manage time and effort while maximizing yield and profit.

This highly accessible, succinct, and beautifully illustrated full-color reference contains:

• An introduction to the Market Gardener Method — a proven formula for successful, biointensive, small-scale farming suitable for everyone from hobbyists to professionals
• A comprehensive strategy for success, covering budgeting and financial goals, environmental and climate considerations, year-round growing, crop rotation, timing, spacing, storage, and more
• Monthly objectives and task summaries to help dial in and streamline garden and farm management, working in harmony with seasonal rhythms.

Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener is a collection of practical handbooks designed to provide everyone from novice gardeners to seasoned farmers with information to grow better, using Jean-Martin Fortier's principles of biointensive, regenerative agriculture at a human scale.

Master the art of growing tomatoes, peppers, squash, and other fruiting vegetables

Bursting with flavor and packing a powerful nutritional punch, fruiting vegetables produce their prized bounty after flowering. This essential guide covers everything you need to know to cultivate more than a dozen of the most popular species including tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, melons, beans, peas, and a selection of lesser-known horticultural treasures.

This highly accessible, succinct, and beautifully illustrated full-color reference contains:

• An introduction to the Market Gardener Method—a proven formula for successful, small-scale biointensive microfarming suitable for everyone from hobbyists to professionals
• An overview of the characteristics, history and uses of the major families of fruiting vegetables such as curcurbits (gourds), fabaceae (legumes), and solanaceae (nightshades)
• A detailed cultivation manual featuring Jean-Martin's favourite varieties, covering sowing, transplanting, crop maintenance, harvest, storage, and more.

Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener is a collection of practical handbooks designed to provide everyone from novice gardeners to seasoned farmers with information to grow better, using Jean-Martin Fortier's principles of biointensive, regenerative agriculture at a human scale.

Completely updated, the new edition of this acclaimed guide brings us 33 tours of public art, covering the length of the island, from the Cloisters and Harlem in northern Manhattan, to Central Park and the museum mile, to Rockefeller Center and Chelsea, and all the way down to the southern tip at Battery Park City. This indispensable guide also covers the outer boroughs, from Snug Harbor, Staten Island to the Socrates Sculpture Park and the Noguchi Museum in Queens, from Wave Hill in the Bronx all the way to the botanical gardens in Brooklyn.
The perfect guidebook for residents and tourists alike, Harrison and Rosenfeld uncover nooks and crannies off the beaten track alongside favored treasures, reminding us all why New York City is the art capital of the world.
Artwalks in New York contains:
Completely revised and updated entries, including seven new walks, reflecting the ever-changing city Includes over 25 walking tour maps, directions, and suggested visitation hours Listings of museums, art and auction galleries, art-filled public spaces, hotel lobbies, gardens, restaurants, subway stations, public sculpture and murals, and more Hundreds of interesting facts, anecdotes, and tidbits about New York City art from two expert guides

A complete guide to tomato cultivation from seed selection to harvest.

Nutritious, versatile, and bursting with flavor, tomatoes are a perennial favorite of both home gardeners and market farmers.

Beautifully illustrated and highly accessible, this succinct guide from renowned market gardener Jean-Martin Fortier brings you his pro tips and tricks, ensuring a plentiful and profitable tomato harvest. Coverage includes:

• A celebration of the humble tomato and its fascinating history
• An inspiring collection of outstanding heirloom and hybrid tomato varieties for you to grow
• Strategies for planning, preparation, and propagation suited to every grower
• Cultivation methods including transplanting, fertilizing, irrigation, pruning, trellising, disease prevention, and organic pest control
• Picking at the peak of freshness, extending harvests, and processing ideas to let you enjoy that homegrown tomato flavor all winter long.

Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener is a collection of practical handbooks designed to provide everyone from novice gardeners to seasoned farmers with information to grow better, using Jean-Martin Fortier's principles of biointensive, regenerative agriculture at a human scale.

Essential tools for successful vegetable growers

Often overlooked by both home and market gardeners, the right farm and garden tools are essential for cultivating success. Vegetable Garden Tools: A Grower's Guide will help you select the appropriate equipment for your unique situation, drawing on "The Market Gardener Method." This method, developed by Jean-Martin Fortier, is a proven formula for successful, small-scale, high-yield microfarming.

