- Paperback: 344 pages
- Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Co; First Printing edition (5 Jan 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 193339207X
- ISBN-13: 978-1933392073
- Product Dimensions: 25.1 x 20.3 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
293,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #25 in Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Agriculture & Farming > Crop Production
- #33 in Books > Science & Nature > Food & Farming > Crop Husbandry
- See Complete Table of Contents
Food Not Lawns
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £4.75
Trade in Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard Into a Garden and Your Neighbourhood Into a Community for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £4.75, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
iRadical (rooted), subversive (underground), and seeded throughout with treasures that will sprout into savoury, beautiful flowers. Donit just buy this book: Read it. Don't just read this book: Do it. Grow a garden. And let the weeds grow; theyire good medicine.i Susun Weed, Wise Woman Herbal Series
Product Description
Food Not Lawns combines practical wisdom on ecological design and community-building with a fresh, green perspective on an age-old subject. Activist and urban gardener Heather Flores shares her nine-step permaculture design to help farmsteaders and city dwellers alike build fertile soil, promote biodiversity, and increase natural habitat in their own eparadise gardensi. But Food Not Lawns doesnit begin and end in the seed bed. This joyful permaculture lifestyle manual inspires readers to apply the principles of the paradise gardenosimplicity, resourcefulness, creativity, mindfulness, and communityoto all aspects of life. Plant eguerilla gardensi in barren road intersections; organize community meals; start a street theatre troupe or host a local art swap; free your kitchen from refrigeration and enjoy truly fresh, nourishing foods from your own plot of land; work with children to create garden play spaces.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For permaculturists, the weed-free and manicured suburban lawn symbolises all that is wrong with Western resource misuse. Bill Mollison once wrote that " The American lawn could feed continents if people had more social responsibility... A house with two cars, a dog and a lawn uses more resources and energy than a village of 2000 Africans." Food Not Lawns is a grassroots activist's manual for subverting these 'green deserts' into productive organic edible paradise gardens. Taking cues from her experiences with radical free food distribution network 'Food Not Bombs', Heather Flores argues both the political and ecological case against 'lawn culture' with a deep commitment to Non Violent Direct Action as a force for empowerment and positive change.
Beginning with observational skills, she asks us to look at ourselves and our urban environments with new eyes before moving onto practical techniques and advice. These include understanding soil and water ecology, biodiversity, no-dig and mulching methods, seed saving, polycultures and pruning, as well as perhaps more 'unusual' strategies such as 'seed bombing', guerrilla gardening and 'dumpster diving' for the free resources otherwise discarded by consumer culture. In the second part of the book Flores takes the lessons from our gardens and applies them to the 'urban eco-systems' of community, with all manner of suggestions for setting up successful and inclusive social collectives, seed swapping initiatives, community gardens, performance workshops and childrens' projects. With her dedication to tackling the issue of how we can all live on the earth in peace, abundance and perpetuity, Flores' enthusiasm can't fail to inspire even the most armchair bound activist to get up and 'Do It!'
On the downside, I was surprised that Flores has chosen to 'abandon' the word permaculture for most of this book, and I have to take issue with her criticisms of it's 'commodification'. I was quite taken aback by her references to 'exorbitantly priced certification courses', or that 'much of the permaculture movement is based on a desire for personal gain rather than deep ecological altruism'. On the contrary, a glance through any UK listings will show that design courses are exceptionally reasonably (and flexibly) priced, and run by committed activists often working for pay levels well below the legal minimum wage. Unfortunately these few comments jarred with the otherwise generous, compassionate and positive nature of this wonderful book. Indeed, some reprobate once described permaculture as 'revolution disguised as organic gardening', in which case 'Food Not Lawns' is nothing short of its manifesto.
Beginning with observational skills, she asks us to look at ourselves and our urban environments with new eyes before moving onto practical techniques and advice. These include understanding soil and water ecology, biodiversity, no-dig and mulching methods, seed saving, polycultures and pruning, as well as perhaps more 'unusual' strategies such as 'seed bombing', guerrilla gardening and 'dumpster diving' for the free resources otherwise discarded by consumer culture. In the second part of the book Flores takes the lessons from our gardens and applies them to the 'urban eco-systems' of community, with all manner of suggestions for setting up successful and inclusive social collectives, seed swapping initiatives, community gardens, performance workshops and childrens' projects. With her dedication to tackling the issue of how we can all live on the earth in peace, abundance and perpetuity, Flores' enthusiasm can't fail to inspire even the most armchair bound activist to get up and 'Do It!'
