I can’t explain how much I love this book.
The author, Michael Judd, sent me a copy and asked me to take a look at it. This kind of thing happens with some regularity, so I have this huge stack of books that are already in my “read and review” pile. I know if you’re a nerd like me, this sounds like the best possible problem in the world, but the truth is I feel terrible about just not having the time to tell the world about every book that comes over my desk.
So now I try to set realistic expectations when people tell me they want to send me a book. “I have kind of a long list of books to review, but sure, send it to me. No promises,” I told Michael.
What arrived was the best Permaculture book for true beginners I’ve yet seen. Edible Landscaping With A Permaculture Twist isn’t a definitive guide to permaculture. It doesn’t get poetic about the philosophy of multi-systems care that underlies a Permaculture system. It does not ask you to draw a complex schematic of your home topography before you take shovel to soil.
Instead, it provides clear, actionable techniques that you can use to bring some easy-care Permaculture style into your garden. You know how sometimes authors tell you too much and then you get kinda intimidated and don’t know where to begin? This happens a lot in Permaculture writing because Permaculture includes, like, everything. All the things get balanced and thoughtfully considered in a thriving Permaculture design.
How do you narrow “everything” down into something a beginner can really grok? How do you boil the the complexity of system-stacking and layering and watershed-style irrigation management and cooperative plant guild design and more into something that makes a beginner say, “hey, that looks fun! I can do that!”
This book has done it.
Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist managed to demystify things that have left me confused for years – like how and why to build swales on the contour of your ground and the big picture overview of what to stick together for a happy fruit tree guild.
For the Permacurious beginner like me, a giant table full of every possible nitrogen fixing shrub doesn’t actually help me to understand how to create my own successful guilds. A picture, a basic “recipe” and a list of a few proven guild companions to start with is just right.
This book is full of cheerfully presented but dead-useful advice, illustrations and photos that really help to clarify key Permaculture techniques and make that system of garden design seem eminently do-able at any scale. I really feel like Michael has managed to strip out everything that didn’t need to be in a practical Permaculture primer and capture everything that did.
I am currently planning to rework the perimeter beds around my patch of lawn (soon to be eco-lawn!) into something a little more food-foresty. The chapter on Uncommon Fruits has been so helpful – I feel like someone else has given me the cheat sheet of what to plant.
So, all in all, a great introduction to Permaculture techniques that will be especially useful to the beginning Permaculturist and folks (like me) who prefer a hands-on approach to learning and just want to jump in and see what happens.
This book will give you the info you need to jump into Permaculture successfully without bogging you down in details you probably don’t need to worry about yet (when it comes time to select that perfect nitrogen fixing shrub, the entire internet is there for you).
Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist has a fun, you-can-do-this tone and the book itself is of good production quality, with full-color printed, gloss pages throughout. The fact that there are periodic cocktail recipes in the book doesn’t hurt my estimation of it, either.
Highly recommended.
To give you an idea of what’s covered the book, it’s a easy-reading 143 pages long and covers herb spirals, rainwater harvesting, swales and rain gardens, growing specialty mushrooms, food forests, uncommon fruits, fruit tree care and pruning, grafting, hugelkultur, earthen ovens, how to make cob bricks, and a few thoughts on creating high-margin products from your edible landscape to make a homestead life more financially feasible.
Giveaway!
Michael, the author, is offering up three free copies of his book to readers of NW Edible. To enter to win, go like the Edible Landscaping with A Permaculture Twist page on Facebook (they post all kinds of good info on useful plants).
Then, come back here and comment on this post. Tell me what you’re most interested to learn about edible landscaping or permaculture and confirm that you like the Edible Landscaping page on Facebook. If you hate Facebook and are a social media conscientious objector, that’s fine too, just let me know.
Fine print: Open to US residents only due to shipping costs. One entry per person, additional entires will be disqualified. Three winners will be chosen. Each winner will receive one copy of Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist. Contest open until Wednesday, March 12th, 8 PM PST. Winners will be emailed and will have 24 hours to respond to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen.
Purchase
If you are not a giveaway winner but want to get your hands on a copy of Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist, it’s available on Amazon (check out those reviews! I’m not the only one who loves this book!) or directly from the author. If you buy from Michael, he’ll sign your copy of the book and you’ll get the warm fuzzies of knowing more of your money is going directly to the work’s creator.
