|
|
|
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
With today's increased concern for the quality of the food we eat and the
health of our environment, Successful Small-Scale Farming offers a unique and
invaluable perspective on the future of agriculture. Karl Schwenke's message —
that small-scale farms can be cleaner, smarter, and more efficient than
corporate agribusiness — has never been so relevant as it is today.
Written by a master plumber in clear, non-technical language, this guide explains all types of irrigation systems and gives step-by-step installation instructions, includes chapters on freshwater sources, recycling water for irrigation, selecting and installing pumps, moving water by gravity distribution, and building and installing surface, overhead, and buried irrigation systems as well as connecting the system to your home's water supply. The paperback contains 50 black-and-white drawings. return to the Book Barn
Making Your Small Farm Profitable A complete start-up guide for beginning farmers or those seeking profitable alternatives. It covers starting a farm, soils, weather, enterprises, goals and farm planning, marketing, machinery, and management. Learn how to target niche markets and maximize profits per acre. Macher shares proven methods for farming smarter and explores today's new crops, new livestock, and new markets that translate into new ways to make money. Making Your Small Farm Profitable explains how to: * Exploit lucrative niche markets that others overlook
The Farm as Natural Habitat The Farm as Natural Habitat is a vital new contribution to the debate about agriculture and its impacts on the land. Arising from the conviction that the agricultural landscape as a whole could be restored to a healthy diversity, the book challenges the notion that the dominant agricultural landscape - bereft of its original vegetation and wildlife and despoiled by chemical runoff - is inevitable if we are to feed ourselves. Contributors bring together insights and practices from the fields of conservation biology, sustainable agriculture, and environmental restoration to link agriculture and biodiversity, farming and nature, in celebrating a unique alternative to conventional agriculture. Rejecting the idea that "ecological sacrifice zones" are a necessary part of feeding a hungry world, the book offers compelling examples of an alternative agriculture that can produce not only healthful food, but fully functioning ecosystems and abundant populations of native species. Contributors include Collin Bode, George Boody, Brian DeVore, Arthur (Tex) Hawkins, Buddy Huffaker, Rhonda Janke, Richard Jefferson, Nick Jordan, Cheryl Miller, Heather Robertson, Carol Shennan, Judith Soule, Beth Waterhouse, and others. The Farm as Natural Habitat is both hopeful and visionary, grounded in real examples, and guided by a commitment to healthy land and thriving communities. It is the first book to offer a viable approach to addressing the challenges of protecting and restoring biodiversity on private agricultural land and is essential reading for anyone concerned with issues of land or biodiversity conservation, farming and agriculture, ecological restoration, or the health of rural communities and landscapes. "I found the book to be a highly readable, informative book about the public
good nature of agriculture. The editors have done a good job of organizing and
focusing the book, given the many contributors and their varied backgrounds." -American
Journal of Agricultural Economics
The Xeriscape Handbook goes into an area of landscape design not often touched on - landscape design from the plant's point of view. Gayle Weinstein has written a book that will help gardeners and landscape designers at all levels figure out why their planting designs aren't working out as planned and how to start moving in the right direction to achieve desired results. It's in big part due to Weinstein's writing style, which succeeds in making complicated subjects interesting without being overly simple or to scientific. The "root" of the problem is often found in the choices they make in plants for their site. To help people make the best choices, Weinstein's book provides plenty of good information about the environment and on why plants grow where they do. The book tells you how to organize plant groups according to their needs for water, sunlight, etc. to achieve what Weinstein calls "a compatible alliance among the garden, landscape, and natural world." One of the best things about the Xeriscape Handbook is that anyone in any part of the country can use it. Using the steps outlined in the book, you gain a better understanding of your site and the unique challenges you face in landscape projects. Yes, the book pays particular attention to more arid regions of the country, but it teaches all readers how to "read" their own site. Landscape Architects call this "site analysis" and use the techniques as one of the first steps in professional design. You can use the techniques too, no matter where you live and this book provides a clear outline on the steps involved in fun and interesting ways. Another Plus to this book is that it provides lots of good information on maintaining plants once you have selected them and have your design in the ground. Utilizing the "Principals of Xeriscape" found in the book, you will end up with a landscape design that uses less water and is easier to care for, while still providing beauty and functionality. That saves not only money, but minimizes many of the frustrations faced in gardening. The bottom line is that everyone can use the information in this book to create better designs, in ways that connect and relate their design to the beauty of the natural world...no matter where you are in it. return to the Book Barn
|
Back to top of page.Send email to charleysfarm@wildblue.net with questions or comments about this web site. Click here for Ordering information Click here to send an order.Please make payments payable to Charley Hein. Our address: Charley and Ginny Hein 54 E. Stutler Rd. Spokane, WA 99224 Last modified: September 07, 2008 |
