Recommended Links

Allan Savory: How to green the world’s deserts and reverse climate change
This is a GREAT video! Very well-explained. Please watch it and pass it onto others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpTHi7O66pI

Juliette of the Herbs
Here is a neat film on Juliette de Bairacli Levy – an herbalist who recorded plants that heal from peasants and gypsies when no one else was writing it down. Her written works are well worth reading.
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/8638/Juliette-of-the-Herbs

Schauberger and the Magic of Water
Callum Coats explains Viktor Schauberger’s ingenious works, especially with water, harnessing Nature’s simplicity with understanding of the vortex.  This video is long, but well worth the watch! Super cool to understand how water can be used for energy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX2tKwDaWAw

Weeds: Guardians of the Soil
Free pdf online of an out-of-print book. This book teaches the useful aspects of supposed “weeds.” Very good!http://www.naturalsequencefarming.com/press/Weeds%20guardians%20of%20the%20Soil%20%283%29.pdf

Farmers of Forty Centuries
Free pdf online of an awesome book.  This one talks about using natural materials on the land to add fertility to your gardens – which is how farmers in Asia have kept their fields vigorous for centuries.
http://permaculturenews.org/files/farmers_of_forty_centuries.pdf

Large-Scale Permaculture
This website belongs to Mark Shepherd’s operation.  He is a permaculture farmer who practices on a large scale.  Think permaculture can’t be scaled-up? Thank again!
https://www.forestag.com/

Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture
This website promotes Sepp Holzer’s ideas.  He has excellent examples of permaculture practices for our climate.
http://www.holzerpermaculture.us/index.html

Recommended Reading

Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual.  Bill Mollison. 1988. Tagari Publications
This book is the “bible” of permaculture. Wonderful text book!

The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book: Secrets of the Famous Year-Round Mulch Method.  Ruth Stout and Richard Clemence. 1971. Rodale Press
Anything written by Ruth Stout is worth a gander.  She explains how easy a mulching no-till garden is to work.

The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All-Natural Approach to Raising Chickens and Other Fowl for Home and Market Growers. Harvey Ussery. 2011. Chelsea Green
This is an excellent publication on keeping any fowl at any scale.  Ussery explains many methods of using your chickens for more than just eggs and meat.  The only chicken book you need to read!

The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable. Juliette de Bairacli Levy. 1991. Faber & Faber
This lady is cool! She was an herbalist who recorded methods of healing practiced by gypsies and peasants during a time when no one else was paying attention. She was a talented healer of animals in particular. This is the only book you’ll need for animal herbal healthcare.

Creating a Forest Garden: Working with Nature to Grow Edible Crops. Martin Crawford. 2010. UIT Cambridge.
Wonderful book explaining specific steps to take to turn your landscape into a forest garden, full of edible perennial plants.  Great advice for our climate, and good lists of plants to use.

Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Save the World. Paul Stamets. 2005. Ten Speed Press.
Cool book about the importance of fungi in your garden, your woods, your body, and all around you. Mushrooms can even be used to reclaim toxic lands!

The Fifty Dollar and Up Underground House Book. Mike Oehler. 1981. Mole Publishing Company
Any of Oehler’s publications will explain how to build underground, using the earth as insulation and thermal mass, creating a zero-energy or near-zero-energy structure. He also publishes on how to build a greenhouse underground, but you need to read this one before you can understand his other publications.

Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture: A Practical Guide to Small-Scale, Integrative Farming and Gardening. Sepp Holzer. 2011. Chelsea Green.
Desert or Paradise: Restoring Endangered Landscapes Using Water Management. Sepp Holzer. 2012. Chelsea Green.
Any of Sepp’s publications are good.  Sometimes they lack detail, but his books communicate useful ideas.

Passive Annual Heat Storage: Improving the Design of Earth Shelters. John Hait. 2013. Rocky Mountain Research Center.
Excellent book explaining how to use earth to live in a structure that needs no heat, even in cold climates!  Very useful in combination with Oehler’s Underground House book listed above.

Rocket Mass Heaters: Superefficient Woodstoves YOU Can Build. Ianto Evans and Leslie Jackson. 2006. Cob Cottage Company
We are still experimenting with rocket stoves.  There aren’t many publications out there – we wish there were more!  However, lots of information about these on the internet.  Rocket stoves can be tricky. For outdoor use, nothing beats a rocket stove for free easy cooking.  Indoors, we are still experimenting with what can work in our climate.

The One Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming. Massanobu Fukuoka. 1975. NYRB Classics
Any publications by Fukuoka are wonderful. He was a Japanese farmer experienced at natural, easy methods of growing rice. His lessons are useful for anyone growing food.

The Natural Building Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to Integrative Design & Construction. Jacob Racusin & Ace McArleton. 2012. Chelsea Green
This is the best how-to guide on natural building published yet. It has really good depictions of various foundation systems, roof systems, and wall configurations for many natural building methods.  This book is highly recommended.

Around the World in 80 Plants: An Edible Perennial Vegetable Adventure for Temperate Climates. Stephen Barstow. 2015. Permanent Publications.
Use this book to learn about perennial vegetables we can grow here!  What they are, how to grow them, how to cook them!

The Art of Natural Building: Design, Construction, Resources. Joseph Kennedy and Michael Smith. 2001  New Society Publishers.
This is a wonderful comprehensive survey of contemporary natural building methods across the globe, in various climates.  Great read for someone just starting to learn about natural building, or someone who thought they knew all the techniques.

Perennial Vegetables: From Artichokes to Zuiki Taro, A Gardener’s Guide to Over 100 Delicious Easy-To-Grow Edibles. Eric Toensmeier. 2007. Chelsea Green.
We learned so many new plants in this book!  Perennial vegetables are delicious, nutritious, and easier to grow than annuals! This is a must read.Building a Low Impact Roundhouse. Tony Wench. 2001. Permanent Publications.
Accessible book, very short, explaining an extremely cheap and efficient structure you can build with round pole timber.