When seeking ideas and solutions to your permiculture and homesteading projects, its always good to have a few key resources to reference and provide inspiration. Here are a few of my favorite books to help in giving guidance and knowledge and make your next project wonderfully successful.
Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual, Bill Mollison
For the hard core permaculture designer. This is more of a reference book than a book you would sit down and read cover to cover. It is filled with incredible detail on designing in every climate. This permaculture book has more information than any other in existence.
The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it, John Seymour
This is a great book for those that are new to homesteading. It is filled with great illustrations and a wealth of information.
Gaia’s Garden, Toby HemenwayThis is the best-selling permaculture book for a reason. It is very enjoyable with great pictures and illustrations. There are also very detailed plant lists that I refer to often. If I were to pick one permaculture book, it would be this one.
The Resilient Farm and Homestead, Ben Falk
For those of you interested in farming or homesteading on more than an acre, this is a great book. It is a little more complicated than Gaia’s Garden, but still understandable for the beginner. The full color photographs are well done.
Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture, Sepp Holzer
This book, while not a great reference manual, provides unique and innovative ideas for a large farm or a small garden. I like the way Sepp uses nature as his guide, cutting through “accepted practices” which are often wrong.
Gardening when it Counts, Steve Solomon
This practical gardening book is great for beginners who want to grow lots of food quickly.
The Holistic Orchard, Michael Phillips
If you want to have a productive orchard without resorting to harsh chemicals, this is the book for you. This book is jam packed with information and full color photos.
The Practical Beekeeper, Michael Bush
If you are interested in raising bees without chemicals, and with the least amount of labor possible, this book will tell you how to do it.
Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens, Gail Damerow
As homesteader, most of us raise some chickens. This book will teach you everything you need to know. I use it as a reference if I ever run into any problems I can’t figure out.
~ Phil Williams
Phil Williams is a permaculture consultant and designer and creator of the website foodproduction101.com. His website provides useful, timely information for the experienced or beginning gardener, landscaper, or permaculturalist. Phil's personal goals are to build soil, restore and regenerate degraded landscapes, grow and raise an abundance of healthy food of great variety, design and install resilient permaculture gardens in the most efficient manner possible, and teach others along the way.
by pdeb