Farming the Woods: An Integrated Permaculture Approach

Paperback; 384 pages

Authors: Ken Mudge & Steve Gabriel

Farming the Woods is an in-depth guide for those who have access to an established woodland space and are looking for productive, innovative ways to create a natural forest ecosystems that produces a wide range of food, medicinals, and other non-timber products. This is a wonderful book if you're planning on starting a small to large mushroom log project in temperate environments.

While the concept of “forest farming” may seem like an obscure practice, history indicates that much of humanity lived and sustained itself from tree-based systems in the past; only recently have people traded the forest for the field.  The good news is that this is not an either-or scenario; forest farms can be most productive in places where the plow is not: on steep slopes, and in shallow soils. It is an invaluable practice to integrate into any farm or homestead, especially as the need for unique value-added products and supplemental income becomes more and more important for farmers.

Review:

“At last, a comprehensive forest farming guide for cool temperate climates! The authors have done a superb job explaining forest ecology and describing how to integrate fruits, nuts, mushrooms, medicinals, animals, and more into forest systems. A must-read for anyone interested in agroforestry, forest gardening, or utilizing forests for specialty crops.” —Martin Crawford, author of Creating a Forest Garden