FOOD PRODUCTION¶
General – Sustainable Agriculture & Gardening
-Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas has an extensive list of free publications that include pdfs for growing specific crops, fruit trees, herbs, etc and dealing with specific pests, as well as sections on agroforestry, greenhouse production, and various pdfs on soil and water management. Site is geared toward certified organic production. They also have an ecological pest management searchable online database. Check out their Companion Planting Guide, their Biointensive Integrated Pest Management handbook – and their pamphlet on Cover Crops and Green Manures Various other publications are linked below.
-Cooperative Extension Services – tons of resources on an extensive list of topics, mostly related to agricultural systems, food and biosecurity, plant propagation, and biotechnology
-Core Historical Literature of Agriculture – cornell U’s historical database of over 2,000 books on agriculture from the late 19th to early 20th century. Includes organic farming classics like Soil and Health and Farmers of 40 Centuries
-Gardening information from seeds of change, the organic seed business offering open-pollinated, heirloom and traditional vegetable, flower and herb seeds. Extensive list of publications and how-to’s on soil, planting, weeds, harvesting and more.
-Agroecology in Action – agroecology is a scientific discipline that uses ecological theory to study, design, manage and evaluate agricultural systems that are productive but also resource conserving. Lots of resources and info here.
-On a Green Mountain with Masanobu Fukuoka zine
-The Nighttime Gardener’s Guide zine
-Ghetto Garden zine
-Plants For A Future – A database of 7000 edible, medicinal and useful plants.
-www.foodnotlawns.com – Food Not Lawns
-www.sdfoodnotlawns.com – San Diego Food Not Lawns
YEAR-ROUND GROWING
-Scheduling Vegetable Plantings for Continuous Harvest – Brief but good resource from ATTRA on extending yr growing season. Gotta eat all year! Also check out Season Extension Techniques for Market Gardeners.
-4-season Growing from Seeds of Change
Aquaculture
-aquaponics.com basic info
-www.vsb.cape.com/~nature/greencenter/aquaculture.html The New Alchemy Institute (researched aquaculture and sustainable systems from 1972-91) list of publications – some free, others available to order.
-www.webofcreation.org/BuildingGrounds/aqua/TOC.html The Urban Aquaculture Manual by Jonathan Woods.
Tempoculture — container gardening
-journeytoforever.org/garden_con.html
Urban Gardening
-millcreekurbanfarm.org
-moregardens.org – NYC urban gardening (with a guide on starting your own squatted community garden)
-Zones and Sectors in the City by Bart Anderson
Mushroom Growing
-www.dacres.org/pdfs/MushroomCultivationGuide.pdf – A Guide to Outdoor Mushroom Log Cultivation: Highlighting Shiitake, Reishi, and Tree Oyster Mushrooms, By Jenn McCoy. Dorchester, NH: D Acres of New Hampshire, 2004.
-Mushroom Cultivation and Marketing – Intro to growing mushrooms and resources, from ATTRA.
-Recommended Reading
Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets
Agroforestry
ATTRA Agroforestry Overview – Principles of agroforestry, practices, case studies and resources. Forest gardening, a retirement plan for 7 generations!
Building Local Food Systems¶
Community Food Security and Autonomy
-The Community Food Security Coalition offers training and technical assistance, grants, and a host of very useful publications, some of which have been added here:
-Building Community Food Security – Lessons Learned from Community Food Projects, 1999-2003.
-Community Food Security – A guide to concept, design and implementation.
-What’s Cooking In Your Food System? – A guide to community food assessment.
-Evaluating Farmers Markets in Low-Income Communities – A report entitled “Hot Peppers and Parking Lot Peaches,” from the Community Food Security Coalition.
-Community Supported Agriculture – ATTRA publication on the history of CSAs, models that have emerged, tips and case studies. Buy a share or start yr own!
-Bringing Local Food to Local Institutions – Resource guide for farm-to-school and farm-to-institution programs. Hell yeah!
-ATTRA’s searchable local food directory! Plug in with folks in yr local area.
Start a Farm or Community Garden!
-The Greenhorn’s Guide For Beginning Farmers – A fantastic resource with sections on apprenticeships, access to land, business aspects, urban agriculture, DIY projects and more. Stay posted on upcoming film and networking from the Greenhorns, which provide a host of resources for and information about young farmers in the US.
-Starting A Community Garden – tips from the American Community Gardening Association. There’s a community garden startup guide in both English and Spanish.
-New Farmers’ Training Manual – A training manual for volunteers, volunteer coordinators and trainers at community gardens and city farms. A great and thorough resource from Northey St City Farm in Australia.
-Rebel Tomato – plotting our future one garden at a time. Tons of tools resources for starting a community garden, school garden, mentorship program and more. Not to be missed.
-Start A Permaculture Nursery – A How-To for Starting a Permaculture Nursery and Why You Should by Douglas Bullock
How to Start A Seed Bank
Wild Foraging¶
-zinelibrary.info/feral-forager – Feral Forager zine
-www.alanmuskat.com – Website of Alan Muskat, an “epicure of the obscure” and “stand-up mycomedian.” Has an edition of his book on mushrooms available for free download, as well as links to a huge number of online mushroom keys and other resources for identifying edible mushrooms.
Greenhouse Design¶
-doorgarden.com/10/50-dollar-hoop-house-...-house – $50 greenhouse!
-Composting Greenhouse With Straw-bale Foundation
-Solar Greenhouses Resource List www.attra.org/attra-pub/solar-gh.html from ATTRA – covers greenhouse design, construction and materials options, and offers tons of resources.
Seeds¶
SEED SAVING
USEFUL COMMERCIAL SITES
Soil Health¶
Sustainable Soil Management – Building and maintaining healthy soils, from ATTRA. ATTRA publication details alternatives to chemical fertilizer additives, including plant and animal by-products, rock powders, seaweed, inoculants, conditioners and others.
-Alternative Soil Amendments
-Alternative Soil Testing Laboratories – includes DIY testing resources.
-Rodale Institute No-Till Revolution has a list of resources on no-till farming.
Compost & Compost Teas
-Notes on Compost Teas – ATTRA publication provides a good intro to compost teas with lots of resources.
-How To Build A Tumbling Composter
Vermicomposting
-Worms for Composting – ATTRA pamphlet on vermicomposting.
Bioremediation
-http://www.soilfoodweb.com/02_resources/c_tea_manual.html Ingham, Elaine. The Compost Tea Brewing Manual. Corvallis, OR: Soil Foodweb, Inc., 2003.
-http://www.bugsatwork.com/xyclonyx/epa_guides/bio.pdf US EPA. Citizens Guide to Bioremediation.
Washington, DC: US Environmental Protection Agency, April 1996.
-worcesterroots.org – The Worcester Roots Project (grassroots bioremediation org.)
-www.starhawk.org/permaculture/NOLA_bio_… – Bioremediation Basics. Starhawk writes from New Orleans.
Biochar
-css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/biochar...
-terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
Humanure – completes the cycle as food returns to the soil
-The entire text of Joe Jenkin’s The Humanure Handbook can be downloaded for free at www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure_cont....
Also, how to build your own $25 (or less) Hinged-Top Humanure Toilet www.jenkinspublishing.com/sawdustoilet....
A wide selection of free videos is also available (www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html)
-Tools to create decentralized composting systems in urban areas www.eawag.ch/organisation/abteilungen/s…
