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Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City by Toensmeier, Eric
When Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates moved into a duplex in a run-down part of Holyoke, Massachusetts, the tenth-of-an-acre lot was barren ground and bad soil, peppered with broken pieces of concrete, asphalt, and brick. The two friends got to work designing what would become not just another urban farm, but a "permaculture paradise" replete with perennial broccoli, paw paws, bananas, and moringa—all told, more than two hundred low-maintenance edible plants in an innovative food forest on a small city lot. The garden—intended to function like a natural ecosystem with the plants themselves providing most of the garden's needs for fertility, pest control, and weed suppression—also features an edible water garden, a year-round unheated greenhouse, tropical crops, urban poultry, and even silkworms.
In telling the story of Paradise Lot , Toensmeier explains the principles and practices of permaculture, the choice of exotic and unusual food plants, the techniques of design and cultivation, and, of course, the adventures, mistakes, and do-overs in the process. Packed full of detailed, useful information about designing a highly productive permaculture garden, Paradise Lot is also a funny and charming story of two single guys, both plant nerds, with a wild to realize the garden of their dreams and meet women to share it with. Amazingly, on both counts, they succeed.
In telling the story of Paradise Lot , Toensmeier explains the principles and practices of permaculture, the choice of exotic and unusual food plants, the techniques of design and cultivation, and, of course, the adventures, mistakes, and do-overs in the process. Packed full of detailed, useful information about designing a highly productive permaculture garden, Paradise Lot is also a funny and charming story of two single guys, both plant nerds, with a wild to realize the garden of their dreams and meet women to share it with. Amazingly, on both counts, they succeed.
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First published January 31, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
March 22, 2013
Paradise Lot is like porn for the permaculture geek. Thought-provoking, easy-to-read, and full of fascinating tidbits, I can't recommend it highly enough. On the other hand, I did just blow $80 buying perennials as a result of Toensmeier's glowing descriptions....
March 15, 2013
I really loved this book and will be re-reading it many times. This is not for the casual gardener, though. It is for the permaculture nut who cares about the world at large and your food security intensely.
These two gentlemen took their 1/10th acre Duplex lot and turned it into a food haven of fruits and vegetables of mostly perennials. (that which returns each year)
Some people have not liked their adding personal info to the book about their falling in love with their future wives, but I thought they introduced this into the book naturally and wonderfully.
If you are a true plant geek, and this is your passion as it is mine, I can assure you that you will get a lot out of this book.
These two gentlemen took their 1/10th acre Duplex lot and turned it into a food haven of fruits and vegetables of mostly perennials. (that which returns each year)
Some people have not liked their adding personal info to the book about their falling in love with their future wives, but I thought they introduced this into the book naturally and wonderfully.
If you are a true plant geek, and this is your passion as it is mine, I can assure you that you will get a lot out of this book.
February 12, 2022
Eric seems like a really great person, I enjoyed reading about this project they took on. Clearly very passionate about his work, this will definitely inspire you to take on a small fraction of what they accomplished. The small bits of information sprinkled throughout were appreciated, it's definitely enough to point you in the right direction and get you interested in learning more. I don't think it's particularly well written and at times I found parts repetitive or unnecessary but it didn't make it any less interesting. A purely personal annoyance of mine was him calling their partners "sweeties" and I feel like it was so frequent lol it made me cringe. This is not a diss to either of these gentlemen but I thought it was kind of strange listing your own works/business at the end for recommended reading/nurseries. There's nothing wrong with that, but with the number of times they were referenced throughout the entire book, I feel like readers could take the hint and would pursue if interested enough. That's just me though!
April 27, 2014
Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City is written by Eric Toensmeier with contributions from Jonathan Bates. If Eric Toensmeier sounds familiar, it’s because he wrote Perennial Vegetables, and co-wrote the two volume Edible Forest Gardens.
Whilst his previous work is very detailed, factual and intended for reference, Paradise Lot is a more personal story – it’s about the way Eric and Jonathan developed a forest garden in urban Massachusetts, and the way their lives developed as they did.
There’s a saying about perennial plants, that they sleep in their first year after planting, creep in their second, and leap in their third. Paradise Lot is divided into parts with those titles – adding ‘Reap’ as a fourth section.
The early years are covered in ‘Sleep’, explaining Eric’s history before he met Jonathan, and their decision to start growing perennial edibles together. You follow their journey to find the right place, which in many ways most people would consider the wrong place – why put a edible perennials garden in an urban setting, with horrible soil and restricted light? Because that’s what most urban gardeners have to start with.
Parts two and three (Creep and Leap) were where I took the most notes, as it’s where I found the most interesting snippets about perennial plants. Ideas of things I want to try growing myself, to see whether they are hardy in my climate (they should be, if they’re happy in Massachusetts, but hardiness relies on a complicated set of variables). I fancy the cranberry hibiscus, which is apparently a shrub that grows eight feet high, with burgundy foliage and sour leaves that dye eggs neon magenta.