This highly accessible, succinct, and beautifully illustrated full-color handbook features:

• Recommendations for garden tools and implements for every stage of cultivation—from soil preparation and sowing to planting, crop maintenance, and harvesting.
• A focus on "low-tech" hand tools that are inexpensive, sustainable, and allow for working the soil while respecting biodiversity. These tools increase productivity and efficiency, and improve ergonomics.
• Detailed information on the function, benefits, and operation of each piece of equipment, accompanied by over 100 explanatory drawings.
• Specific advice and tips to get the most out of your garden tools and farm equipment, whether you are using them in a family garden or on a diversified market farm.

Vegetable Garden Tools: A Grower's Guide is a keystone title in the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener series. This curated collection of practical handbooks is designed to provide everyone from novice gardeners to seasoned horticulturalists and farmers with the information they need to grow better using Jean-Martin Fortier's principles of biointensive, regenerative agriculture at a human scale.

Unleash the potential of your yard by transforming it into a beautiful and vibrant space offering a continuous supply of food

Journey into the good food movement by unleashing the potential of your yard, transforming it into a beautiful and vibrant space that offers a continuous supply of food.

Using dozens of beautiful color photographs and watercolor planting charts, infographics, and landscaping designs, Your Edible Yard is the comprehensive how-to guide you need to turn your yard into a bountiful feast.
It features:

• Practical gardening methods and maintenance from weeding to wintering, including foodscaping, container gardening, and saving seeds
• Permaculture principles including soil building techniques, garden preparation, raised beds, and natural/non-toxic DIY pesticide alternatives
• How to integrate culinary and medicinal herbs, edible flowers, mushrooms, fruits, vegetables, and wild edibles
• Gardening resources: where to go for help, buy seeds, and source supplies on a budget
• Instructions on preserving, fermenting, freezing, drying, and making simple medicines
• General tips, such as how to find loopholes in laws preventing edible front yards.

Whether you're a beginner or experienced gardener in the city, the suburbs, or the country, this manual is the A-Z guide for how to make use of the space you have, highlighting the colorful and abundant array that edible landscapes promise.

Evergreen your landscape with the beauty and benefits of conifers

Growing Conifers is a beautifully photographed, comprehensive gardening guide for selecting and cultivating conifers. Coverage includes:

• Conifer taxonomy, classification, and geographic distribution
• Selecting conifers for size, shape, color, and texture
• Best practices for placement and planting of trees, shrubs, and groundcovers in urban and rural gardens
• Growing needs and low-input maintenance
• Building healthy soil, minimizing water stress, and integrated pest management
• Benefits of conifers including habitat, water and air quality, carbon sequestration, aesthetics, and food.

Conifers are often overlooked in gardening and landscaping in favor of deciduous trees and shrubs. Yet conifers come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors and offer tremendous aesthetic and ecological benefits for any garden.

Growing Conifers is an essential, comprehensive resource for gardeners and landscape professionals looking to develop beautiful, sustainable landscapes.

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New Society Publishers is an activist, solutions-oriented publisher focused on publishing books to build a more just and sustainable future. They pride themselves on holding the highest environmental standards of any publisher in North America. In 2002, they committed to printing all their books (including their full color books) on uncoated 100% post-consumer recycled paper, processed chlorine-free, with low-VOC vegetable-based inks. In doing so, the Growing Conifers' print run alone saved 66 fully grown trees, 5300 gallons of water, and 28,000 lbs of greenhouse gases. When you buy New Society Publishers' books, you are part of the solution!

A totally new category of plants — as easy to grow as tomatoes, perfect for gardeners

Cannabis prohibition is ending around the world, and there’s a new bud in town — auto-flowering cannabis. As easy to grow as tomatoes, auto-flowering cannabis is the perfect new plant for the home gardener who has limited time and space.

Unlike commercially grown cannabis, auto-flowering cannabis plants are small, container-grown, day-neutral, require no special lights or equipment, and grow incredibly fast – from seed to harvest in as little as seven weeks.

