The Food Forest Handbook by Darrell Frey and Michelle Czolba

The Food Forest Handbook is a practical manual for the design and management of a home-scale perennial polyculture garden.

Permaculture and food forests can be complicated systems to understand. Fry and Czolba do a good job breaking down the process of setting up your own sustainable food forest. They go over designs, companion planting, and the theories behind putting together a working food forest. They use their own real-life examples to show how it can be done. They even include examples from all different growing environments.

I enjoyed this book and all of the information and ideas it contains. I walked away with a more thorough understanding of the ins and outs of a food forest. I also realized that I have a lot to learn when it comes to permaculture design, yet I didn’t feel overwhelmed by their terminology.

If you want to add a food forest to your homestead (big or small), I recommend checking out this book.

Book Description:

A food forest is a productive landscape developed around a mix of trees and perennials. Rooted in permaculture principles, this integrated approach to gardening incorporates a variety of plants such as fruit and nut trees, shrubs, vines, and perennial herbs and vegetables. Food forests can help increase biodiversity, protect valuable habitat for beneficial insects, and promote food security and resilience, all while providing an abundant harvest.

The Food Forest Handbook gives simple, straightforward instructions that guide the reader through:

Getting started – site assessment and planning Tending the forest garden – maintaining soil health, succession planning, , mulching, pruning and more The fruits of your labor – crop profiles, harvest, storage, nutrition and recipes.

This timely book makes the concept of food forests accessible to everyone. Focusing on the potential of perennial polyculture to enhance local food systems, The Food Forest Handbook shows the reader how to mix and match plants in unique combinations to establish bountiful landscapes and create genuine self-reliance in years to come.

About the Authors:

Darrell Frey is the owner and manager of Three Sisters Farm, a five-acre permaculture farm, solar greenhouse and market garden located in Western Pennsylvania. He has been permaculture teacher for thirty years, and is the author of Bioshelter Market Garden: A Permaculture Farm.

Michelle Czolba is co-owner of Pittsburgh Permaculture and co-founded the Hazelwood Food Forest. She has extensive experience in the design and maintenance of perennial polyculture.

Book Details:

• The Food Forest Handbook: $39.95 MSRP
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: New Society Publishers (May 30, 2017)
• ISBN-10: 0865718121
• ISBN-13: 978-0865718128
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.5 x 9 inches