Product Description

Volume Two of the two-volume set, Edible Forest Gardens, focuses all of its attention on effective design and practice. It organizes the ecological strategies from Volume One in a way that is accessible to gardeners and designers. It offers a unique 'pattern language' for forest garden design, and provides detailed advice for how to design, prepare the site for, plant, and maintain your forest garden. Volume Two also includes a unique Plant Species Matrix and several associated appendices which offer a wide-ranging catalog of the ecology, uses, and ecosystem functions of the best temperate-climate forest garden plants, and a few edible mushrooms, from around the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #159287 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 672 pages

Review
HortIdeas
by Greg Williams
January 2006
We reviewed the first volume of this two-volume set in September 2005 HortIdeas—in fact, we were so impressed by it that we devoted that month’s Book Reviews section entirely to it. Until Mycelium Running—another amazingly important and well-done book—appeared, we were considering doing the same this month for the second volume of Edible Forest Gardens, which is much thicker (by more than 270 pages!) than the first volume. The shorter length of this review certainly does not reflect the relative importance of the volumes—we recommend that anyone interested in experimenting with temperate-zone “gardening in the image of the forest” should study both.
Although Volume 2 ostensibly emphasizes “practical” information building on the “theoretical” ideas in Volume 1, it is clear that both volumes are essentially theoretical. That’s because (as we discussed in our review of Volume 1) nobody has yet convincingly shown the viability of forest gardening (relying heavily on perennial crops) in temperate areas as a sustainable alternative to conventional gardening (based mainly on annual crops). Jacke and Toensmeier are, admirably, attempting to disseminate ideas gathered from a variety of source that might enable such viability. Ultimately, at this stage development of temperate-zone forest gardening techniques, virtually all approaches are experimental and in need of validation. We simply do not currently know their limitations.
Understanding that knowledge on “nest practices” for temperate-zone forest gardening needs to be established experimentally can be exciting for those willing and able to adopt the scientific attitude: no matter how they turn out, the results of an experiment, performed appropriately (meaning especially that adequate control treatments are provided), are never “bad.” In other words, we think that would-be temperate-zone forest gardeners who are sincerely interested in helping to establish this novel form of agriculture should proceed by trying to test some of Jacke and Toensmeier’s numerous design, site preparation, species choice and establishment, and management guidelines. We view Volume 2 of Edible Forest Gardens not as a recipe book for what works but rather as a compendium of possibilities for what could work—an invitation par excellence to experimentation instead of complacency. Right on!

Plants and Gardens News
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
by Patricia Jonas
But even if you grow enough organic food to feed yourself, are you doing what's best for the ecosystem? "Many drawbacks of modern agriculture persist in organic farming and gardening," Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier write in Edible Forest Gardens, because they do not "mimic the structure of natural systems, only selected functions." Even Quail Hill Farm members are still harvesting mostly annual crops grown in plowed fields. Jacke and Toensmeier offer a radical vision for stepping out of the conceptual continuum of conventional agriculture and organic farming. They point to the productivity of temperate forests—which is twice that of agricultural land in terms of net calories—and take that as their design model. Building on Robert Hart's classic book, Forest Gardening, and incorporating permaculture practice, Jacke and Toensmeier propose a garden where many species of edible perennial plants are grown together in a design that mimics forest structure and function.
Edible Forest Gardens is an ambitious two-volume work whose influence should extend well beyond ecologists and permaculturists and, in the best of all outcomes, reach into the mainstream. Volume one lays out the "Ecological Vision and Theory for Temperate Climate Permaculture," and it also includes a very useful analysis of existing forest gardens (one only 50 by 90 feet) and a tantalizing 30-page appendix of "top 100" species. As of this writing, volume two, which focuses on practical design and maintenance considerations, is just being released, but on the evidence of volume one, I have no doubt the set will be an indispensable reference for gardeners and farmers for decades.
"When people have food gardens," the authors write, "they usually are tucked out of sight and out of view of the neighbors. They rely on external inputs of energy, nutrients, insect and disease controls, and water and are based primarily on annual plants. For some reason, growing food is considered unsightly, unseemly, possibly antisocial, and in some towns and cities, illegal! The tremendous infrastructure we have built in our cities and towns reflects a culture and horticulture of separation and isolation." The consequences of such attitudes about growing food have been disastrous, and each of us can contribute to the repair effort. Jacke and Toensmeier say that the principles of forest gardening can be applied even in a tiny urban yard or on a rooftop. Containers of edible perennials and annuals on a rooftop are not most farmers' idea of agriculture, but I grow nearly 20 percent of the authors' top 100 species and intend to look for ways to take this small start much further.
And what about chocolate and oranges? Clearly there are foods that cannot be grown in a temperate forest. "We do not expect forest gardening to replace regular gardening or the foods we know and love," the authors admit. "Just how far we can take forest gardening in supplying food for ourselves is not yet determined." Finding the answer may be the most optimistic work gardeners and farmers can do.

