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 is a practical manual for the design and management of a home-scale perennial polyculture garden. Simple, straightforward instructions 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. 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.

To ensure food security and restore the health of the planet, we need to move beyond industrial agriculture and return to the practice of small-scale, local farming. Bioshelter Market Garden: A Permaculture Farm describes the creation of a sustainable food system through a detailed case study of the successful year-round organic market garden and permaculture design at Pennsylvania's Three Sisters Farm. At the heart of Three Sisters is its bioshelter--a solar greenhouse that integrates growing facilities, poultry housing, a potting room, storage, kitchen facilities, compost bins, a reference library, and classroom area. Bioshelter Market Garden examines how the bioshelter promotes greater biodiversity and is an energy-efficient method of extending crop production through Pennsylvania's cold winter months. Both visionary and practical, this fully illustrated book contains a wealth of information on the application of permaculture principles. Some of the topics covered include: * Design and management of an intensive market garden farm * Energy systems and biothermal resources * Ecological soil management and pest control * Wetlands usage * Solar greenhouse design and management Whatever your gardening experience and ambitions, this comprehensive manual is sure to inform and inspire. 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. Darrell writes extensively on permaculture design and ecological land use planning and has been a sustainable community development consultant and permaculture teacher for twenty-five years.