Written by gardening authority Jeff Lowenfels, DIY Auto-flowering Cannabis is a full-color, illustrated guide for everyone wanting to grow their own. It covers:

• The history and benefits of auto-flowering cannabis
• Its origins, chemistry, and growing habits
• Step-by-step growing methods, including tips, tricks, supplies, and seed sourcing
• How to harvest, process, and breed your new plants.

If you are a home gardener or already grow cannabis, you too can learn how to grow this new plant with ease, all while reaping its many benefits, such as harvesting it for medical use, recreational use, or simply as a decorative, sweet-smelling flower to enjoy. If you like to grow tomatoes, you will love growing auto-flowering cannabis.

Connecting with plants—a guide to belonging, ecological resilience, and permaculture design

The plants in our world not only nourish and sustain us, they root us within our human and ecological communities. Mulberries in the Rain explores these vital connections, combining evocative storytelling with detailed crop profiles and permaculture design tools to mentor and inspire you.

Central to permaculture is the art of creating beneficial relationships—crafting inherently regenerative food systems modeled on nature. As growers, we tend to interpret this idea literally—think companion planting, edible ecosystems, and food forests. Where do social relations and community-building fit in?

Authors and permaculture experts Ryan Blosser and Trevor Piersol:

• Demystify plant guilds, showing how to create biodiverse, low-maintenance ecological systems
• Integrate tried-and-tested permaculture frameworks such as the Scale of Permanence and the Ecology of Self, with tools from economics, mental health, and other disciplines
• Provide cultivation primers for permaculture plants classified according to function, identifying out- standing anchor plants, nitrogen fixers, barrier plants, beneficial attractors, and dynamic accumulators
• Use plant narratives to illustrate how our inner landscapes are inextricably intertwined with the way we show up in the world.

This unique, beautifully illustrated handbook breaks new ground in social permaculture while providing a deep hands-on dive into creating thriving foodscapes. Required reading for anyone who seeks a deeper connection to people and place, and a more resilient future.

Useful and practical gardening advice.
–Jeff Lowenfels, author, the Teaming Series and DIY Autoflowering Cannabis

Microscopic organisms are as important to plant growth as water and light. Microbe Science for Gardeners highlights the essential role of microbes in plant biosystems and soil health, providing practical how-to gardening advice for enhancing plant microbiomes, and debunking common gardening myths.

Going beyond soil biology to examine the crucial role of microorganisms in cultivating a productive garden, this accessible guide covers:

• The interrelationships in microbe populations and between microbes and plants
• Understanding microbes such as bacteria, yeast, mycorrhizal fungi, and protozoa, both in the rhizosphere and above ground
• How common practices such as tilling, crop rotation, and mulching affect the microbe community
• How the savvy gardener can encourage beneficial microorganisms while discouraging those that cause disease or other undesirable effects
• An objective analysis of popularized practices such as controlling fungal-to- bacterial ratios and applying biostimulants, compost tea, or plant probiotics
• Prevention and cures for dozens of bacterial, viral, and fungal plant diseases.

Whether you're a home gardener, market gardener, or micro-farmer, Microbe Science for Gardeners will help you leverage the incredible power of the mighty microbe to grow healthy, strong, thriving plants.

The complete year-round guide to organic vegetable production for market gardeners and small-scale farmers — now fully revised and updated

Sustainable Market Farming is the comprehensive, go-to reference for serious growers in every climate zone. Extensively revised and updated, this brand new, full-color edition is packed with detailed information on everything from planning to harvest, and features in-depth profiles of a full range of crops. This complete practical guide includes:

• The most current farm-specific planning and organizational skills for running a profitable, successful, and professional enterprise
• Cutting-edge information describing new and efficient techniques, strategies for season extension, approaches for integrated pest, disease, and weed management, and preferred climate-smart, disease-resistant varieties to add to your repertoire
• Updated guidelines for improving and maintaining soil quality and finding resilient, regenerative solutions to align farming practices with new environmental challenges
• Precise growing guides for a cornucopia of vegetables addressing: selection of varieties; soil, water, and fertility requirements; sowing, cultivation, crop rotation, and succession planting; common pests and diseases; harvest and storage; and more.