All images except cover shot courtesy Michael Judd, used with permission.
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I checked out their Facebook page and am currently lost amidst the excellent articles on their website! Must get more coffee and plan to sit and stay awhile. Thanks for the great tip!
We live on 10 acres of ancient black jack oak forest. We refuse to conduct deforestation here, which has posed a number of challenges in our efforts to become self sustaining. I have been trying to understand and grasp the entirety of Permaculture and just get overwhelmed! THIS book sounds perfect for our needs!
We have started a set of HUGELKULTURE mounds and are next planting a series of Earthboxes. A home made greenhouse and several small plots of garden…yet I know there are ways that we could interact with our land in a more productive, yet ethical, manner!
Ohh and I am a long time follower of NW edible and just found the Facebook page for the book! I am VERY excited!
Thanks for reviewing this book. If I don’t win a copy I’ll have to buy it. I’m really interested in permaculture orchards. I also liked the fb page.
This is exactly what we need to get our garden started! We are building a garden to help feed a bunch of Olympic hopefuls and national team athletes. We’d like it to be something with a decent up front investment that then renews itself in the future with some labor input. Sounds like this book could help a lot! (page like on FB, although normally I object to that sort of thing—much prefer giveaways without social media requirement, as I find it a bit of an encroachment on my privacy).
Would love to learn more basic concepts about permaculture. I am a young, beginning backyard gardener and want to approach it with a well-rounded, informed approach
I have a backyard for the first time in my adult life, and I’m excited (and intimidated) to start gardening (in a new climate: the US southeast). I think permaculture is the way to go, and I’m dedicated to having primarily edible landscaping, but need a practical guide for beginners. This book sounds perfect! Thank you for sharing your review of it (I’ll probably buy it if I don’t win it).
I “liked” Michael’s page on FB, by the way.
Every Spring (should it ever come!) I begin the conflict between quilting time and gardening time! I need to plant less (not least because of the arthritis issues) and in ways that allow me to make the most of what I *am* able to do. I’m not too old to learn some new tricks!
I’m looking forward to trying out planting some yarrow to deal with Japanese beetles that decimated my blackberries last summer.
I am looking forward to some tips on how to tackle our huge yard (which I love) but it can be very over whelming to keep up on it. I would love to hear hints/tips of how to help with care of our yard and gardens
It would nice to have affirmation that a landscape or garden does not have to look like a manicured golf course to be productive and edible.
I am interested in edible landscaping that actually tastes good! Also plants that would do well in our area, Puget Sound. I also want to learn more about permaculture to grow more feed for my goats and chickens, and make my garden a little more self sustaining, to cut back on the time I have to put in annually for food. Thanks for your blog, I just found you when looking for gardeners that live in this area!
I cannot use FB because of my job, but I neeeed this book and for free….I am so tired of not pretty and trying to make things work with less! This book has everything I want to know to revamp my ugly, dying, herb gardens and make the most of my small piece of property and get me food/herbs in the process. Also I read your stuff daily, so that should count for an extra chance to win the book….or something like that.
Wow, this whole Purmaculture landscaping looks intriguing. I live on 1/2 an acre in the suburbs of California and would love to incorporate some of this landscaping into my garden. I currently grow most of my vegetables, herbs and fruit in raised beds and find it so satisfying.
I love my roses and flowers, and manicured yard, but definitely would love to replace some of it which requires so much water. Will definitely purchase this book if I don’t win one. Thank you!
Just liked (and commented) on Michael’s FB page. Next month we’re moving to a long-term rental that just happens to have a fenced garden. This is rural living on Whidbey Island and as you may know our close companions anywhere here are rabbits and deer. The gardens areas and the fenced garden have been let go for a few years so there is lots of work to do. I’m an old time gardener but I’ll take any new tips I can! This book sounds perfect. Thanks for the review!
I have been fascinated by permaculture since I first heard of it, but as you say in your post – where to begin?
The idea of edible permaculture is even more intriguing. I am in the process of clearing (yet more) grass from both front and back yards, and – since I (sigh) live in a neighborhood with a management service that can be a bit annoying about what we can and can’t plant, I’d love to have some new ideas of how to integrate food into a landscape the homeowners’ association won’t complain about.
