Edible Forest Gardens, Volume 1

Dave Jacke has been a student of ecology and design since the 1970s, and has run his own ecological design firm—Dynamics Ecological Design Associates—since 1984. Dave is an engaging and passionate teacher of ecological design and permaculture, and a meticulous designer. He has consulted on, designed, built, and planted landscapes, homes, farms, and communities in the many parts of the United States, as well as overseas, but mainly in the Northeast. A cofounder of Land Trust at Gap Mountain in Jaffrey, NH, he homesteaded there for a number of years. He holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Simon's Rock College (1980) and a M.A. in Landscape Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design (1984). You can learn more about his work at edibleforestgardens.com. He lives in Keene, New Hampshire.Eric Toensmeier is the award-winning author of Paradise Lot and Perennial Vegetables, and the co-author of Edible Forest Gardens. Eric is an appointed lecturer at Yale University, a Senior Fellow with Project Drawdown, and an international trainer. He presents in English and Spanish throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and the Caribbean. Eric has studied useful perennial plants and their roles in agroforestry systems for over two decades, and cultivates about 300 species in his urban garden. His writing can be viewed online at perennialsolutions.org.

Bookwatch-Don't expect the usual light gardening guide reading, Volume 1 of Edible Forest Gardens: Ecological Vision and Theory for Temperate Climate Permaculture packs in serious surveys of the ancient practice of forest gardening, which offers homeowners and gardeners a new way of viewing modern home landscaping and nature. Useful plants can be blended to supply daily needs, the land can be 'untamed' to return support to healthy populations of plant and animal species. Years of experience goes into Edible Forest Gardens; this first volume provides a review of the ecological and cultural foundations for recognizing forest gardening as a viable ecological alternative in modern North America. Dave Jacke runs his own ecological design firm consulting on permaculture and landscapes around the world; his co-author Eric Toensmeier founded the former Perennial Vegetable Seed Company and has worked with the New England Small Farm Institute. A highly recommended pick; especially for college-level and serious collections on permaculture and horticulture.

• List of Tables and FiguresPrefaceIntroduction: An Invitation to AdventureWhat Is an Edible Forest Garden?Gardening LIKE the Forest vs. Gardening IN the ForestWhere Can You Grow a Forest Garden?The Garden of Eden: It Sounds Great, But Is It Practical?An Invitation to Adventure1: The Forest and the TreesThe Primal Forest: A RemembranceGardening the ForestForest RemnantsFeature Article 1: Natives and Exotics: Definitions and QuestionsSuburban EcologyGardening in the Industrial ImageLessons LearnedBox 1-1: Shifting the Burden to the Intervenor2: Visions of ParadiseStudy of the Household: Ecology DefinedTales of MimicryAdvantages of Forest MimicryThe Limitations of Forest MimicsSpanning the Gamut: Images of Forest GardensGoals of Forest GardeningRevision--the Garden of Eden?Box 2-1: The Principle of Functional InterconnectionCase Study 1: Charlie's GardenPart Two: Ecology: Form and Function in the Forest Garden3: The Five Elements of Forest ArchitectureVegetation LayersFeature Article 2: With All These Layers, What Do I Grow in the Shade?Soil HorizonsDensityPatterningDiversitySummaryCase Study 2: Robert's Garden4: Social Structure: Niches, Relationships and CommunitiesSpecies, Species Niches, and Species RelationshipsMulti-Species Interactions: Frameworks of Social StructureFeature Article 3: Natives and Exotics, Opportunists and InvasivesSocial Structure Design: Strategies and AnchorsChapter Summary5: Making A Living In The Dark: Structures of the Underground EconomyThe Anatomy of Self-Renewing FertilityFeature Article 4: Parent Materials: The Soil's Nutritional ConstitutionPlant Roots: Engines of the Underground EconomyThe Soil Food WebSummary: Dabbling In The Underground Economy6: Succession: Four Perspectives on Vegetation DynamicsClassical Linear Succession and ClimaxProgressive Succession to Shifting Mosaic Steady StatePatch Dynamics: Out of Line and Out of BalanceA "Unified Oldfield Theory": Successional CausesFeature Article 5: "Invasive" Plants and the Unified Oldfield TheorySuccession Design: Using the Four ModelsSummary: The Simultaneity of the Four ModelsCase Study 3: E.F. Schumacher Forest GardenConclusion: Elements, Dynamics, and Desired ConditionsAppendicesAppendix 1: Forest Gardening's "Top 100" SpeciesAppendix 2: Plant Hardiness Zone MapsAppendix 3: Publications and OrganizationsBibliographyGlossaryGeneral Index