On the downside, I was surprised that Flores has chosen to 'abandon' the word permaculture for most of this book, and I have to take issue with her criticisms of it's 'commodification'. I was quite taken aback by her references to 'exorbitantly priced certification courses', or that 'much of the permaculture movement is based on a desire for personal gain rather than deep ecological altruism'. On the contrary, a glance through any UK listings will show that design courses are exceptionally reasonably (and flexibly) priced, and run by committed activists often working for pay levels well below the legal minimum wage. Unfortunately these few comments jarred with the otherwise generous, compassionate and positive nature of this wonderful book. Indeed, some reprobate once described permaculture as 'revolution disguised as organic gardening', in which case 'Food Not Lawns' is nothing short of its manifesto.
Format:Paperback
This book was written for an American audience with a peculiarly American evangelism - it doesn't matter that the author is writing about ecology, the tone is no different than if she were writing about hellfire and damnation - and whilst I myself hail from that enthusiastic country, I wanted to reassure readers in this country, where I now live, that the book is worthwhile nonetheless. Just skip over the first chapter, in which the author provides her cringe-producing "I once was blind but now I see" confessional narrative, and the introductions to most of the other chapters.
What then remains is actually an excellent guidebook for those of us interested in food security, local food and urban gardening, if the reader is willing patiently to pass over the apocalyptic lectern-thumping to which Flores is prone. Whilst acknowledging that yes, most of what Mr Sainsbury, Mr Tesco et al want is to eat is tasteless and nutritionally dubious crap, and crap for which the farmers that produce it are paid next to nothing, I fear that Flores is not going to make many converts in this country with her stance that the diet and lifestyle on which most First Worlders subsist is somehow immoral. No one likes to be told they're bad people. Flores does on the one hand insist in her introduction that she doesn't think the world's salvation lies in everyone adopting her own ascetic mode of living, but on the other hand the entire rest of the book makes it quite clear that that's exactly what she thinks we must do.
But as I say, if you can get past the shrill tone, there is a wealth of useful information for the urban gardener here. And by "gardener" I don't mean someone interested in growing pretty flowers and uniform, moss-free grass, but someone interested in growing food. There are chapters on the water cycle, on the structure of soil (and why digging is bad for it - a revelation to me), polyculture (radically different from "a row of carrots here, a row of courgettes there" etc.), seed saving, ecological design, community gardening activities, and other good and helpful topics for the would-be urban or suburban food gardener. I have actually found very few books that cover all these interrelated topics in one volume, which is why I think this book is valuable. It just needs to come with a warning label. "Caution: Contains Missionary Zeal That May Be Offputting To Some Readers."
What then remains is actually an excellent guidebook for those of us interested in food security, local food and urban gardening, if the reader is willing patiently to pass over the apocalyptic lectern-thumping to which Flores is prone. Whilst acknowledging that yes, most of what Mr Sainsbury, Mr Tesco et al want is to eat is tasteless and nutritionally dubious crap, and crap for which the farmers that produce it are paid next to nothing, I fear that Flores is not going to make many converts in this country with her stance that the diet and lifestyle on which most First Worlders subsist is somehow immoral. No one likes to be told they're bad people. Flores does on the one hand insist in her introduction that she doesn't think the world's salvation lies in everyone adopting her own ascetic mode of living, but on the other hand the entire rest of the book makes it quite clear that that's exactly what she thinks we must do.
But as I say, if you can get past the shrill tone, there is a wealth of useful information for the urban gardener here. And by "gardener" I don't mean someone interested in growing pretty flowers and uniform, moss-free grass, but someone interested in growing food. There are chapters on the water cycle, on the structure of soil (and why digging is bad for it - a revelation to me), polyculture (radically different from "a row of carrots here, a row of courgettes there" etc.), seed saving, ecological design, community gardening activities, and other good and helpful topics for the would-be urban or suburban food gardener. I have actually found very few books that cover all these interrelated topics in one volume, which is why I think this book is valuable. It just needs to come with a warning label. "Caution: Contains Missionary Zeal That May Be Offputting To Some Readers."
