Peak Ready:
Food » Growing It

Most of our food is shipped hundreds, or even thousands of miles. Most of our food production relies heavily on petroleum-based products: fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fuel for machinery and equipment, even plastics for packaging.

Unlike our grandparents, many of us do not grow much (if any) of our own food. We also don't often get our food from nearby farms or producers. If petroleum costs rise drastically, all that could change...

Food: Growing It

Efficient Gardening:

Square Foot Gardening
by Mel Bartholomew
This book shows how to grow a very productive garden in a very limited space, while reducing effort and water use.

The New Organic Grower
by Eliot Coleman
Elliot Coleman describes his very successful system for growing vegetables on 1/2 to 5 acres using natural methods and simple tools. A readable, easy to understand book with good illustrations and references.

Four Season Harvest
by Eliot Coleman
A great book about year-round gardening, even in harsh climates.

Permaculture

Gaia's Garden
by Toby Hemenway and John Todd
This includes practical examples, success stories, and many creative ideas for small-scale permaculture.

The Permaculture Way
by Graham Bell
With a focus on using nature itself to create mutually beneficial plant communities or "guilds", this book will change the way you think about gardening.

Heirloom Seeds (Open Pollinated):

Seed Savers Exchange
Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving heritage and heirloom seeds. They have over 11,000 distinct varieties of seeds available.

Rare Seeds
Their Medium Homestead package (for either northern or southern climates) has over 25 types of vegetables and 60 different varieties for $65.00.

Fruits, Berries, Nuts, etc.:

Raintree Nursery
Specializing in disease resistant fruit trees, but with an enormous selection and range of plants to choose from.

Edible Landscaping
Also specializing in disease resistant fruits, nuts, and berries.

Grains:

Small Scale Grain Raising
This excellent, out-of-print book is available for free download (donations requested by the provider). It describes in detail how to grow corn, wheat, oats, soybeans and a variety of other grains on a small scale. It includes uses, recipes, and information about feeding grains to livestock.

Pest and Disease control

Return to Resistance
by Raoul Robinson
Eye-opening work on low-tech methods for improving natural disease resistance and reducing or eliminating the need for pest control. Free download available here

The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control
by Barbara W. Ellis and Fern Marshall Bradley
Well organized and through book that includes pest control for vegetables, fruit trees and bushes, ornamental plants and trees.

Hoophouses and Greenhouses

Hoop House Greenhouse Kits
Inexpensive supplier of hoop-style greenhouse kits

Poly-Tex Greenhouses
Rigid, durable greenhouse kits at reasonable prices.

Locally Grown Foods:

Local Harvest
The average food item travels 1500 miles to reach your table. Cut the distance by buying from local farmers, organic producers, and community markets. You may just find better quality food right down the road.

Eat Local Challenge
The Eat Locall Challenge chronicles the efforts of everyday people as they try to find and use locally produced foods.

Tools for larger gardens:

Earthway Seeder
Plant more seeds faster with this lightweight push seeder.

Earthway High Wheel Cultivator
This hand implement comes with moldboard plow, twin-end furrow plow, and five-tine cultivator attachments.

Seed Saving:

Seed to Seed
by Suzanne Ashworth and Kent Whealy
This is the definitive guide to saving your own seeds from the garden.

Edible Wild Plants:

Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places
by Steve Brill
This book describes how to find (and use) a variety of useful plants, in the wilderness or in your back yard.

North American Mushrooms
by Orson K. Miller and Hope Miller
An extensive field guide to edible and inedible musrhooms. Illustrations rather than photographs help point out subtle (but sometimes important) differences.

Small Scale Farming:

Contrary Farmer
by Gene Logsdon
An utterly enjoyable book about small-scale, sustainable farming.

Pasture Farming:

All Flesh Is Grass
by Gene Logsdon
A great collection of experience, wisdom and humor, that describes in plenty of detail how to raise livestock on pasture instead of in feedlots.

Raising Chickens:

Chicken Tractor
by Andy Lee and Pat Foreman
How to raise chickens sustainably and build nutrient-rich soil at the same time by using portable pens.

Cutting Hay & Grains:

Scythe Supply - Scythe Outfit
European style scythe outfit for cutting hay, harvesting grains, or just clearing weeds and brush.

The Scythe Book
by David Tresemer
A book on how to buy a scythe, how to use it, and a history of the tool in all it's forms.

Peak Ready:Food » Growing It