From the Publisher
"While the scope of the permaculture concept has expanded from its initial focus on forest gardening, it is exciting to see how the authors have brought together the ecological theory and practise necessary to further this aspect of the permaculture agenda." David Holmgren, cofounder of permaculture and author Permaculture: Principles and Practices Beyond Sustainability

"...Perhaps as important as it's applied ecological contributions is its psychological gifts of hope and visions of achievable, more meaningful ways of living in a post-oil world." Dr. Stuart Hill Foundation Chair of Social Ecology, University of Western Sydney, Australia

"Your book blows me away! So much work, so much depth. I hear the voice of this good and gentle earth in Edible Forest Gardens . . . and am excited to keep reading more!" Michael Phillips, author The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist and coauthor The Herbalist's Way.

From the Inside Flap
Introduction: A Forest Gardener’s Tool Kit

The forest gardening vision brings humans and nature into a mutually enhancing embrace as co-creative participants in our shared health and evolution. In volume 1 we explored this vision as a practice that re-integrates humans with the natural world, and that both supports and requires a paradigm shift if we are to succeed. Forest gardening uses the overarching strategy of ecosystem mimicry to achieve this re-integration. Mimicry also helps us achieve our more practical goals of high, diverse yields of food and other products; a self-renewing, self-fertilizing, self-maintaining garden; and healthy ecosystem function. To mimic the forest, we must clearly comprehend the structure and function of our forest ecosystem models.

We have therefore also examined forest ecosystem architecture, social structure, underground economics, and vegetation dynamics. Our understanding of forest ecology supports the potential of the forest gardening idea, showing that mimicry of those structures and functions will help us achieve our goals. Numerous specific implications for design and management also arise from that understanding. However, these implications arise in a pattern that is not entirely useful or accessible to us as gardeners. We must organize these ideas in a way that is relevant to the specific issues gardeners face, and provide strategies for success in a format gardeners can easily approach. We must do that without losing touch with the new worldview and understandings we want to embody. This is no small task.

The tools of a forest gardener differ from those of a vegetable gardener in significant ways. Our tools have much to do with design and planning, with thinking things through before we act. What do we need to know to design our forest gardens? How do we deal with weeds in this new gardening paradigm? How do we prevent and manage pests and diseases? What are the key points to consider in designing an overyielding polyculture? We must prepare the ground exceptionally well before planting, or we will be more likely to position our ecosystem for poor performance. What site preparation problems might we face and how might we solve them? What are the key ideas we will need to keep in mind to manage our forest gardens well?

This volume of Edible Forest Gardens is essentially a "forest gardener’s tool kit" designed to answer the above questions. As such, there are many tools in it, some of these you may not need—at least not right away. You will have to pick and choose which tools fit your needs in the moment, but you have them all available to you in case you need them.

We begin by taking the forest gardening vision to a deeper, more practical, and more specific level. Chapter 1 thus explains exactly how we mimic forest ecosystem structure and function, and as such it is an overview of forest gardening’s conceptual and ecological foundations and its most essential strategies and techniques. However, these strategies and techniques are organized as a bridge between ecological theory and gardening practice, to provide easy reference as well as guidance for design and management problem solving. Those of you who have read volume 1 will find this chapter a useful catalog of the implications arising from the ecological analysis there, with a few new ideas thrown in for good measure. If you have not read Volume 1, this chapter will get you up to speed on what it’s all about. The chapter also foreshadows the rest of this volume.