It’s at this point that we run into my only real niggle with the book – the plant names. Throughout the main text, the authors use common plant names, with no reference to the scientific names. As we all know, when you’re sourcing a new edible plant, it’s critical to get the right one. There’s an appendix at the back of the book of various species by plant layer. It’s not alphabetical, so it’s hard to find a particular plant, and it doesn’t include every plant that’s mentioned in the book. Cranberry hibiscus is listed – as Hibiscus acetosella – but there were plenty of other plants I had to Google.
Individual chapters are dedicated to different types of plants, including their tropical planting in the front yard, their edible water plants, things they grew in a greenhouse and the perennial vegetables and berries.
Part four continues the story as the garden becomes the center of a new kind of life for both men, looking beyond the garden gate to the wider world, and planning for a future in which they may move on.
Paradise Lot is an enjoyable story of a forest garden and its owners. If you’re in to edible plants, and particularly perennial edibles, then I can recommend reading it. But read it for pleasure, and inspiration, rather than cold, hard facts. You can find those elsewhere, and there’s a decent list of recommended resources at the back, to get you started.
Whilst his previous work is very detailed, factual and intended for reference, Paradise Lot is a more personal story – it’s about the way Eric and Jonathan developed a forest garden in urban Massachusetts, and the way their lives developed as they did.
There’s a saying about perennial plants, that they sleep in their first year after planting, creep in their second, and leap in their third. Paradise Lot is divided into parts with those titles – adding ‘Reap’ as a fourth section.
The early years are covered in ‘Sleep’, explaining Eric’s history before he met Jonathan, and their decision to start growing perennial edibles together. You follow their journey to find the right place, which in many ways most people would consider the wrong place – why put a edible perennials garden in an urban setting, with horrible soil and restricted light? Because that’s what most urban gardeners have to start with.
Parts two and three (Creep and Leap) were where I took the most notes, as it’s where I found the most interesting snippets about perennial plants. Ideas of things I want to try growing myself, to see whether they are hardy in my climate (they should be, if they’re happy in Massachusetts, but hardiness relies on a complicated set of variables). I fancy the cranberry hibiscus, which is apparently a shrub that grows eight feet high, with burgundy foliage and sour leaves that dye eggs neon magenta.
It’s at this point that we run into my only real niggle with the book – the plant names. Throughout the main text, the authors use common plant names, with no reference to the scientific names. As we all know, when you’re sourcing a new edible plant, it’s critical to get the right one. There’s an appendix at the back of the book of various species by plant layer. It’s not alphabetical, so it’s hard to find a particular plant, and it doesn’t include every plant that’s mentioned in the book. Cranberry hibiscus is listed – as Hibiscus acetosella – but there were plenty of other plants I had to Google.
Individual chapters are dedicated to different types of plants, including their tropical planting in the front yard, their edible water plants, things they grew in a greenhouse and the perennial vegetables and berries.
Part four continues the story as the garden becomes the center of a new kind of life for both men, looking beyond the garden gate to the wider world, and planning for a future in which they may move on.
Paradise Lot is an enjoyable story of a forest garden and its owners. If you’re in to edible plants, and particularly perennial edibles, then I can recommend reading it. But read it for pleasure, and inspiration, rather than cold, hard facts. You can find those elsewhere, and there’s a decent list of recommended resources at the back, to get you started.
November 22, 2016
A feel-good account of an urban permaculture garden. In between the cute stories are some pretty clever ideas for adding more productivity to your site. (I, for one, can't wait to try the tip about harvesting squirrel labor.)
April 22, 2013
This is an amazing book. Be warned. This is a book by confessed "two plant geeks" . Whimsical and packed with information. The appendices and recommended resources alone are worth the price of admission. I found it especially helpful because it goes into great detail about a zone that is very close to the zone that my garden is in. Much of the information is applicable to ALL areas of the globe. The discussion of polycultures is very enlightening. There is significant discussion about the philosophy and ethics of Permaculture as well. I found the book magical, practical and deeply inspirational.
April 12, 2021
Sleep, Creep, Leap, and Reap! By grounding it all within a personal story of how they transformed an urban piece of land, Eric and Jonathan share a rich harvest of insight into home-scale permaculture. There is so much here for anyone interested in sustainability, environmental conservation, home gardening, or growing their own delicious food.
The big idea here is that anyone can make a backyard into a productive, vibrant edible garden. But what makes this book brilliant is not just that they proved the concept of making an edible forest garden work at home, but that they've made it so accessible. These self-professed plant geeks take the theoretical and make it practical, sharing what they've learned from intentional experiments and accidental discoveries. They steer clear of jargon -- like telling a story about what happened when a pest attacked their plants, and they let beneficial insects take charge (aka, integrated pest management).
Novice gardeners can find comfort in hearing about the way such an experienced plant expert confronted and persisted through various challenges. Just as a forest garden grows, their vision, partnerships, and insights evolve throughout the book.
