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Without further adieu, lets get into 5 more of my favorite permaculture books (and yes, I am slowly chipping away at writing my own book).
Again, this list is not in order of preference. These are all fantastic reads, for various reasons. I am including a few unique books here for those niche topics that I know many of you really enjoy.
6) Edible Forest Gardens - David Jacke with Eric Toensmeier
Dave Jacke probably needs no introduction, but Eric Toensmeier is one smart cookie. He is a major contributor to drawdown.org a website focusing on climate solutions, and is a senior fellow at Land Use Solutions. Both of these men are fantastic contributors to regenerative agriculture, and to have a 2 volume book on Temperate Climate Permaculture is fantastic. I have been heavily influenced by this book, and if you live in a temperate climate, you should definitely check it out. This one is the most expensive book on this list. That being said, I have read this book multiple times and have definitely have got my moneys worth.
This book gets into details! How to create and maximize edge in guild designs. Soil ecosystem. succession planting. There is actually so much information in this book that it's hard to sit down and read it cover to cover. This is a great book to have as a reference tool long after you enjoyed it the first time.
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2PmsDew
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3m9Qc6j
7) Gaia's Garden - Toby Hemenway
I think this was the second book I read after Permaculture One. This one to me is what took it from a designers manual to something I could use. I think I will always enjoy the memories of the state of mind I was in when I was reading this book. I was new to all this stuff, excited to start but no idea what to do. I had planted maybe 4 trees in my life, all ornamentals. I was a BROWN THUMB. Reading this book, my mind began swimming with ideas, and it was sometime in this read where I decided "I'm doing this", and just got started. So in that regard, this book may be considered one of my more influential reads - because it got my off by butt and got me planting. No more analyzing, more action. More life change.
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3u4Y37K
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3fHXJrZ
8) Mycelium Running
If you don't read that title "How mushrooms can help save the world" and don't want to read this book, then I don't want to be your friend.
Paul Stamets may be my favorite human being on the planet who I have never personally met. I'm not sure if this guy is a lunatic, or the smartest man on the planet. This guy to me is like Einstein. His knowledge of fungi is unparalleled on the planet earth, and we may never get another person like him. I feel like we need to find technology to download this man's brain into a computer before his knowledge is lost forever. There is so much mycophobia going around and I believe this is the only reason this man isn't more widely known.
Do yourself a favor and just dive straight down this rabbit hole and become changed forever. I will never see mushrooms the same way again. I believe that mushrooms are possibly the most important kingdom on planet earth. They are the glue that holds all ecosystems together.
Read this book, check out his Ted Talks, listen to his Joe Rogan interview. He's half nuts and half crazy genius. I don't know what more to say about this man and his work. Buy this book. Like, right now. Seriously, you will not regret it. It's a niche topic, but maybe one of the best reads of my entire life.
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3ubrsNS
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3doXtuW
9) The Market Gardener - J. M. Fortier
If you want to start your own permaculture farm and sell to a market, this is your book. In fact, this is probably the first book you should buy. If you want to do this for your living, if you want to grow a business, if you want to be successful doing regenerative agriculture, then this book talks about the finances, the setup, the "how to" of running a successful regenerative agriculture market garden operation. Planting, tools, crops, soil work, succession planting, etc. Many useful charts and appendices.
This is NOT what I'm doing on my project here - I am going for more of a wildlife sanctuary food forest, but that being said even I found it very interesting. J.M. is also an all around awesome guy - he allows WWOOFing opportunities at his farm, he does workshops and talks, he really gives back to the community to help grow permaculture. I like supporting people who support others.
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3ubsIR6
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/39xmC5z
10) One Straw Revolution - Masanobu Fukuoka
Did I mention that this list isn't in order of preference? I saved this one for last, because I believe it is the quintessential permaculture book. The life of Masanobu Fukuoka is one that should be remembered by all of humanity for the rest of time. Born in 1913 this man was doing permaculture before permaculture was permaculture. He was formally educated in soil microbiology and agriculture and devoted his entire life to changing how the world farmed. He was so passionate about it that starting in the late 1970's he started touring and giving speaches and did not stop until just shortly before he died in 2008. A true life's work.
This book is the book you want if you want inspiration. Possibly the most influential book I have ever read in my entire life, if you like permaculture at all, you will adore this book. Every page has quotable text - let me pull some out for you to show you what I mean:
"When it is understood that one loses joy and happiness in the attempt to possess them, the essence of natural farming will be realized. The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."
"Food and medicine are not two different things: the are the front and back of one body"
"At first people ate simply because they were alive and because food was tasty. Modern people have come to think that if they do not prepare food with elaborate seasonings, the meal will be tasteless. If you do not try to make food delicious, you will find that nature has made it so."
"Why do you have to develop? If economic growth rises from 5% to 10%, is happiness going to double? What's wrong with a growth rate of 0%? Isn't this a rather stable kind of economics? Could there be anything better than living simply and taking it easy?"
Those are just 4 quotes I picked out flipping my book to folded pages. This man is a legend. This book is a must read. Period. End stop. If you do not own this book, fix that.
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3wb3uEl
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3donlad
If you enjoyed this, let me know. Consider checking out my Youtube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/CanadianPermacultureLegacy. Consider subscribing and hitting the bell so you get notifications when I post new videos. This next year is going to be one heck of a year, with another few thousand dollars of trees going in, literally hundreds of new wildflowers being added, and always free plant material propagation with various layering techniques, seed saving, guerilla planting, pond work, soil science, pruning, and more. Mostly, just trying to showcase what building your own food forest does for your life, ideally inspiring you to plant your own and change your life forever.
If you want to support the channel even more, you can consider becoming a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfz0O9f_Ysivwz1CzEn4Wdw/join. Money from memberships is what helps fund all these wild plantings of fruit trees in parking lots, schools, parks, etc. Your money goes straight back into nature.
Peace and love all, continue to spread the word of permaculture, and enjoy this sweet life while we have it. Lets all strive to make this world a better place, not just for humans but for all beings who share the planet with us.
Keith