Permaculture in urban Alaska (book chapter)

Applying Permaculture in Alaska: The Williams Street Farmhouse

Saskia Essinger and Matt Oster turned the small barren lot surrounding their home into an urban oasis in the challenging climatic conditions of Anchorage, Alaska. They utilized permaculture principles to design a beautiful, low maintenance garden that provides much of their vegetables and fruits throughout the year. Their garden was so successful that they undertook a challenge to eat entirely local for a year, with a significant proportion coming from their own property, proving that an all-Alaskan diet is possible.

Organic food is better for you (journal)

Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses

  

This study analyzes 343 peer-reviewed publications that indicate statistically significant differences in composition between organic and non-organic crops/ foods. The concentrations of a range of antioxidants were found to be substantially higher in organic crops. Many of these compounds have been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases and certain cancers. Additionally, the occurrence of pesticide residues was found to be four times higher in conventional crops, which also contained significantly higher concentrations of the toxic metal cadmium. Significant differences were also detected for some other minerals and vitamins.

Winter legume rotation improves rice yield (#journal)

Winter legumes in rice crop rotations reduces nitrogen loss, and improves rice yield and soil nitrogen supply

Intensive irrigated rice-wheat crop systems have caused serious soil depletion and nitrogen loss in  China. A possible solution is the incorporation of legumes in rice, but little is known on the impact of legumes on rotation, soil fertility, and nitrogen loss. This study considered the effect of five rice-based rotations on soil nitrogen, rice yield, and runoff loss. Results show that replacing 9.5–21.4 % of nitrogen fertilizer by rape, vetch or bean residues maintained rice yields, and using legumes as a winter crop in rice-bean and rice-vetch combinations increased rice grain yield 5 % while decreasing nitrogen runoff 30–60 %.

Edible perennials in small spaces (book)

Edible Perennial Gardening: Growing Successful Polycultures in Small Spaces

 Do you dream of a low maintenance perennial garden? One that is full to the brim of perennial vegetables that you don’t have to keep replanting, but only have a small space?
Do you struggle with too little time for gardening or controlling the pests and diseases that eat your crops? Do you want to grow unusual vegetable varieties? You can do all of this with Edible Perennial Gardening. Anni Kelsey explains how to source and propagate different vegetables, which plants work well together in a polycultures, and what you can plant in small, shady or semi-shady beds as well as in sunny areas.

Everything you need to know about getting started in growing your own food in a low maintenance perennial garden.
Do you dream of a low-maintenance perennial garden that is full to the brim of perennial vegetables that you don’t have to keep replanting, but have only a small space? Do you want a garden that doesn’t take much of your time and that needs little attention to control the pests and diseases that eat your crops? Do you want to grow unusual vegetable varieties? You can have all of this with Edible Perennial Gardening. Anni Kelsey has meticulously researched the little-known subject of edible perennials and selected her favorite, tasty varieties. She explains how to source and propagate different vegetables, which plants work well together in polycultures, and what you can plant in small, shady, or semi shady beds, as well as in sunny areas.
- See more at: http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/edible_perennial_gardening:paperback#sthash.lWEhoRQk.dpuf

Gardening myths dispelled (book)

Gardening Myths and Misconceptions

Some mythical beliefs run deep into the collective unconscious and once ingrained as “certain facts” in the public domain, they are difficult to question, even when they contain contradictions or are demonstrably untrue. There are many such beliefs in gardening, some with discernible origins in history, some which have established for no obvious reason. In this book Charles Dowding is asking questions, because mythical beliefs hide methods of easier working, for better results.

Allotments are great for soil quality (journal)

Urban cultivation in allotments maintains soil qualities adversely affected by conventional agriculture  

Maintenance and protection of our soil resource is essential for sustainable food production and for regulating and supporting ecosystem services upon which we depend. This study establishes, for the first time, that small-scale urban food production can occur without the penalty of soil degradation seen in conventional agriculture, and maintains the high soil quality seen in urban greenspaces. Given the involvement of over 800 million people in urban agriculture globally, our findings suggest that to better protect soil functions, local, national and international urban planning and policy making should promote more urban own-growing in preference to further intensification.

 

 

Successful organic market gardening (book)

The Market Gardener: A successful grower's handbook for small-scale organic farming

Jean-Martin Fortier is the founder of a micro-farm in Eastern Quebec. Growing on just 1.5 acres, they feed more than 200 families through their thriving CSA and seasonal market stands. In this book he shares the secret of their success: low-tech, high-yield production methods that focus on growing better rather than growing bigger, making their operation more lucrative and viable in the process. Instead of a tractor they opted to stay small-scale, relying on hand and light power tools. The book is a compendium of proven horticultural techniques and innovative growing methods, packed with practical information.

Sustainability discourse in Cuba (#journal)

Peasant, Patriot, Environmentalist: Sustainable Development Discourse in Havana

Private urban agricultural ventures, initially a spontaneous response to food shortages during the Special Period, soon became a state-sponsored project, related to global notions of sustainability. This article explores the role sustainability in the reformulation of the Revolution. Urban gardeners engage with international discourses of sustainability and interact with the Cuban state's articulation of these discourses. While this process forces urban gardeners to adapt to the changing meanings of growing food, it also provides a different language through which gardeners define themselves, especially in the context of a changing relationship with the state.

How to Grow Perennial Vegetables (book)

How to Grow Perennial Vegetables Martin Crawford, £14.95

Perennial vegetables are a joy to grow and require a lot less time and effort than annuals. This book gives comprehensive advice on all types of perennial vegetable, from ground-cover plants and coppiced trees to plants for bog gardens and edible woodland plants

Identifying and Enjoying Edible Weeds (book)

The Weeder'sDigest - Identifying and enjoying edible weeds,

This book is a practical and attractive guide to identifying and using the many edible varieties of weed. It will appeal to gardeners, botanists and horticulturalists, as well as to anyone with an interest in controlling weeds in eco-friendly ways.