"Culture" is a major character in the book, as they work through the interconnected web of people who contribute into a food system. I especially appreciate that they gave appropriate credit (Chapter 27) to what we all can learn from indigenous land management.
Some reading advice: Forgive Eric for the long lists of plants they tried -- which may seem tiresome, especially if you don't live in their plant hardiness zone -- because there's something new to learn from every new chapter.
The big idea here is that anyone can make a backyard into a productive, vibrant edible garden. But what makes this book brilliant is not just that they proved the concept of making an edible forest garden work at home, but that they've made it so accessible. These self-professed plant geeks take the theoretical and make it practical, sharing what they've learned from intentional experiments and accidental discoveries. They steer clear of jargon -- like telling a story about what happened when a pest attacked their plants, and they let beneficial insects take charge (aka, integrated pest management).
Novice gardeners can find comfort in hearing about the way such an experienced plant expert confronted and persisted through various challenges. Just as a forest garden grows, their vision, partnerships, and insights evolve throughout the book.
"Culture" is a major character in the book, as they work through the interconnected web of people who contribute into a food system. I especially appreciate that they gave appropriate credit (Chapter 27) to what we all can learn from indigenous land management.
Some reading advice: Forgive Eric for the long lists of plants they tried -- which may seem tiresome, especially if you don't live in their plant hardiness zone -- because there's something new to learn from every new chapter.
July 11, 2018
My project took place in Portland OR, his on the other side of the continent in Holyoke MA. My lot was two tenths of an acre, his lot half that. But besides differences in space for trees, and somewhat different plant palettes, Eric Toensmeir's account in Paradise Lot of applied permaculture reads like a parallel universe of my own experimentations with urban lot rehabilitation and perennial polycultures. We each started with infertile and unpromising soil, but guided by permaculture literature from other regions and with the help of gardening partners (romantic in my case; friend Jonathan Bates in his), we embarked on labors of faith towards similar goals of abundant food production and restored habitat health.
And we both succeeded.
Read full review...
And we both succeeded.
Read full review...
September 24, 2023
Inspiring, lots of good information in there, though not necessarily very organized if you want to use the book as a guide for replicating what the authors accomplished.
September 17, 2018
There are two types of urban farming and permaculture books: heartwarming narratives and detail-oriented textbooks. This one is the first, but the author has penned his own textbooks, so I came into this expecting to see an expert at work. And he built something delightful.
If you've seen any of those Youtube video tours of backyard permaculture gardens, this is next-level. Eric knows more about the underlying systems, site-analysis, and the interactions within a plant guild, and you see it in the system he constructs.
I was interested to see the learning process Eric went through as he took his backyard garden further into the succession process than he had ever done before, and he was able to live through the processes he had already written about on an academic level.
For example, the tradeoffs between the rapidly-spreading nitrogen fixers and the food crops they are meant to support; the endless tinkering to find plants that produce well without taking over the yard;
Permaculture is still a new approach, or at least our understanding of these age-old principles is new, and you can see how surprised Eric was when he saw how a few chickens or geese filled a huge gap in the backyard ecosystem: being so plant-focused, he hadn't given much thought to the crucial role animals play in nature.
I walked away from this book more eager to start my own edible perennial garden, and also a bit intimidated about the difficulties even an expert can face in trying to balance everything out. But I better see the role perennials play in our diet - they are the first and last to produce, and the initial work involved in planting them right, will pay off in years of steady production.
If you've seen any of those Youtube video tours of backyard permaculture gardens, this is next-level. Eric knows more about the underlying systems, site-analysis, and the interactions within a plant guild, and you see it in the system he constructs.
I was interested to see the learning process Eric went through as he took his backyard garden further into the succession process than he had ever done before, and he was able to live through the processes he had already written about on an academic level.
For example, the tradeoffs between the rapidly-spreading nitrogen fixers and the food crops they are meant to support; the endless tinkering to find plants that produce well without taking over the yard;
Permaculture is still a new approach, or at least our understanding of these age-old principles is new, and you can see how surprised Eric was when he saw how a few chickens or geese filled a huge gap in the backyard ecosystem: being so plant-focused, he hadn't given much thought to the crucial role animals play in nature.
I walked away from this book more eager to start my own edible perennial garden, and also a bit intimidated about the difficulties even an expert can face in trying to balance everything out. But I better see the role perennials play in our diet - they are the first and last to produce, and the initial work involved in planting them right, will pay off in years of steady production.
November 13, 2019
Inspiring!
Wow, what they have done with a lot in New England is just inspiring. I am looking forward to reading more about permaculture and applying the techniques.
Wow, what they have done with a lot in New England is just inspiring. I am looking forward to reading more about permaculture and applying the techniques.
