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My Top 10 Books That Inspired Our Project

November 22, 2018

MY TOP 10 BOOKS THAT INSPIRED OUR PROJECT

At the beginning of 2017 Permanent Publications sent us an email expressing an interest to publish a book on our polyculture trials and experiences. I’d been thinking about writing this book for some time and responded with gleeful enthusiasm.  I’m happy to announce that we have signed the publishing agreement and have already started to work on the book.  The working title of the book is Polycultures –  Designing and Creating Polyculture Gardens, Farms and Landscapes, and you can find a draft overview of what the book will cover here.

As I prepare for a winter of writing I’m looking around at the books on our shelves and seeing that many of the books that inspired us to get us started with our project are from authors published by Permanent Publications. So after a little deliberation on whether or not I should do a cheesy 10 top blog, here it is. I should really be spending this time writing the book, but I can’t help but to write this post as a small token of my appreciation and respect to all the incredible authors and people at work, and to Permanent Publications for facilitating the dispersal of so much wonderful and useful knowledge.  So here is my top 10 books that have inspired our project.

The order does not denote how good I think the books are, it’s more based around the order I read the books.

1 – THE PERMACULTURE GARDEN –  LINDA WINDROW

Top of the list and the book that got me in and going with our project is by the ingenious, wonderfully pragmatic and endlessly enthusiastic  Linda Windrow – The Permaculture Garden.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Remarkable Rhubarb

March 19, 2018

REMARKABLE RHUBARB

Eat the stalks, not the leaves! Wise words to adhere to when you’re going for the over-the-top tart perennial known as rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum). This member of the Polygonaceae family has perfectly edible stalks that look similar to celery, but has leaves that are quite poisonous. Rhubarb leaves contain some seriously high levels of oxalic acid, which is a nephrotoxin and can lead to kidney damage, and even potentially death if enough of it is consumed.

This striking vegetable, although often considered a fruit by many, is thought to have originated in China, as far back as 2700 B.C.E as an ingredient in many healing remedies. Around the 1st century the Romans and Greeks were also using rhubarb to treat various illnesses. In the 13th century Marco Polo was noted to have uncovered the rhubarb in his travels. As the centuries passed, the bitter rhubarb was brought to Europe via the East Indian trade as an important ingredient in medicinal tonics. By the 18th century, rhubarb had made its way to North America and was grown and used mainly for medicinal purposes. It wasn’t until the 19th century that rhubarb was utilized as a culinary item.

Generally we think of rhubarb as red in color, and think color is indicative of sweetness. However, rhubarb can be freckled pink and even come in green. Often the green rhubarb produces higher yields and sweetness is variety (not color) dependent. It just seems the red varieties are more popular with people and so that’s what we see in the stores more often than not. I do agree that the crimson hues add some nice color to the dishes rhubarb is added to.

Whether you like your rhubarb red, green, or with a few pink freckles, growing it is easy peasy. However, there are few things you should consider before planting. It is a perennial and will come back each year (some live to 20), so make sure you have a dedicated space for it in your garden. Also, don’t harvest any stalks during the first year of growing so the rhubarb can become established. This will help you have better success in years to come. Rhubarb does best in locations that have winters with temperatures that go below 40°F and where summer temperatures aren’t excessive.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

A Global Wiki of Perennial Crops, Polycultures, and Food Forest Sites

January 18, 2016

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A GLOBAL WIKI OF PERENNIAL CROPS, POLYCULTURES, AND FOOD FOREST SITES

Designing perennial polycultures (guilds) can be a big challenge. It can be hard to find information on perennial crops and support species. There is a need for information, sample polycultures, and design templates.

The Apios Institute is a collaborative network of farmers, gardeners, and researchers focused on integrated perennial-crop agroecosystems (variously known as multistrata agroforests, tropical homegardens, food forests, and forest gardens).

Since 2007 we have worked to address these key needs on our site, a crowdsourced tool featuring perennial crops, polycultures, and food forests. Thus far our focus has been on humid temperate systems, but we are raising funds to expand to a global resource. At the same time we’ll be implementing a major overhaul of our site. This will include the open-access addition of the 700 perennial crop species from Eric Toensmeier’s forthcoming book The Carbon Farming Solution.

Please visit our campaign site and consider making a contribution or sharing our video.

WHO WE ARE AND WHY WE’RE DOING THIS?

Our goal is to transform agriculture and mitigate climate change. We believe we can do this while providing food and other products through the creation of agroecosystems that function at the highest level of biodiversity and ecosystem services – the “epitome of sustainability.”

global wiki

The Apios Institute, the organization running this campaign, exists to share experience and information about perennial crop polyculture systems in all climates of the world. The Apios Institute works through a collaborative network of farmers, gardeners, and researchers, sharing inspiration and filling critical knowledge gaps regarding the design and management of these systems.

Our current Wiki has worked for thousands of people in cold climates — but it is incomplete. Many people around the world have asked us to expand to include other climates.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Olduvai IV: Courage
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Olduvai II: Exodus
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