Permaculture for the Rest of Us : Abundant Living on Less Than an Acre

Many of us want to increase our self-sufficiency, but few have access to the ideal five sunny, gently sloping acres of rich, loamy, well-drained soil. Jenni Blackmore presents a highly entertaining, personal account of how permaculture can be practiced in adverse conditions, allowing anyone to learn to live more sustainably in a less-than-perfect world. With a rallying cry of "If we can do it, you can too," she distills the wisdom of twenty years of trial and error into a valuable teaching tool. The perfect antidote to dense, high-level technical manuals, __Permaculture for the Rest of Us__ presents the fundamental principles of this sometimes confusing concept in a humorous, reader-friendly way. Each chapter focuses on a specific method or technique, interspersing straightforward explanations with the author's own experiences. Learn how to successfully retrofit even the smallest homestead using skills such as: No-till vs. till gardening, composting, and soil-building Natural pest control and integrating small livestock Basic greenhouse construction Harvesting, preservation, and more Ideal for urban dreamers, suburbanites and country-dwellers alike, this inspirational and instructional "encouragement manual" is packed with vibrant photographs documenting the author's journey from adversity to abundance. **Jenni Blackmore** is a farmer, artist, writer and certified Permaculture Design Consultant who built her house on a rocky, windswept island off the coast of Nova Scotia almost twenty-five years ago and has been stumbling along the road to self-sufficient living ever since. A successful micro-farmer, she produces most of her family's meat, eggs, fruit, and vegetables, in spite of often-challenging conditions. Introduction -- 1. Slug wars or how it all began -- 2. The nitty gritty on building dirt -- 3. To dig or not to dig -- 4. Green thumbing it 101 -- 5. Easy starter crops -- 6. What? And when? -- 7. Gotta getta greenhouse -- 8. Warm wussies -- 9. Quack, cluck and gobble -- 10. Ethics and principles -- 11. Harvest time: the reason for it all!;Many of us want to increase our self-sufficiency, but few have access to the ideal 5 sunny, gently-sloping acres of rich, loamy, well-drained soil. Jenni Blackmore presents a highly entertaining, personal account of how permaculture can be practiced in adverse conditions, allowing anyone to learn to live more sustainably in a less-than-perfect world. With a rallying cry of .If we can do it, you can too, . she distills the wisdom of 20 years of trial and error into a valuable teaching tool. The perfect antidote to dense, high-level technical manuals, Permaculture for the Rest of Us presents the fundamental principles of this sometimes confusing concept in a humorous, reader-friendly way. Each chapter focuses on a specific method or technique, interspersing straightforward explanations with the author's own experiences. Learn how to successfully retrofit even the smallest homestead using skills such as: No-till vs. till gardening, composting and soil-building; Natural pest control and integrating small livestock; Basic greenhouse construction; Harvesting, preservation and more. Ideal for urban dreamers, suburbanites and country-dwellers alike, this inspirational and instructional .encouragement manual is packed with vibrant photographs documenting the author's journey from adversity to abundance.

Adventures on the road to real-world self-sufficiency

Many of us want to increase our self-sufficiency, but few have access to the ideal 5 sunny, gently-sloping acres of rich, loamy, well-drained soil. Jenni Blackmore presents a highly entertaining, personal account of how permaculture can be practiced in adverse conditions, allowing anyone to learn to live more sustainably in a less-than-perfect world. With a rallying cry of "If we can do it, you can too," she distills the wisdom of 20 years of trial and error into a valuable teaching tool.

The perfect antidote to dense, high-level technical manuals, Permaculture for the Rest of Us presents the fundamental principles of this sometimes confusing concept in a humorous, reader-friendly way. Each chapter focuses on a specific method or technique, interspersing straightforward explanations with the author's own experiences. Learn how to successfully retrofit even the smallest homestead using skills such as:

• No-till vs. till gardening, composting and soil-building
• Natural pest control and integrating small livestock
• Basic greenhouse construction
• Harvesting, preservation and more.

Ideal for urban dreamers, suburbanites and country-dwellers alike, this inspirational and instructional "encouragement manual" is packed with vibrant photographs documenting the author's journey from adversity to abundance.

"Not every aspiring permaculturist has access to 5 gently sloping acres of rich, loamy soil. Jenni Blackmore presents a highly personal, entertaining account of how permaculture can be practiced in adverse conditions. Permaculture for the Rest of Us describes how to retrofit even the smallest homestead, illustrating the fundamental principles of this sometimes confusing concept in a humorous, reader-friendly way."-- Provided by publisher