August 16, 2013
Excellent followup to Toensmeier's other books on permaculture. In this one, he and his friend Jonathan Bates actually put 8 years of experience growing the plants recommended in his first two incredible tomes, Perennial Vegetables: From Artichokes to Zuiki Taro, a Gardener's Guide to Over 100 Delicious and Easy to Grow Edibles and Edible Forest Gardens: 2 Volume Set. I was thrilled to learn which combinations, guilds, and polycultures worked well and which didn't.
I loved the personal narrative also, about their goal of a creating a duplex "nest" to which they might hope to attract the women of their dreams. It all worked out! I loved the urban thrust of this book -- most permaculture tomes assume endless access to land, which is contrary to the trend of more and more urban dwellers in our world. So much remains possible on the very small scale!
With the words "Plant Geeks" actually in the subtitle, I'm surprised at some other reviewers' surprise that this is a detailed examination of urban growing by two extraordinarily learned individuals. It's not an introductory text. If the word "ecosystem" is not used in your daily life, this book probably isn't for you.
I loved the personal narrative also, about their goal of a creating a duplex "nest" to which they might hope to attract the women of their dreams. It all worked out! I loved the urban thrust of this book -- most permaculture tomes assume endless access to land, which is contrary to the trend of more and more urban dwellers in our world. So much remains possible on the very small scale!
With the words "Plant Geeks" actually in the subtitle, I'm surprised at some other reviewers' surprise that this is a detailed examination of urban growing by two extraordinarily learned individuals. It's not an introductory text. If the word "ecosystem" is not used in your daily life, this book probably isn't for you.
February 25, 2015
Unfortunately I had to return this to the library before writing my review. I studied Permaculture ~15 years ago as a landscape design student and while this book had a few interesting ideas I don't feel it added to my knowledge on the subject. I was also put off by one of the author's selfish attitude regarding support of a bill to allow people to keep chickens in their town. They had their chickens (illegally) so they didn't want to rock the boat so others could have chickens, really?
Also some of the information was site specific, if you live in areas with different water needs, soil pH, microclimates etc the information isn't appropriate (since I don't have the book in my hands I can't refer directly.) I feel the book could have been improved with photos or pen and ink drawings throughout the text. I'm sure the book will be useful to some, it just wasn't for me.
Also some of the information was site specific, if you live in areas with different water needs, soil pH, microclimates etc the information isn't appropriate (since I don't have the book in my hands I can't refer directly.) I feel the book could have been improved with photos or pen and ink drawings throughout the text. I'm sure the book will be useful to some, it just wasn't for me.
November 5, 2017
The description on the book says this "is a funny and charming story of two single guys, both plant nerds, with a wild plan." The book I read is neither charming nor funny. It is insufficiently anecdotal and too informational to be funny. It is insufficiently informational to be a good garden resource. I am glad to know that these guys put together a successful permaculture homestead in the middle of urban Massachusetts, but it was a dry read to get through the whole thing.
November 5, 2018
The title - Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City - turned out to be very misleading for me. Mostly because my idea of a city is very different: not a house with a front and back yards in a town, but a flat with a balcony and maybe some roof space. So the inspirational part didn't really work. I was also expecting more helpful suggestions, while the book is mostly an autobiography from a little train that could.
May 4, 2013
This is a wonderful book for anyone wanting to do urban food forest gardening. They give lots of detail about which combinations and guilds worked or failed and why. The authors also include the story of how the development proceeded and fit in to the different stages of their lives.
January 31, 2024
Damn. What a great book. So inspiring. I've already started my own paradise lot... Though I have 1/10th the space these dudes had. Would love to move into a slightly larger property some day and really give it a good go
January 2, 2025
Stalled at page 58. Will try again.
Started up again, and made it this time. Lots of great permaculture information, and inspiration.
I bought a copy so I can mark it up to my heart's desire. The librarians get excited when I do that to their books!
Started up again, and made it this time. Lots of great permaculture information, and inspiration.
I bought a copy so I can mark it up to my heart's desire. The librarians get excited when I do that to their books!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2015
Two friends with a common vision transform an urban yard into a complex, permaculture farm. I am inspired to look through those plant catalogs and order some trees.
August 14, 2018
I just finished reading this book, “Paradise Lot: Two plant geeks, one-tenth of an acre and the making of an edible garden oasis in the city” and I enjoyed it a good deal. The author, Eric Toensmeier and his roommate Jonathan Bates, tell the story of their purchase of a tenth of an acre with a duplex in Holyoke MA, and their 5+ year process to turn it into a self-sustaining, edible ecosystem. At times getting really into the weeds (hee hee hee!) about their choices of what to plant, where, when and why, they show how a knowledgeable and creative approach, respectful of the natural order of things, can successfully guide an ecosystem to be healthy, beautiful and productive. Within 5 years of planting they were growing and harvesting pawpaws, berries, apples, grapes, peanuts, groundnuts, “yamberries” and raising chickens all on one-tenth acre which had previously been hard-scrabble urban fill and compacted clay.