Whether you are a beginning grower, an aspiring market gardener, or an established enterprise seeking to take your operation to the next level, Sustainable Market Farming is the book you will find yourself returning to again and again throughout a long farming career.

Level up your growing with the right tool for every job

Searching for effective, economical ways to level up your growing? The Garden Tool Handbook is the essential guide to choosing the right hand tool for the right job at the right time, and maximizing quality, efficiency, and profitability on your farm, homestead, or market garden. This richly illustrated, full-color resource is a must-read for serious gardeners, professional growers, edible landscapers, and anyone who wants to grow better.

Carefully selected garden equipment is the first line of defense against pests, weeds, and drought; a helping hand at all stages of cultivation; and your greatest ally in crop management. Edible ecosystem expert Zach Loeks reveals the valuable information you need to optimize productivity including:

• How to ensure a smooth workflow and prevent labor bottlenecks by understanding the garden operation cycle from planting to harvest
• The advantages of tackling repetitive seasonal tasks with hand tools, such as ergonomic benefits, increased output, and more enjoyment
• Multifunctional equipment and professional tool systems for every operation from start-up to pro grower
• How smart, timely tool acquisitions can provide a high return on investment and improve your bottom line
• Case studies, farm use scenarios, maintenance and storage guidelines, pro tips, and more.

The future of food is small-scale agriculture, and innovative, affordable garden implements adapted to specific crops, environments, and production styles are the key to revolutionizing our food system.

Everyone's guide to using the power of science to produce healthier and tastier fruits and vegetables

From garden to fork, Food Science for Gardeners is everyone's guide to optimizing the quality of garden produce and preparing the most delicious and nutritious food possible.

Beginning with a high-level overview of food quality and nutrient density, this invaluable resource then takes a deep, but accessible, dive into:

• The essential nutrient groups as well as phytonutrients and their anti-oxidant properties
• Factors affecting food safety such as pesticides, microplastics, bacteria, and other forms of chemical and biological contamination
• The pros and cons of a host of approaches to food storage and preservation, as well as an extensive variety of cooking methods
• Gardening techniques for growing nutritious food
• A complete section dedicated to the best growing methods for common fruits and vegetables.

Whether you're a home gardener, local food enthusiast, or small-scale farmer, Food Science for Gardeners demystifies the science of food, enabling you to put the best quality vegetables and fruits on your plate.

Understand how plants actually work to become a more successful, confident gardener. Science-based guide explains plant biology in practical terms, enabling gardeners to make informed decisions about watering, fertilizing, pruning, and troubleshooting based on how plants actually function.

Why Plant Science Knowledge Multiplies Garden Success:

When you understand what plants need and why, every garden decision becomes logical rather than guesswork. This knowledge prevents costly mistakes and maximizes plant health and productivity.

What You'll Understand:

• Plant nutrition fundamentals for providing exactly what plants need, when they need it
• Water management science that prevents both drought stress and root rot
• Photosynthesis optimization through proper light management and leaf care
• Growth regulation through pruning, training, and environmental manipulation
• Stress identification and response for healthier, more resilient plants

Practical Garden Applications:

Gardeners with plant science knowledge report fewer plant losses, better harvests, and greater confidence in trying new plants and techniques.

Garden smarter, not harder, through scientific understanding. Essential for gardeners ready to move beyond following rules to understanding principles.

Create your own compost and grow better plants.

With breathtaking clarity, Compost Science for Gardeners demystifies composting practices and helps readers determine the best technique for their unique situation. This comprehensive science-based book is your key to building healthier soil and growing better plants.

Using plain language and easy-to-follow instructions, this essential resource distills and blends the latest scientific research with the author's many decades of knowledge and experience into manageable form, debunking a host of common gardening myths along the way. Learn about:

• The role of composting in the ecological cycle
• Compostable materials to incorporate and those to avoid
• Browns and greens vs the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio
• The full range of composting methods, including cold and hot composting; composting in piles, bins, and tumblers; and pit and trench composting
• Keyhole gardening, food digesters, vermicomposting, bokashi, eco-enzyme fermentation, and more
• The relative merits and impact on the environment of each composting technique
• Using finished compost to improve soil health

Anyone can compost. Whether you are a balcony or backyard gardener, market gardener, small-scale farmer, or homesteader, or even if you are simply looking for a way to keep organic matter out of the landfill, this book will show you how to do it simply, safely, and sensibly.

