my dad recently gave me permission to put a garden in his backyard. i’m really excited about this but though i know the concepts of permaculture, i wouldn’t know how to go about planting a garden. i’ve heard that Edible Forest Gardens is a good resource for beginners (sorry about the URL but I still don’t know how to make a link ???) :
http://www.edibleforestgardens.com/about_book
would you recommend it or is there a different alternative you would suggest?
i’m reading Edible Forest Gardens right now and it’s certainly a great book with details specific enough for even folks not experienced with gardening whatsoever. It’s very much like a textbook though, so I find it a little tough at times to get through, but the authors clearly know what they’re talking about. Though the book centers itself on forest gardening for temperate climates, I would think a person in another kind of climate would find value in it.
… it’s just so expensive.
If you’re worried about the prices of lots of plants and stuff, it might be a good idea to get cuttings from wild plants. I’m in the process of trying to put some blueberry bushes around my parents’ yard, hopefully from some wild bushes I’ve found.
I would not worry about expensive “how to” books at the start. Do some research on native varieties that grow well in your area and start there. As a new gardener you don’t want to have to worry about special requirements, like soil acidity. Grow something that will grow without a lot of care, be mindful and observant and the plants will teach you how to plant a garden.
http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/propagating-blueberries-and-preserving-past-memories/
This information might help lower the cost of doing such a project. I happen to plan to set up a row of blueberry in my parents’ yard, and thought I’d share.
Also, shouldn’t this be under the Flora or Land sections?
I heartily second the recommendation of Edible Forest Gardens.
Thanks everyone for the responses.
Wildeyes- It turns out that my dads landlord is a retired stone mason and all of the stone covering most of the garden that I’d have to pull up is his handy work. That means that I’m going to have to work with the little areas he didn’t cover with his dumb stones. Needless to say, the fact that someone prefers a yard covered with ugly stone slabs over a living piece of land kind of bugs me >:(. I will eventually buy those books though. Someone else recommended Gaia’s Garden and since that book is more focused on permaculture in suburban yards like mine, i think i’ll get that one first.
Robinson- I found this cool site to familiarize myself with the native plants that live here: http://www.enature.com/zipguides/. I’m also making a trip over to my local native plant nursery tomorrow to see what they’ve got and for any further advice they might have. I figured that a full scale permaculture project was a little over my head. I’m opting for a simple native garden instead and I’ll add to it in the future for a full forest garden when i’ve learned a bit more. Thanks for the advice.
Dan- I was just about to go search for “how to make cuttings” resources but found your post first. I’ll keep my eyes open for any plants i can take cuttings from. Thanks.
My bad, this is indeed a topic more fitting for the Land section. I don’t know how to move the whole discussion over there though. Let me know how and i’ll do it.