Another quality of the book I appreciate is Toensmeier’s ability to remain, on the whole, politically neutral and to concentrate on the inner workings of the garden itself. Bates, in his contributions, waxes a bit more and rhapsodic, but altogether they focus on encouraging community and small scale oriented changes rather than wasting their time on the more typical environmentalist spiels about mega-systems and international orders and corporations and such.
Finally, what most sticks with me are these two excerpts from one of the last chapters:
“As a budding ecologist in the 1970’s and 1980’s, I learned that the best we can possibly do as environmentalists is to minimize our impact on nature. The ideal footprint would be no footprint at all. That doesn’t really give us a lot of room to breathe, and with that as its model it’s easy to see why the environmental movement has not won wider acceptance. The most profound thing I have learned from indigenous land management traditions is that human impact can be positive – even necessary – for the environment. Indeed it seems to me that the goal of an environmental community should not be to reduce our impact on the landscape but to maximize our impact and make it a positive one, or at the very least to optimize our effect on the landscape and acknowledge that we can have a positive role to play.”
“I’m all for hammocks and fruit, but I’m learning to embrace the idea of gardens that need us not to toil against weeds and bugs but rather as part of the ecosystem, to hold the rudder and help steer nature in a direction of delightful abundance and elegant complexity.”
Especially that last paragraph seems to me to embody a truly Catholic ideal of both the nature and dignity of human work and its relation to the environment.
Take as a whole the book also highlights why so much of our agricultural practice is destructive and ultimately exploitative not just of the environment but, which is much more important, of other people. The approach described in this book requires a deep knowledge and love of their little miniature ecosystem, and of all the plants that made it up, informed by a love of the community they were building and a desire to share the abundance that they knew the earth was capable of with others. It requires work, understanding, patience, and trust. It is much simpler and easier to strip the ground bare, plant it with all one kind of seed, spray it with chemicals to kill all other kinds of plants, spray it with more chemicals to kill all the insects (good and bad), to harvest by machine or underpaid labor, and then to sell it on the hope of breaking even with enough left over to put food on the table and pay the mortgage.
This leads to my final point about this book which is that the authors do not recommend that everyone cease their agriculture practices, burn down the agri-business and return to an urban-hipster-perma-agrarian way of life. They are practical and sensible in realizing the costs, risks and possible outcome of a permaculture system. They are aware that only the fact of an established and intricate economic network enables them to have the time to devote to their hobby and to make it as successful as they were able to make it. Their self-proclaimed goal is to build a foundation of mistakes and lessons learned from them in the hopes that in 20-years their successes will be regarded as obvious and simply take for granted, while other interested people can build on their knowledge and experience to build communities and networks of communities growing more food in a more sustainable way.
Altogether, I enjoyed it, it has given me a lot to think about it, and as my family plans an eventual move to some land of our own, we will be giving a permaculture approach a hard look and some serious thought.
Another quality of the book I appreciate is Toensmeier’s ability to remain, on the whole, politically neutral and to concentrate on the inner workings of the garden itself. Bates, in his contributions, waxes a bit more and rhapsodic, but altogether they focus on encouraging community and small scale oriented changes rather than wasting their time on the more typical environmentalist spiels about mega-systems and international orders and corporations and such.
Finally, what most sticks with me are these two excerpts from one of the last chapters:
“As a budding ecologist in the 1970’s and 1980’s, I learned that the best we can possibly do as environmentalists is to minimize our impact on nature. The ideal footprint would be no footprint at all. That doesn’t really give us a lot of room to breathe, and with that as its model it’s easy to see why the environmental movement has not won wider acceptance. The most profound thing I have learned from indigenous land management traditions is that human impact can be positive – even necessary – for the environment. Indeed it seems to me that the goal of an environmental community should not be to reduce our impact on the landscape but to maximize our impact and make it a positive one, or at the very least to optimize our effect on the landscape and acknowledge that we can have a positive role to play.”
“I’m all for hammocks and fruit, but I’m learning to embrace the idea of gardens that need us not to toil against weeds and bugs but rather as part of the ecosystem, to hold the rudder and help steer nature in a direction of delightful abundance and elegant complexity.”
Especially that last paragraph seems to me to embody a truly Catholic ideal of both the nature and dignity of human work and its relation to the environment.
Take as a whole the book also highlights why so much of our agricultural practice is destructive and ultimately exploitative not just of the environment but, which is much more important, of other people. The approach described in this book requires a deep knowledge and love of their little miniature ecosystem, and of all the plants that made it up, informed by a love of the community they were building and a desire to share the abundance that they knew the earth was capable of with others. It requires work, understanding, patience, and trust. It is much simpler and easier to strip the ground bare, plant it with all one kind of seed, spray it with chemicals to kill all other kinds of plants, spray it with more chemicals to kill all the insects (good and bad), to harvest by machine or underpaid labor, and then to sell it on the hope of breaking even with enough left over to put food on the table and pay the mortgage.
