Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally
Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally

Author: Robert Kourik

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2005-03-30

Total Pages: 143

ISBN-13: 1603581154

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First published in 1986, this classic is back in print by popular demand. It is the authoritative text on edible landscaping, featuring a step-by-step guide to designing a productive environment using vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs for a combination of ornamental and culinary purposes. It includes descriptions of plants for all temperate habitats, methods for improving soil, tree pruning styles, and gourmet recipes using low-maintenance plants. There are sections on attracting beneficial insects with companion plants and using planting to shelter your home from erosion, heat, wind, and cold.

The Apple Grower
The Apple Grower

Author: Michael Phillips

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1931498911

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For decades fruit growers have sprayed their trees with toxic chemicals in an attempt to control a range of insect and fungal pests. Yet it is possible to grow apples responsibly, by applying the intuitive knowledge of our great-grandparents with the fruits of modern scientific research and innovation. Since The Apple Grower first appeared in 1998, orchardist Michael Phillips has continued his research with apples, which have been called "organic's final frontier." In this new edition of his widely acclaimed work, Phillips delves even deeper into the mysteries of growing good fruit with minimal inputs. Some of the cuttingedge topics he explores include: The use of kaolin clay as an effective strategy against curculio and borers, as well as its limitations Creating a diverse, healthy orchard ecosystem through understory management of plants, nutrients, and beneficial microorganisms How to make a small apple business viable by focusing on heritage and regional varieties, value-added products, and the "community orchard" model The author's personal voice and clear-eyed advice have already made The Apple Grower a classic among small-scale growers and home orchardists. In fact, anyone serious about succeeding with apples needs to have this updated edition on their bookshelf.

An Unlikely Vineyard
An Unlikely Vineyard

Author: Deirdre Heekin

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2016-04-27

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1603586792

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An Unlikely Vineyard tells the evolutionary story of Deirdre Heekin's farm from overgrown fields to a fertile, productive, and beautiful landscape that melds with its natural environment. Is it possible to capture landscape in a bottle? To express its terroir, its essence of place--geology, geography, climate, and soil--as well as the skill of the winegrower? That's what Heekin and her chef/husband, Caleb Barber, set out to accomplish on their tiny, eight-acre hillside farm and vineyard in Vermont. But An Unlikely Vineyard involves much more. It also presents, through the example of their farming journey and winegrowing endeavors, an impressive amount of information on how to think about almost every aspect of gardening: from composting to trellising; from cider and perry making to growing old garden roses, keeping bees, and raising livestock; from pruning (or not) to dealing naturally with pests and diseases. Challenged by cold winters, wet summers, and other factors, Deirdre and Caleb set about to grow not only a vineyard, but an orchard of heirloom apples, pears, and plums, as well as gardens filled with vegetables, herbs, roses, and wildflowers destined for their own table and for the kitchen of their small restaurant. They wanted to create, or rediscover, a sense of place, and to grow food naturally using the philosophy and techniques gleaned from organic gardening, permaculture, and biodynamic farming. Accompanied throughout by lush photos, this gentle narrative will appeal to anyone who loves food, farms, and living well.

The Ghosts Of Evolution
The Ghosts Of Evolution

Author: Connie Barlow

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2008-08-05

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0786724897

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A new vision is sweeping through ecological science: The dense web of dependencies that makes up an ecosystem has gained an added dimension-the dimension of time. Every field, forest, and park is full of living organisms adapted for relationships with creatures that are now extinct. In a vivid narrative, Connie Barlow shows how the idea of "missing partners" in nature evolved from isolated, curious examples into an idea that is transforming how ecologists understand the entire flora and fauna of the Americas. This fascinating book will enrich and deepen the experience of anyone who enjoys a stroll through the woods or even down an urban sidewalk. But this knowledge has a dark side too: Barlow's "ghost stories" teach us that the ripples of biodiversity loss around us now are just the leading edge of what may well become perilous cascades of extinction.

The Holistic Orchard
The Holistic Orchard

Author: Michael Phillips

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2012-01-10

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 1603584072

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Winner of the American Horticulture Society Book Award "Phillip’s first-hand knowledge anchors this innovative and highly readable book in practical wisdom that both beginner and long-time fruit growers will find invaluable."—Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia’s Garden Many people want to grow fruit on a small scale but lack the insight to be successful orchardists. As The Holistic Orchard illustrates, growing tree fruits and berries is something virtually anyone can do. A holistic grower knows that producing fruit is not about manipulating nature but more importantly, fostering nature. The Holistic Orchard demystifies the basic skills everybody should know about the orchard ecosystem, focusing on: Orchard design Soil biology Organic health management Grafting Planting Pruning Choosing the right varieties for your climate Includes a step-by-step instructional calendar to guide growers through the entire orchard year! Fruit profiles include: pome fruits (apples, pears, asian pears, quinces) stone fruits (cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums) berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, and elderberries) Phillips completely changed the conversation about healthy orcharding with his first bestselling book, The Apple Grower, and now he takes that dialogue even further by exploring: The connections between home orcharding and permaculture The importance of native pollinators Plantings with shade-tolerant berry bushes and other insectary plants Information on cover crops and biodiversity Safe, homegrown solutions to pest and disease challenges All along the way, Phillips' expertise and enthusiasm for healthy growing shines through, as does his ability to put the usual horticultural facts into an integrated ecology perspective. With The Holistic Orchard in your hand you have every reason in the world to confidently plant that very first—or next—fruit tree!