Thank you!
I need to populate my currently-empty yard with plants that would make me, my dog, and the butterflies and bees happy. I don’t really know how to design my landscape such that it would look good and be good for the environment…oh and did I mention that I need to do this without water because California is experiencing its worst drought? I would love to get this book and learn more about edible permaculture!
P.S. I liked the Facebook page!
I liked Michael’s page on FB! This looks like a great book. I’m going to start putting in trees and a windbreak this year, and I’m trying to follow permaculture principles but it’s so hard to find good examples for Zone 4! Not sure if this would help or not, but I learn by looking at examples, and this sounds like a great resource!
Thank you so much!
There’s a great permaculture org in Canada called Verge Permaculture with a fantastic website that you might get some inspiration for your zone 4 climate.
I confess that I have all the ‘best’ permaculture books on my shelf. My land, however, is still the same mess it always was. I have fantasized about a hundred projects and plans, but am just too intimidated to begin. This book looks like a perfect cure for my overwhelmed brain; Thank you so much for the review! (I ‘liked’ it on FB too).
I liked the page on FB and would love to give this book to my husband who has been looking for ways to repurpose/re-landscape our acreage. Of course then I’ll have to sneak the book from him at times to find out how to help out my orchard guild (as you called it), and how to prettify my water catchment system (currently garbage cans under rain gutters). Thank you for the opportunity and the heads-up on a great, practical book!
I have a fairly blank canvas of a yard and I really want to make it a beautiful edible landscape. Could really use some guidance! =D
I have a fair amount of edible landscaping, but I’d like to take it to the next level and learn about making cob structures, ovens and nitrogen fixing shrubs and the like. Thank you for sharing!
Ive always wanted to build an earth oven, the picture shows the most beautiful version of one Ive ever seen. If I don’t win during the giveaway, I will definitely be buying this book.
Yep, I liked the FP page. Yep, I could really use this book for help with my large yard that needs taming into an edible garden of delights! I’d love to win a copy of this book. Thank you!
I have liked the page on FB as requested, and I’d love to read this book cover-to-cover to learn and be inspired. I’m a condo-dweller anxious to move to an urban farming situation, so everything on the list appeals to me! I was especially excited to see hugelkultur mentioned,too!
Great review of the book. It inspired me to want this book in my growing permie library alongside Mollison, Hemenway, Bane, et al. I’ve taken Geoff Lawton’s PDC and am in the process of building a 24 acre permaculture farm from scratch and it IS overwhelming! I think a book like this is just what I need to help me get over the current state of “analysis paralysis” I am in. A few more cocktail recipes wouldn’t hurt either…
I especially like (and of course I “LIKEd”) Mike’s Deluxe Sheet Mulch recipe as it incorporates wood chips for beneficial fungi. Toby’s bomb-proof recipe doesn’t even mention that! Good idea Michael!
I’m a complete newcomer to the permaculture idea. The literature is overwhelming. You lost me at “bulldozer”. I live on a high, dry, and rocky mountainside in Colorado, where traditional gardening is out of the question, but I would SO like to have a little kitchen garden or herb spiral. This book sounds like the perfect introduction. The FB link is terrific, too, and will help me get started. I just don’t think I can wait until March 12 to see if I get the book!
I liked it on FB, and I want to learn more about building earthen ovens, though that’s probably a long way off still. In the meantime, I want to know more about efficiently using rainwater, which is a luxury in the CO front range.
I don’t have a Facebook account, but I did go and look at some of things he’s posted. What I’d most like to figure out is either easy swales for a rented city backyard, or some other way to work with the wetland that my backyard just really really wants to be this time of year, and still have things like my chickens, annual garden beds, etc. It’s hard finding permaculture ideas that have been scaled down for the urban environment.
This sounds like a very exciting book. We are just starting to wrap our heads around landscaping our first home and I love the idea of food and decorative mixed all together.