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
26 reviews
79 of 80 people found the following review helpful
Overly idealistic, but interesting for what it is
16 Jan 2008
Format:Paperback
There's a tendency among activists these days to see their focus as the solution to all the world's problems. For one author, feminism envelopes all issues; for another communism (or capitalism) does. For others, it's Christianity.
As an avid, beginning gardener, I understand the appeal, but I feel like the connection between world peace and gardening wasn't adequately argued in the book. Having scrounged myself a piece of a neighbor's yard, I expected that this would be a good book to get me started on a practical bent. However, I found that the idealism often prevented extensive practical advice which is necessary for the beginner. Perhaps advanced gardeners can "make space for all plant species" and can't recommend one species above another, but there was limited - almost non-existent - acknowledgment that some species are easier to grow than others, and some are more useful in terms of food production, especially if space is extremely limited. For a first "food" garden, would I be better off growing potatoes? Tomatoes? Spinach?
I found the transition from garden-related activism to community activism quite rocky. I wish the sections on seed-saving and connecting with neighbors were expanded. On a personal level, I found many of the asides (which I will paraphrase as "well, *of course* all right-minded people agree that ____________") were off-putting, as hard-core radical leftists are not the only ones who are interested in producing clean, local food and making communities. I was also troubled by the exhortations to get rid of appliances, go vegetarian, and dumpster scavenge to save the environment, while at the same time suggesting extensive driving (to farms, to dumpsters, around town, between bakeries).
All that aside, Food Not Lawns is an interesting read. It's a bit like reading a brainstorming session, which politics and communication and personal stories and food info is interspersed. It is clear the author is passionate about her subject, and believes in the process. In a sense, it is a very second-wave book - before the post-post modern doubts and hyper self-awareness. It's refreshing, and combined with sources of practical horticultural information, would be a good read for any radical gardener.
As an avid, beginning gardener, I understand the appeal, but I feel like the connection between world peace and gardening wasn't adequately argued in the book. Having scrounged myself a piece of a neighbor's yard, I expected that this would be a good book to get me started on a practical bent. However, I found that the idealism often prevented extensive practical advice which is necessary for the beginner. Perhaps advanced gardeners can "make space for all plant species" and can't recommend one species above another, but there was limited - almost non-existent - acknowledgment that some species are easier to grow than others, and some are more useful in terms of food production, especially if space is extremely limited. For a first "food" garden, would I be better off growing potatoes? Tomatoes? Spinach?
I found the transition from garden-related activism to community activism quite rocky. I wish the sections on seed-saving and connecting with neighbors were expanded. On a personal level, I found many of the asides (which I will paraphrase as "well, *of course* all right-minded people agree that ____________") were off-putting, as hard-core radical leftists are not the only ones who are interested in producing clean, local food and making communities. I was also troubled by the exhortations to get rid of appliances, go vegetarian, and dumpster scavenge to save the environment, while at the same time suggesting extensive driving (to farms, to dumpsters, around town, between bakeries).
All that aside, Food Not Lawns is an interesting read. It's a bit like reading a brainstorming session, which politics and communication and personal stories and food info is interspersed. It is clear the author is passionate about her subject, and believes in the process. In a sense, it is a very second-wave book - before the post-post modern doubts and hyper self-awareness. It's refreshing, and combined with sources of practical horticultural information, would be a good read for any radical gardener.
56 of 61 people found the following review helpful
THE GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT TO GROW FOOD, NOT GRASS
11 Oct 2006
Format:Paperback
Food Not Lawns is a terrific and timely new paperback from activist and urban gardener H.C. Flores.
Flores is a proponent of permaculture, a sustainable way of landscaping inspired by natural eco-systems. Her book presents a nine-step plan to transform the typical wasteland of turf into a productive, environmentally friendly "paradise garden" bursting with edible bounty. "The average American lawn," according to Flores, "could produce several hundred pounds of food a year."