Chapter 2 provides a different, but related summary of forest gardening by offering patterns for design. This pattern language or "idea bank" provides visceral and visual building blocks with which you can create your forest garden. The patterns presented there embody much of what arose from our ecological analysis in volume 1. There is some overlap between these first two chapters, but their purposes are different, and we expect people to reach for each chapter at different times, in different ways, for different reasons. Take what you like and leave the rest.

Chapters 3 and 4 offer conceptual frameworks and step-by-step assistance for the process of designing your forest garden. These chapters present the most robust, full-fledged, all-out design process we can think of, with variations and options for different circumstances. Please do not think you have to do everything we suggest there; think of these chapters as a menu from which you can create your own meal "from soup to nuts." If you have a big appetite, great! If not, great! Pick and choose your design process from what we have on tap. Just remember that, as David Holmgren says, "Design is as natural as breathing, and, like breathing, most of us can learn to do it better."2 We hope what we offer will help you acknowledge and value your own inherent design genius as well as help you wield that genius with greater skill and humility.

Almost any site will present challenges to the designer that require either adaptive design or preplanting site preparation. Chapter 5 provides a comprehensive discussion of many of these challenges and how we can deal with them. Good site preparation can make an immense difference in the long-term productivity and health of growing plants, thereby making your design and planting investments yield a better return and reducing the work required to run the garden ecosystem. This information ties into the design work you will go through in chapters 3 and 4, and will help you get your forest garden off to a good start.

Proper garden establishment also helps maximize the yield of your garden. In addition, it minimizes losses resulting from poor planting and aftercare practices. Chapter 6 discusses how to stake out your design; acquire high quality planting stock; organize for planting day; plant trees, shrubs, and herbs properly; and care for them afterward. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details, and the details of stock selection, plant placement, how you dig and refill holes, and how you lay mulch can make a huge difference in the survival of your plant allies. Use this chapter to take your planting practices to the next level.

Once your garden is planted and established, you enter the longest and most enjoyable phase of all, living with your forest garden. We only wax poetic in this chapter a little because we focus our discussion on the practicalities of management and maintenance. However, when we come around to the subject of coevolution, we begin connecting to the bigger potentials inherent in the forest garden for ourselves, our culture, and our world, and the potentials are great. Given what we know has worked, and given what we know is possible, who wouldn’t wax poetic? A low-energy, high-yield agriculture is a possible aim for the temperate humid forest biomes of the world; the Garden of Eden is a practical prospect for any of us in our lifetimes—if we only apply our human energy and intellect.

The appendices follow our poetic interlude to provide solid grounding for applying our human energy and intellect to this task. There we offer design data for over 600 useful and functional plant species, as well as data on edible mushrooms, beneficial animal habitat requirements, and informational, organizational, and supply resources to aid your quest.

We hope that you find this second volume of Edible Forest Gardens a useful companion and tool kit on your journey, that you will develop the tools you find here and share your developments with others. We are powerful beings that both see and create the world in our own image. May we find in ourselves the beauty, diversity, cooperation, dynamism, abundance, and promise that the forest garden embodies so we can remake our world in such a likeness.

1. Mollison and Holmgren, 1978, page 1. 2. Holmgren, 2002, page 15.

Customer Reviews

A stupendous amount of relevant info under one cover
The more I use this book the more I realize how much is in here. There's not a time that I turn to the book for a specific piece of information and don't end up reading into other aspects that relate to the question at hand. The authors have chased down most any question to their logical, and integrated, extents. It's quite astounding that this much necessary and applicable information exists now under one cover. An essential reference for ecological land use. Many thanks to people dedicated enough to take the time and effort to share this much insight and information with the world at large. I am sure it will prove to be a crucial resource for survival many decades into the future.

Permaculture, a must
Very nice for practical information. I hope to build a edible forest soon. I will see the results in some years.