This leads to my final point about this book which is that the authors do not recommend that everyone cease their agriculture practices, burn down the agri-business and return to an urban-hipster-perma-agrarian way of life. They are practical and sensible in realizing the costs, risks and possible outcome of a permaculture system. They are aware that only the fact of an established and intricate economic network enables them to have the time to devote to their hobby and to make it as successful as they were able to make it. Their self-proclaimed goal is to build a foundation of mistakes and lessons learned from them in the hopes that in 20-years their successes will be regarded as obvious and simply take for granted, while other interested people can build on their knowledge and experience to build communities and networks of communities growing more food in a more sustainable way.
Altogether, I enjoyed it, it has given me a lot to think about it, and as my family plans an eventual move to some land of our own, we will be giving a permaculture approach a hard look and some serious thought.
July 29, 2022
This month’s featured reading is not a business book, though it has a small amount of business content. It’s a back-to-the-land book that takes place on a lot most people would think is too small, in a densely populated and economically depressed area of Holyoke, Massachusetts that always reminds me of a smaller version of my native Bronx, NY.
I’m reviewing it here because you and I, as active or would-be green and socially conscious business leaders, have to spend some of our time on highlighting ways to develop and market attractive alternatives to the carbon-intensive, chemical-laden, soul-killing business and living practices that have become the norm. And leading by example, as Toensmeier has done, is a great way to present those alternatives.
In 2004, Toensmeier and his semi-co-author Bates bought a two-family house on a nearly lifeless 1/10-acre lot about a mile from the downtown of the first planned industrial city in the US (and two towns away from our house in a much more rural area), a city where poverty is rampant and the infrastructure has seen hard times. While most permaculture farms have considerably more space and many are located in more temperate areas, Toensmeier and Bates spent 18 years creating a mini-permaculture farm that could survive the harsh winters of the northeast, on a lot where every square inch had to count—starting with rebuilding the badly abused soil, moving on to annual vegetables, and then beginning to build long-term viability with perennials, including many kinds of berry bushes and fruit trees.
Because their goals were not only to achieve a measure of food self-sufficiency but also to create replicable models for small-scale urban permaculture projects in the US northeast (p. 203) and to eventually minimize the work of caring for it, they kept careful notes: what they planted, what they pulled out when they planted something different, how and when it bore, whether they liked eating it, which parts were edible, and more.
One aspect directly relevant to my own work is the way they paid attention to social justice and neighborliness—something that more people are talking about now than when they started, and something that’s particularly important for two white males from the suburbs moving into an urban community of color where many people are under economic stress. They found many ways to involve the community, and particularly the neighborhood children. For example, they would have kids over to talk about what they were doing and experience it hands-on, and gave out berry starters and other plants for their neighbors to have some fresh food of their own (p. 61). Eric eventually took a day job managing a local community farm where the predominantly Puerto Rican or Puerto Rican-heritage farmers in the area had a place to raise their crops.
They called the project (and the book) Paradise Lot. I first found out about it this past October 9 (which happens to be Dina’s and my official wedding anniversary), when we were invited to an event there. Eric gave us a tour that included lots of tastes. I was blown away. I took some pictures that day and posted them at https://www.facebook.com/shel.horowit... . Then Dina gave me his book for Chanukah.
Eric is also the author or co-author of several other food self-sufficiency and permaculture books including Edible Forest Gardens, and is a scholar of permaculture’s history in the US and elsewhere. And he has come to respect the positive impact that well-thought-out human intervention can have on the landscape. He was awed to realize that the pre-Columbus Native civilizations in the Americas constituted “the largest example of permaculture the world has ever seen” (p.178). And bringing this movement back into the mainstream has major implications as a hedge against fossil-fuel price chaos (pp. 201-202).
The book is a decade old, and Eric has just purchased a much larger farm. I hope his little urban dreamstead continues to flourish, I’m sure that the new farm will once again be a meticulously documented laboratory of agronomic innovation, and I wish him and his wife Marikler much happiness.
I’m reviewing it here because you and I, as active or would-be green and socially conscious business leaders, have to spend some of our time on highlighting ways to develop and market attractive alternatives to the carbon-intensive, chemical-laden, soul-killing business and living practices that have become the norm. And leading by example, as Toensmeier has done, is a great way to present those alternatives.
In 2004, Toensmeier and his semi-co-author Bates bought a two-family house on a nearly lifeless 1/10-acre lot about a mile from the downtown of the first planned industrial city in the US (and two towns away from our house in a much more rural area), a city where poverty is rampant and the infrastructure has seen hard times. While most permaculture farms have considerably more space and many are located in more temperate areas, Toensmeier and Bates spent 18 years creating a mini-permaculture farm that could survive the harsh winters of the northeast, on a lot where every square inch had to count—starting with rebuilding the badly abused soil, moving on to annual vegetables, and then beginning to build long-term viability with perennials, including many kinds of berry bushes and fruit trees.
