Dave Jacke has been a student of ecology and design since the
1970s, and has run his own ecological design firm—Dynamics
Ecological Design Associates—since 1984. Dave is an engaging and
passionate teacher of ecological design and permaculture, and a
meticulous designer. He has consulted on, designed, built, and
planted landscapes, homes, farms, and communities in the many parts
of the United States, as well as overseas, but mainly in the
Northeast. A cofounder of Land Trust at Gap Mountain in Jaffrey,
NH, he homesteaded there for a number of years. He holds a B.A. in
Environmental Studies from Simon's Rock College (1980) and a M.A.
in Landscape Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design
(1984). You can learn more about his work at
edibleforestgardens.com. He lives in Keene, New Hampshire.
Eric Toensmeier is the award-winning author of Paradise Lot and
Perennial Vegetables, and the co-author of Edible Forest Gardens.
Eric is an appointed lecturer at Yale University, a Senior Fellow
with Project Drawdown, and an international trainer. He presents in
English and Spanish throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico,
Guatemala, and the Caribbean. Eric has studied useful perennial
plants and their roles in agroforestry systems for over two
decades, and cultivates about 300 species in his urban garden. His
writing can be viewed online at perennialsolutions.org.
HortIdeas-
We reviewed the first volume of this two-volume set in September
2005 HortIdeas--in fact, we were so impressed by it that we devoted
that month's Book Reviews section entirely to it. Until Mycelium
Running--another amazingly important and well-done book--appeared,
we were considering doing the same this month for the second volume
of Edible Forest Gardens, which is much thicker (by more than 270
pages!) than the first volume. The shorter length of this review
certainly does not reflect the relative importance of the
volumes--we recommend that anyone interested in experimenting with
temperate-zone "gardening in the image of the forest" should study
both. Although Volume 2 ostensibly emphasizes "practical"
information building on the "theoretical" ideas in Volume 1, it is
clear that both volumes are essentially theoretical. That's because
(as we discussed in our review of Volume 1) nobody has yet
convincingly shown the viability of forest gardening (relying
heavily on perennial crops) in temperate areas as a sustainable
alternative to conventional gardening (based mainly on annual
crops). Jacke and Toensmeier are, admirably, attempting to
disseminate ideas gathered from a variety of source that might
enable such viability. Ultimately, at this stage development of
temperate-zone forest gardening techniques, virtually all
approaches are experimental and in need of validation. We simply do
not currently know their limitations. Understanding that knowledge
on "nest practices" for temperate-zone forest gardening needs to be
established experimentally can be exciting for those willing and
able to adopt the scientific attitude: no matter how they turn out,
the results of an experiment, performed appropriately (meaning
especially that adequate control treatments are provided), are
never "bad." In other words, we think that would-be temperate-zone
forest gardeners who are sincerely interested in helping to
establish this novel form of agriculture should proceed by trying
to test some of Jacke and Toensmeier's numerous design, site
preparation, species choice and establishment, and management
guidelines. We view Volume 2 of Edible Forest Gardens not as a
recipe book for what works but rather as a compendium of
possibilities for what could work--an invitation par excellence to
experimentation instead of complacency. Right on!
Plants and Gardens News--Patricia Jonas, Brooklyn Botanic
Garden-
But even if you grow enough organic food to feed yourself, are you
doing what's best for the ecosystem? "Many drawbacks of modern
agriculture persist in organic farming and gardening," Dave Jacke
and Eric Toensmeier write in Edible Forest Gardens, because they do
not "mimic the structure of natural systems, only selected
functions." Even Quail Hill Farm members are still harvesting
mostly annual crops grown in plowed fields. Jacke and Toensmeier
offer a radical vision for stepping out of the conceptual continuum
of conventional agriculture and organic farming. They point to the
productivity of temperate forests--which is twice that of
agricultural land in terms of net calories--and take that as their
design model. Building on Robert Hart's classic book, Forest
Gardening, and incorporating permaculture practice, Jacke and
Toensmeier propose a garden where many species of edible perennial
plants are grown together in a design that mimics forest structure
and function. Edible Forest Gardens is an ambitious two-volume work
whose influence should extend well beyond ecologists and
permaculturists and, in the best of all outcomes, reach into the
mainstream. Volume one lays out the "Ecological Vision and Theory
for Temperate Climate Permaculture," and it also includes a very
useful analysis of existing forest gardens (one only 50 by 90 feet)
and a tantalizing 30-page appendix of "top 100" species. As of this
writing, volume two, which focuses on practical design and
maintenance considerations, is just being released, but on the
evidence of volume one, I have no doubt the set will be an
indispensable reference for gardeners and farmers for decades.
"When people have food gardens," the authors write, "they usually
are tucked out of sight and out of view of the neighbors. They rely
on external inputs of energy, nutrients, insect and disease
controls, and water and are based primarily on annual plants. For
some reason, growing food is considered unsightly, unseemly,
possibly antisocial, and in some towns and cities, illegal! The
tremendous infrastructure we have built in our cities and towns
reflects a culture and horticulture of separation and isolation."
The consequences of such attitudes about growing food have been
disastrous, and each of us can contribute to the repair effort.
Jacke and Toensmeier say that the principles of forest gardening
can be applied even in a tiny urban yard or on a rooftop.
Containers of edible perennials and annuals on a rooftop are not
most farmers' idea of agriculture, but I grow nearly 20 percent of
the authors' top 100 species and intend to look for ways to take
this small start much further. And what about chocolate and
oranges? Clearly there are foods that cannot be grown in a
temperate forest. "We do not expect forest gardening to replace
regular gardening or the foods we know and love," the authors
admit. "Just how far we can take forest gardening in supplying food
for ourselves is not yet determined." Finding the answer may be the
most optimistic work gardeners and farmers can do.
"These will be the benchmark works in the field for many years. The
level of scholarship and meticulous footnoting is unsurpassed by
anything I've seen in permaculture literature."--Toby Hemenway,
author of Gaia's Garden
"A tree de force! A must-have set of books for anyone serious about
polyculture, integrated organic garden and landscape design,
permaculture in the temperate zones and, of course, food forests.
The charts of condensed information alone are worth the price of
admission. The best book on these topics in years Keep these books
within arm's reach at all times!"--Robert Kourick, author of
Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally
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