The complete how-to guide for growing herbs indoors for health, vitality, and culinary zest

Learn how to grow herbs for health, for taste, and for life with Your Indoor Herb Garden, a comprehensive guide to growing herbs indoors. Featuring all the tips and guidance you'll need to grow and harvest organic culinary and medicinal herbs right in your own home. Coverage includes:

• Techniques for successfully growing herbs indoors
• Equipment, soil types, and feeding
• Why indoor herb gardens are an important part of life, from cooking to healing
• Herbal medicine
• Herbal history and lore
• An annotated glossary of herbs, including their common uses, growing requirements, cautions, and more.

Growing herbs indoors leads the list of the healthiest and most useful indoor activities we can do. Herbs can clean the air of toxins, provide oxygen and humidity, and help vanquish our psychoses. And they're tasty!

This is the ideal practical guide for gardeners and cooks with an interest in healthy living and fresh flavors looking to create their own indoor herb garden anywhere.

Community-based initiatives to preserve and protect our food supply

Historically, seed companies were generally small, often family-run businesses. Because they were regionally based, they could focus on varieties well-suited to the local environment. A Pacific Northwest company, for example, would specialize in different cultivars than a company based in the Southeast. However the absorption of these small, independent seed businesses into large multinationals, combined with the advancement of biotechnology resulting in hybrids and GMO seeds, has led to a serious loss of genetic diversity. The public is now at the mercy of the corporations that control the seeds.

In the past few years, gardeners have realized the inherent danger in this situation. A growing movement is striving to preserve and expand our stock of heritage and heirloom varieties through seed saving and sharing opportunities. Seed Libraries is a practical guide to saving seeds through community programs, including:

• Step-by-step instructions for setting up a seed library
• A wealth of ideas to help attract patrons and keep the momentum going
• Profiles of existing libraries and other types of seed saving partnerships

Whoever controls the seeds controls the food supply. By empowering communities to preserve and protect the genetic diversity of their harvest, Seed Libraries is the first step towards reclaiming our self-reliance while enhancing food security and ensuring that the future of food is healthy, vibrant, tasty, and nutritious.

Cindy Conner is a permaculture educator, founder of Homeplace Earth and producer of two popular instructional gardening DVDs. She is also the author of Grow a Sustainable Diet .

Build a natural pond for wildlife, beauty, and quiet contemplation

Typical backyard ponds are a complicated mess of pipes, pumps, filters, and nasty chemicals designed to adjust pH and keep algae at bay. Hardly the bucolic, natural ecosystem beloved by dragonflies, frogs, and songbirds.

The antidote is a natural pond, free of hassle, cost, and complexity and designed as a fully functional ecosystem, ideal for biodiversity, swimming, irrigation, and quiet contemplation.

Building Natural Ponds is the first step-by-step guide to designing and building natural ponds that use no pumps, filters, chemicals, or electricity and mimic native ponds in both aesthetics and functionality. Highly illustrated with how-to drawings and photographs, coverage includes:

• Understanding pond ecosystems and natural algae control
• Planning, design, siting, and pond aesthetics
• Step-by-step guidance for construction, plants and fish, and maintenance and trouble shooting
• Scaling up to large ponds, pools, bogs, and rain gardens.

Whether you're a backyard gardener looking to add a small serene natural water feature or a homesteader with visions of a large pond for fish, swimming, and irrigation, Building Natural Ponds is the complete guide to building ponds in tune with nature, where plants, insects, and amphibians thrive in blissful serenity.

Robert Pavlis , a Master Gardener with over 40 years of gardening experience, is owner and developer of Aspen Grove Gardens, a six-acre botanical garden featuring over 2,500 varieties of plants. A well-respected speaker and teacher, Robert has published articles in Mother Earth News , Ontario Gardening magazine, the widely read blog GardenMyths.com, which explodes common gardening myths and gardening information site GardenFundamentals.com.