Because their goals were not only to achieve a measure of food self-sufficiency but also to create replicable models for small-scale urban permaculture projects in the US northeast (p. 203) and to eventually minimize the work of caring for it, they kept careful notes: what they planted, what they pulled out when they planted something different, how and when it bore, whether they liked eating it, which parts were edible, and more.
One aspect directly relevant to my own work is the way they paid attention to social justice and neighborliness—something that more people are talking about now than when they started, and something that’s particularly important for two white males from the suburbs moving into an urban community of color where many people are under economic stress. They found many ways to involve the community, and particularly the neighborhood children. For example, they would have kids over to talk about what they were doing and experience it hands-on, and gave out berry starters and other plants for their neighbors to have some fresh food of their own (p. 61). Eric eventually took a day job managing a local community farm where the predominantly Puerto Rican or Puerto Rican-heritage farmers in the area had a place to raise their crops.
They called the project (and the book) Paradise Lot. I first found out about it this past October 9 (which happens to be Dina’s and my official wedding anniversary), when we were invited to an event there. Eric gave us a tour that included lots of tastes. I was blown away. I took some pictures that day and posted them at https://www.facebook.com/shel.horowit... . Then Dina gave me his book for Chanukah.
Eric is also the author or co-author of several other food self-sufficiency and permaculture books including Edible Forest Gardens, and is a scholar of permaculture’s history in the US and elsewhere. And he has come to respect the positive impact that well-thought-out human intervention can have on the landscape. He was awed to realize that the pre-Columbus Native civilizations in the Americas constituted “the largest example of permaculture the world has ever seen” (p.178). And bringing this movement back into the mainstream has major implications as a hedge against fossil-fuel price chaos (pp. 201-202).
The book is a decade old, and Eric has just purchased a much larger farm. I hope his little urban dreamstead continues to flourish, I’m sure that the new farm will once again be a meticulously documented laboratory of agronomic innovation, and I wish him and his wife Marikler much happiness.
August 25, 2021
A valuable experiment to prove that you can successfully grow a large amount of food in a small, poor soiled, urban space. Though the author believes you likely wouldn't become fully self-sustaining on 10% of an acre, they do show how you can grow hundreds of pounds of food and produce a large portion of your own diet. "Our experience refutes the notion of scarcity".
It's great to see how much they improve the ecosystem and environment in their space, attracting many healthy and useful species of animals. I like the author's view that we should be working not just to reduce our negative footprint on the planet, but to see how large of a positive and helpful footprint and impact we can have, by acting as a guiding steward to help productive life and ecosystems flourish.
I like the author's view that we shouldn't necessarily be fighting to see only "native" species of plants (e.g. apples and carrots are not native to North America, but they seem useful to grow there). Rather - as humans we can analyze the best behaviours, nutrition, and conditions from all plants and use good combinations to improve an area.
Personally I'd prefer a practical guide to selecting plants and creating a good ecosystem in your area, but kudos to the authors for doing the intensive work and research to prove this and make it possible.
It's great to see how much they improve the ecosystem and environment in their space, attracting many healthy and useful species of animals. I like the author's view that we should be working not just to reduce our negative footprint on the planet, but to see how large of a positive and helpful footprint and impact we can have, by acting as a guiding steward to help productive life and ecosystems flourish.
I like the author's view that we shouldn't necessarily be fighting to see only "native" species of plants (e.g. apples and carrots are not native to North America, but they seem useful to grow there). Rather - as humans we can analyze the best behaviours, nutrition, and conditions from all plants and use good combinations to improve an area.
Personally I'd prefer a practical guide to selecting plants and creating a good ecosystem in your area, but kudos to the authors for doing the intensive work and research to prove this and make it possible.
July 23, 2018
"Paradise Lot" offers an inspiring narrative that will appeal to those who fantasize about beautiful, functional gardens in urban environments. Authors Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates weave a cheerful chronicle of the development of a nearly sterile yard into an ecological oasis. Along the way, they successfully justify their self-identification as "plant geeks."
The book lacks substantial quantitative data, but otherwise contains a fair amount of useful information related to the authors' landscape design and plant species selection process, with a natural focus on particular considerations relevant to their specific site in the northeastern United States. The color photographs provide a helpful visual aid, as do the sketch plans in the appendix.
"Paradise Lot" may not serve as an entirely sufficient stand-alone guide for urban permaculture, but it does illustrate many exciting possibilities that are available to an average homeowner.
This book will be a worthwhile read for both novices and experts who are interested in landscape design, ecological gardening, permaculture, and similar subjects.
The book lacks substantial quantitative data, but otherwise contains a fair amount of useful information related to the authors' landscape design and plant species selection process, with a natural focus on particular considerations relevant to their specific site in the northeastern United States. The color photographs provide a helpful visual aid, as do the sketch plans in the appendix.
"Paradise Lot" may not serve as an entirely sufficient stand-alone guide for urban permaculture, but it does illustrate many exciting possibilities that are available to an average homeowner.
