Books | Magazines & Publications | DVDs and VHS
Permaculture Books
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to
Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway
Gaia's Garden offers a concise, practical,
and inspiring introduction into permaculture. It is
well-written and an easy read. Toby Hemenway, a
permaculture design teacher, creates a nice balance
between both conceptual, and hands-on learning.
There are countless passages that have the ability to
dramatically alter the way we look at nature. Case in
point: there's a stunningly detailed depiction of
"a day in the life of a tree,"
that takes the reader through all of the many
functions that a tree provides in a single day (pg.
59).
The term "succession" is also covered
in-depth. Succession is basically the process by
which more complex life-forms (such as trees) build
upon the support of more basic ones. Specifically, it
is "the progression from bare earth to short
annual weeds to tall perennials" (pg. 20). Nature
is in the business of making forests. What
we were taught to view as "weeds" are
actually plants that are preparing bare soil for
trees to eventually grow, given the proper water and
nutrients. This view of "weeds", for most
of us, is a significant shift in perception.
On a more practical note, Gaia's Garden goes
into great detail on specific permaculture
techniques, such as: organizing your garden in to
"zones", creating and maintaining extremely
fertile soil, and companion/guild planting. The book
also contains numerous helpful charts and
illustrations.
Permaculture: A Designer's
Guide
by Bill Mollison
Early on, Bill Mollison realized that the most
effective means of propagating the permaculture
movement was to create a design course.
This is the permaculture text book,
chock-full of illustrations, covering a vast array of
techniques and climate zones.
This book can be a bit pricey, so you may want to
check your local library, or buy a used copy.
Permaculture: Principles &
Pathways Beyond Sustainability
by David Holmgren
This book is a kind of "permaculture
manifesto." In it, David Holmgren (an
ecologist and co-founder of the permaculture
movement) details twelve of the essential principles
of permaculture design.
Principles & Pathways of Sustainability
moves beyond merely landscape design, into a greater
understanding of how permaculture principles can be
integrated into the larger human ecology.
Other
Permaculture Books and Related Material:
Permaculture DVDs and
VHS
Establishing a Food Forest
with Geoff Lawton
Join Geoff Lawton on a Permaculture
adventure as he demonstrates how to grow a food
forest from start to finish. Over 90 minutes of
quality information to get you on the right track in
creating your own garden of Eden.
Check out the Online Videos section for
video clips from this DVD.
Harvesting Water: The
Permaculture Way
with Geoff Lawton
This video was just released, and is
currently only available in PAL format.
Geoff Lawton is one of the most respected
permaculture design instructors in the world today.
This DVD goes into detail on how to optimize land
design by utilizing permaculture water harvesting
techniques.
Check out the Online
Videos section for video clips from
this DVD.
The Global Gardener
with Bill Mollison
The Global Gardener is a four-part series hosted by
Bill Mollison. Each segment covers a different
bio-region: the tropics, arid lands, cool climates,
and urban.
It's available on both VHS and DVD.