The Zen approach to mowing lawns, wacking weeds, harvesting crops, and building modern homesteader abs!

Dreading the weekly law mow? Need to whack the weeds in your orchard? Cringing at the drudgery and incessant blare of the mower? Imagine instead long sweeps of an elegant scythe cutting your grass and pesky weeds in blissful, meditative silence.

That is the power of the "scythe revolution" sweeping North America.

Written by a master of the scythe, professionally trained in Austria, and drawing deeply on research into original German texts, The Scything Handbook brings centuries-old scything techniques into the twent-first century.

Detailed illustrations cover scythe assembly, perfecting the stroke, blade selection, honing, peening, and aftercare, as well as background on how scythes are forged. Also covered are the basics of making hay and mulch by hand, and how to grow and harvest gains at the home and homestead scale for self-sufficiency.

Scything promotes health, flexibility, mind-body connection, and a meditative contemplation of the natural world while producing beautiful lawns and luscious mulch for the modern gardener and homesteader. This is truly an heirloom tool to master.

Join the scythe revolution!

Ian Miller followed a career in music with a degree in Agroecology from UC Santa Cruz. During a two year stint on a biodynamic farm in Austria he learned how to scythe and delved into historic scything texts in German. He has worked for Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa and is developing a twemty-acre scythe-based homestead near Decorah, Iowa, where he grows his own grain for bread making and makes hay by hand.

Written for the novice home gardener as well as the seasoned pro, this fully illustrated, comprehensive guide to container gardening will show you how to save up to 70% on your produce bill—wherever you live!

Build your own passive solar greenhouse for year-round food production in any climate

The Year-round Solar Greenhouse is the one-stop guide to designing and building greenhouses that harness and store energy from the sun to create naturally heated, lush growing environments even in the depths of winter, covering principles of solar greenhouse design and siting, glazing material properties and selection, controlling heat loss, ventilation, and construction methods. Additionally, an in-depth section covers sustainable ways of heating the greenhouse without fossil fuels, including using thermal mass and storing heat underground with a ground to air heat exchanger.

Variations include attached solar greenhouses, earth sheltered greenhouses, plus integrating hydroponics and aquaponics. More than a dozen case studies from across North America provide inspiration and demonstrate specific challenges and solutions for growing year-round in any climate.

Fresh, local nutrient-dense fruits vegetables are hard to find in winter in cold climates. Growing warm-weather crops like tomatoes, bananas, avocados, and other perennials is nearly impossible using conventional structures. The solution for millions of backyard and small-scale commercial growers is self-heating solar greenhouses.

Grow your own food, anytime, anywhere using the power of the sun!

Harness the power of permaculture to thrive, not just survive, the great transition from fossil fuels

Caught between climate change and a fossil fuel-driven economy that demands ever more growth, the world faces a great transition—by design or disaster—away from fossil fuels to an alternative renewable energy future.

But what proven tools are available to aid in making a successful, deliberate transition to resilient and sustainable living?

For the first time, the power of permaculture design has been brought to bear on the great transition problem. In the process, acclaimed permaculture teacher and designer Ross Mars has distilled his considerable knowledge into the ultimate permaculture resource for resilient and sustainable living.

The Permaculture Transition Manual is packed with information on permaculture design principles, gardening, soil building, nutrient-dense food growing, including top plant and tree selections for all climatic zones. Coverage extends to rainwater harvesting and irrigation, human waste management, and strategies for rural properties plus a unique focus on applying permaculture to small urban spaces for decluttering and efficient food growing. Also covered are hand tools, food preservation, alternative renewable energy production, low-carbon housing, and a plethora of nearly forgotten and cozy skills such as soap making, basket weaving, seed saving, rope and candle making, and more.

On the desert island of a world in decline this is the one-stop guide to vibrant, resilient and sustainable living you'll want to take with you.

Ross Mars is a scientist with a PhD in Environmental Science, entrepreneur and highly-regarded permaculture teacher and designer. Author of The Basics of Permaculture Design , he manages Candlelight Farm, a permaculture demonstration site and training center in Western Australia.