Food Not Lawns began as an offshoot of the grassroots group Food Not Bombs, a non-profit with chapters all over the country that provides free vegetarian meals to the hungry using donated ingredients that would otherwise end up in a dumpster.
Flores' experience cooking and serving meals with Food Not Bombs gave her a new ambition; instead of simply providing food to others, she wanted to teach people how to provide for themselves. She describes Food Not Lawns as a "grassroots gardening project geared toward using waste resources to grow organic gardens and encouraging others to share their space, surplus, and ideas toward the betterment of the whole community."
The more Flores learned about food, agriculture, and land use, she says, the more she came to see the typical suburban lawn as a symbol of "gross waste and mindless affluence."
Flores reveals that there's nothing green about our love of lawns, which gobble up more resources and create more pollution than industrial farming. Her book explains how the weaknesses of our industrial food chain, and the unsustainable terrain of turf that surrounds suburbia have inspired a grassroots movement to grow not grass, but food.
Food Not Lawns is the perfect introduction to the permaculture revolution. Flores documents how we've become enslaved by a fossil fuel-based food chain and a consumer culture run amuck, but if the "peak oil" experts prove to be right, our industrialized food system and wasteful way of life will be unsustainable. In a post-petroleum era, people who know how to grow their own produce are going to be very popular. Buy this book, and become one of them!
Flores is a proponent of permaculture, a sustainable way of landscaping inspired by natural eco-systems. Her book presents a nine-step plan to transform the typical wasteland of turf into a productive, environmentally friendly "paradise garden" bursting with edible bounty. "The average American lawn," according to Flores, "could produce several hundred pounds of food a year."
Food Not Lawns began as an offshoot of the grassroots group Food Not Bombs, a non-profit with chapters all over the country that provides free vegetarian meals to the hungry using donated ingredients that would otherwise end up in a dumpster.
Flores' experience cooking and serving meals with Food Not Bombs gave her a new ambition; instead of simply providing food to others, she wanted to teach people how to provide for themselves. She describes Food Not Lawns as a "grassroots gardening project geared toward using waste resources to grow organic gardens and encouraging others to share their space, surplus, and ideas toward the betterment of the whole community."
The more Flores learned about food, agriculture, and land use, she says, the more she came to see the typical suburban lawn as a symbol of "gross waste and mindless affluence."
Flores reveals that there's nothing green about our love of lawns, which gobble up more resources and create more pollution than industrial farming. Her book explains how the weaknesses of our industrial food chain, and the unsustainable terrain of turf that surrounds suburbia have inspired a grassroots movement to grow not grass, but food.
Food Not Lawns is the perfect introduction to the permaculture revolution. Flores documents how we've become enslaved by a fossil fuel-based food chain and a consumer culture run amuck, but if the "peak oil" experts prove to be right, our industrialized food system and wasteful way of life will be unsustainable. In a post-petroleum era, people who know how to grow their own produce are going to be very popular. Buy this book, and become one of them!
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Not just Gardening--A guide to Activism and Environmentalism
22 Jan 2007
Format:Paperback
I picked up this book to learn practical application of permacultural principles applied to urban yard scales--and there is a wealth of such information here. However, I do feel like Flores preaches just a little too much about the environmental destruction and political problems currently plaguing our country. In my view, anyone picking up a book called Food Not Lawns probably is already well-versed in such issues, and Flores is essentially preaching to the converted. That said, this book DOES have tons of practical information, and I would recommend it as an excellent counterbalance and companion book to Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Home & Garden > Gardening > Design & Planning
- Books > Home & Garden > Gardening > Garden Styles > Urban Gardens
- Books > Home & Garden > Gardening > Organic Gardening
- Books > Home & Garden > Gardening > Plants > Fruit & Vegetables
- Books > Home & Garden > Interior Design & Decoration
- Books > Science & Nature > Earth Sciences & Geography > Education > Higher Education
- Books > Science & Nature > Engineering & Technology > Education > Higher Education
- Books > Science & Nature > Food & Farming > Crop Husbandry
- Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Agriculture & Farming > Crop Production
- Books > Study Books
- Shops > Amazon Green
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