This book looks awesome! I’m really excited about reading it. I have been completely obsessed lately with permaculture. I have all of these huge ideas about I what I plan on doing in my backyard this year. I have this HUGE list of perennnial vegetables and fruits that I’ve compiled and studied, I’ve made ridiculously long lists of things I need to get done to make it all happen, I’ve even started ordering plants and seeds from all kinds of weird and random places (because that’s what its seems you have to do to get a hold of these species)…but for some reason, figuring out how to put it all together is really really daunting. I am totally new to the guild-building concept, and having a book that gives me some straight forward advice about what to put together and how, sounds really awesome. I can’t wait to read it. I’ve been gobbling up Eric Toensmeier’s books, and I really love them. But having something a little more basic is probably going to help bring it all together much better.
I’ve been interested in learning more about permaculture, but have yet to really dive in. Sounds like this book would be a great intro! I’m really interested in the section on uncommon fruits, too.
I liked the page on facebook. 🙂
I’m currently living in NW Ohio, but planning on moving to the southwest, so I’ll have a LOT to learn about growing there. I’m interested in learning all that I can with the different soil, but moreso, how to plant and work successfully in drought areas. I’ve alrewady liked the Edible Landscaping with A Permaculture Twist page on Facebook, and would love to win a copy of this book. Thanks for all the wonderful information here! 🙂
I’m interested in learning more about successfully planting in drought conditions, as I’m currently in NW Ohio, but will be relocating to the southwest. I’ll have much to learn.
I’ve LIKED the Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist page on Facebook, and sure would love to win a copy of the book.
Thank you for all the wonderful information that you share. 🙂
Looks like it’s a great book. I’ll have to visit his FB page throughout this next spring and summer. I may have to buy it if I don’t win one! I’m an amateur gardener and need all the help I can get. It looks like the book talks about plant compatibility too, which is what I would like to learn more about.
My husband is the kind of guy who loves theory and detail so his take on permaculture has kind of scared me away…I’m thrilled there is a book for someone like me who needs the information to jump in and just do it!
I haven’t used my personal Facebook page in years. I’m have my hubby like this on Facebook for me.
Thanks for screening that stack of books for us!
I liked the FB page and I see this book as an option of infecting more brains with permaculture. I’d love to read it and then loan it out to a couple friends to get them a little more interested in the subject since it tends to lean more towards the beginner side of things. Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy!
Oh,man, I just lost 45 minutes after clicking over to Facebook! His FB page is super cool. However, I also found out that my favorite author (Patrick Rothfuss) has posted three times to his blog and I hadn’t read those, so that’s a good thing.
I would love to have this book because I have a new place, in a new city, and I’m starting from scratch. Also, that is the prettiest herb spiral I’ve ever seen, I hope I can find some granite cobblestones. . .
I would like learn permaculture A to Z! Hopefully this book will help.
Fantastic sounding book. If I dont win it I wonder if my local library has it. I would love to turn our propety into a more beautiful landscape!
Liked the page, and will get the book by hook or by crook. 😉
Congratulations, Erica!
I would LOVE to have this book! My husband and I are starting a foodscaping business and hope to add some (practical) permaculture design into our set of offered services.
As we refresh the soil and landscape of our little cabin in the woods where we now live – I am interested in establishing native plants and as many “edible” varieties as possible. In place of flower beds I’l figuring out how to plant vegetables that yield throughout a season the tri-fecta of flowers, foliage and food! I think this book would be a good resource to use and share with friends.
I liked the edible permaculture page! I would love to learn how to incorporate one new permaculture concept at a time into my existing garden situation.
Liked the page, would love this book! Hoping to start a permaculture yard within the next few years.
Will need to check this books out. I am embarking on reworking my entire yard to edibles and flowers I love.
Like the facebook page.
Would love this book to help plan our new “yard”!
Like Diana Marie, I am living in the southwest with yearly drought conditions. Might I suggest you look into Scott O’Bar’s “Alternative crops for Dry lands”? He is a permaculturist out of Santa Barbara. He also has an article with Edible Feasts.com
His book is marvelous in the detail of the plants’ adaptations to our 2-25in variations in rainfall.
I too, am overwhelmed by the information out there and would very much like a more simplified version so I can take action! Page liked, comment posted. Thanks!
OMG – this book looks amazing! We started with a mostly blank canvas this year (new house) and are starting to make a permaculture area out of it. It looks like this book is exactly what we need for direction! WOW, it looks amazing all around!