Row by row - maximize your harvest and feed your soil by developing a customized plan for your garden

Everyone loves to prepare a meal with ingredients fresh from their own garden. But for most of us, no matter how plentiful our harvest, homegrown produce comprises only a fraction of what we eat. And while many gardening guides will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about individual crops, few tackle the more involved task of helping you maximize the percentage of your diet you grow yourself.

Grow a Sustainable Diet will help you develop a comprehensive, customized garden plan to produce the maximum number of calories and nutrients from any available space. Avoid arriving in August buried under a mountain of kale or zucchini (and not much else) by making thoughtful choices at the planning stage, focusing on dietary staples and key nutrients. Learn how to calculate:

• Which food and cover crops are best for your specific requirements
• How many seeds and plants of each variety you should sow
• What and when to plant, harvest and replant for maximum yield.

Focusing on permaculture principles, biointensive gardening methods, getting food to the table with minimum fossil fuel input, and growing crops that sustain both you and your soil, this complete guide is a must-read for anyone working toward food self-sufficiency for themselves or their family.

“Filled with illustrations and fascinating information, Polish Herbs, Flowers & Folk Medicine is a veritable treasure trove of history, how-to, and inspiration.”—The Midwest Book Review

Taking the reader on a historical tour of herbs and flowers used in Poland throughout the centuries, this carefully-researched volume captures the unique history and role of plant life once essential to the people of Poland. Wander through monastery, castle and cottage gardens with acclaimed Polish-American author Sophie Hodorowicz Knab as she explores the growth of medicine and pharmacies and provides information on the use of over 100 plants, used in healing as well as in daily life and seasonal holidays throughout the year.

You’ll find legends, cautionary tales, and love potions, as well as a chapter devoted to wedding plants and herbs. There are home remedies for everything that ailed the people of Poland, from acne to arthritis, relaxants to rejuvenators, and heartache to heartburn. Gleaned from old Polish herbals, Knab provides recipes for balms to treat ailments such as stress, insomnia, slow metabolism, perspiring feet, limp hair and oily skin. Also included are recipes for homemade herbal vinegars, soups, syrups, and liqueurs, including elderberry syrup, homemade Benedictine, and a healing vodka drink from Gdansk.

This revised edition includes new information and research as well as new illustrations and color photographs. All plants are listed alphabetically according to their English common name, followed by Latin botanical name and common Polish name. There is an index of scientific names for quick reference. History buffs, gardeners, and anyone interested in their Polish ancestry will find much to explore here.

A state-by-state analysis of the expansion of medical marijuana access in the United States

As of 2023, thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized the medical use of marijuana. Twenty-three have legalized recreational use, supporting what is now a flourishing multibillion-dollar industry. In Green Rush, Daniel J. Mallinson and A. Lee Hannah offer a fascinating history of cannabis legalization in America, highlighting the people, states, and policies that made these victories possible.

With sharp insight, Mallinson and Hannah explore the backdrop to this sea change in policy, including shifts in public opinion, growing opposition to the War on Drugs, the promise of new revenue streams, and more. They examine the complex web of state actors—and the steps they took—to chart a path forward for marijuana legalization, from grassroots activists and interest groups to elected officials and other key policymakers.

Mallinson and Hannah show us how states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia not only created, legitimized, and spread medical marijuana policy but also learned from each other’s successes and failures throughout the process. As marijuana legalization increasingly finds its way onto state ballots, Green Rush offers fresh insight into how we got here as a country and where we are going—one state at a time.

Tenryu-ji: One of Kyoto's most revered Zen temples and a monument to Japanese history, viewed through its monks, gardens, prayers, and art.

This illustrated study of Tenryuji, ranked number one among the five great Zen temples of Kyoto and a major destination for tourism and worship, weaves together history, design, culture, and personal reflection to reveal the inner workings of a great spiritual institution.

Looking at Tenryuji's present as a mirror to its past, and detailing the famous pond and rockwork composition by renowned designer Muso Soseki, Norris Brock Johnson presents the first full-length "biography" of a Zen temple garden.