Last week I posted a list of websites and other resources on community and urban farming. In one of the comments I promised a list of urban farming books. So here it is and to be honest I borrowed a lot from the list at crunchychicken.com, a site which I highly recommend to you as well. I have not read all the books (too busy gardening) but am putting some of them on my Christmas list so that I can go dig into them over the winter months.
1. The Urban Farm Handbook, by Annette Cottrell and Joshua McNichols: the authors share their own food journeys along with those of local producers and consumers who are changing the food systems in the Pacific Northwest. A great book whether you live in the Northwest or not.
2. All New Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew. I loved the original version and still find it to be an extremely useful book for planning my garden though I am not quite as obsessional with the grid as he is.
3. The Essential Urban Farmer, by Novella Carpenter: A helpful guide to all things urban farm related. “From day one to market day”, she gives full disclosure on everything you need to become an urban farmer.
4. Urban Homesteading, by Rachel Kaplan: Expert urban homesteader Sundari Elizabeth Kraft shares her hands-on knowledge of: growing organic foods and preserving them; composting; raising small livestock and chickens; generating electricity and biofuels; and other ways to cut costs and live green.
5. Your Farm in the City, by Lisa Taylor: This book is put out by my local Seattle Tilth. Their Seattle Tilth Northwest Garden Guide has been one of my favourite resources for years and I am looking forward to reading this one too.
6. The complete book of Edible Landscaping, by Rosalind Creasy. This was the first book that I bought on urban farming in the days when few people were talking about it. I still think it is one of the best resources available.
7. The Urban Homestead, by Kelly Coyne and Eric Knutzen: According to Crunchychicken.com, this book covers more than you can possibly imagine and will inspire you to try new things. I have not read it yet but have added it to my wish list.
8. Urban Farm Magazine, This is my favourite magazine on urban farming. (along with YES and Mother Earth).
9. Mother Earth News Magazine, This is another favourite which was the source for the no knead bread recipes I posted recently.
10. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Urban Homesteading, by Sundari Elizabeth Kraft: This book covers the basics as well as everything from composting to clean energy. Again I have not read this but it has jumped to the top of my wish list because of its broad base of information.
Would love to hear about your favourite books and resources too.
7 comments
Great list. Thanks
This is where a Christian Worldview meets, your list and http://timchester.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/the-30th-anniversary-of-urban-harvest/
Pieter thank you for this addition. It is a book I was not aware of – obviously another one to add to my reading list.
I think that urban harvest is of a different type – looks interesting though. I was going to recommend “The Complete Urban Farmer” although its out of print.
Thanks it is not one that I know
Its out of print but available second hand. It has ideas to grow food anyway and some recipes.
Neil
Sounds like my kind of book