Sustainable Food Gardens: Myths and Solutions

"Robert Kourik's gardening expertise is renowned, his enthusiasm infectious. In Sustainable Food Gardens, he demonstrates the endless opportunities, joy, and fulfillment that are available to us when we reunite with our food systems and the earth."—Paul Hawken, author of Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation  "If you're a novice, this book will explain everything you need to know.  If you're a practicing permaculturist, it will make you question what you thought you knew! With his science-based approach, Robert Kourik busts myths that have been part of sustainable-gardening dogma for years."—Amy Campion, co-author of Gardening in the Pacific Northwest: The Complete Homeowner's Guide "Robert’s practical solutions to common garden problems are accompanied by detailed charts, graphs, and illustrations based on science, but presented in ways that are useful to the lay gardener. His discussions of soil, fertilizers, companion planting, container gardening, and insects are some of the most complete I’ve read."—Jere Gettle, founder and owner of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds "It’s not hard to find garden advice: ask anyone who has done some gardening, and they will certainly have 'facts' to share. It is less common to find sources for these facts, backed by science and distinct from myths and superstitions. Prolific garden writer Kourik notes that he has not always cited his sources and uses this sequel to his 1986 permaculture classic Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape—Naturally to remedy that. One might expect that this more academic methodology would result in a dry text, but the author has managed to maintain his flexible, readable approach, using in-text references to the many sources he’s collected. While the facts are clear, there is still plenty of room for gardeners to use that information in the way that serves them best—lots of guidance, but no strict directives required. Illustrated primarily with hand-drawn graphics and some color photos, this guide feels almost like a gardener’s notebook, with perhaps more substance than style, but plenty of charm and valuable information."—Booklist "Sustainable Food Gardens is a superbly thorough and beautiful guide to growing food from annuals to perennials. Robert has done it again!!"—Matt Powers, author of Regenerative Soil