This book will be a worthwhile read for both novices and experts who are interested in landscape design, ecological gardening, permaculture, and similar subjects.
August 31, 2017
The book, which focuses most of its attention on edible perennials (and not annuals like corn, tomatoes, etc), is divided into four sections -- Sleep, Creep, Leap, and Reap -- offered essentially in chronological order from 2000, when Toensmeier and Bates first rented a farmhouse together and started to put into practice some of their gardening ideas, to 2012, after they had lived in their duplex house in urban Holyoke, MA (zone 6) for about 8 years. Toensmeier writes most of the book, with Bates offering a handful of sidebars throughout. There's more memoir in the book than in most gardening books, but it's not overdone, and the experimental, "let's try it!" farming and gardening practice of the two men (and later, their wives) shines through. Full-colour photos (center of book) and design sketches (Appendix A) help the reader envision the property and its changes, and Appendix B is a good list for northern gardeners of edible perennials to consider.
January 31, 2022
Nonfiction- gardening memoir. This was an interesting and inspiring memoir about two men who turned a tenth of an acre lot in Holyoke, Massachusetts into a year-round food forest. They did a thorough analysis of the property, including observing wind, rain, and shade patterns as well as soil testing. One section of the property was protected by the wind, so it was a tropical microclimate that had characteristics of a more southern hardiness zone. I loved hearing about unusual perennials and all of the different kind of berries. The difference in their soil analysis several years later was striking. A lot of back matter, including full lists of the plants they grew successfully, books and websites. I would have loved even more pictures, but there was a section of color photographs in the center.
August 16, 2017
I have mixed feelings about this book. To be sure, the subject matter is interesting and inspiring; I surely would love to have my own "paradise lot" and there is a lot of material in here on examples of just how that has been done in an unexpected and small location. In fact, the sheer number of different things that these two were able to grow on their tiny new-England lot is very cool.
But the writing style is dragging in some parts, and outright cringey in others. The "love story" part where the two authors find their "mates" is just so awful and forced in there. And them referring to themselves as plant-geeks at every opportunity just gets too much. They (or at least the main narrator) come off as a "Bro" who thinks his cool thing is plants.
But the writing style is dragging in some parts, and outright cringey in others. The "love story" part where the two authors find their "mates" is just so awful and forced in there. And them referring to themselves as plant-geeks at every opportunity just gets too much. They (or at least the main narrator) come off as a "Bro" who thinks his cool thing is plants.
April 10, 2022
I loved this book! Both Eric and Jason provide useful information as to what works for them on their plot of land right here in Holyoke, Massachusetts. I couldn’t help but take notes on the information packed in this book. Not only does it provide detailed varieties of workable polycultures in a small space, it also provides insight into plants that don’t work well together through various experimentation. This book also briefly touches upon indigenous knowledge/practices in regards to caring for the land as well as the issues associated with climate change. I highly recommend this one to anyone looking to get into gardening. So excited to put some of the information provided into practical use!!
October 22, 2022
It took me a long time to finish this book because it kept giving me ideas for my own garden experiment. But since Eric lived in a radically different ecosystem than I do, I looked up information on plants for my arid high altitude zone 5 and how permacultures might be created here using Eric Toensmeier’s schematics.
I was fascinated how the two guys could grow tropical plants in the northeastern U.S. and thought maybe I could grow food plants not generally recommended for my zone here, too. (Considering my proximity to the sun at high altitude.)
I loved how he talked about so many different berries and other unusual food crops. I am continuing to think about growing things such as Gogi Berries and different species of Currants. And I realized sand cherries are native to my region!
I was fascinated how the two guys could grow tropical plants in the northeastern U.S. and thought maybe I could grow food plants not generally recommended for my zone here, too. (Considering my proximity to the sun at high altitude.)
I loved how he talked about so many different berries and other unusual food crops. I am continuing to think about growing things such as Gogi Berries and different species of Currants. And I realized sand cherries are native to my region!
January 26, 2020
This was an interesting read. I will likely not create a permiculture anytime soon but it is certainly a goal to strive for. I grew up with a front yard that was a giant herb garden and the experience (a much as I remember) is similar to the work. We had a variety of birds and bugs and it was little oasis in the middle of the neighborhood. It has since been plowed under.
This book could have had 5 stars if the authors hadn't been so weird about "finding their mate" by saying that they "prepared their nests" or "finding Eve." It would be assumed they might find a partner and it came off as really creepy and not at all endearing to their story.
This book could have had 5 stars if the authors hadn't been so weird about "finding their mate" by saying that they "prepared their nests" or "finding Eve." It would be assumed they might find a partner and it came off as really creepy and not at all endearing to their story.
September 10, 2024
This one is for my gardening friends! Two guys, Eric and Jonathan, move into a duplex in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Situated on 1/10 of an acre, on compacted, ugly dirt, it is a testament to the knowledge, skill and courage to try new things that enables these guys to create a lush landscape of edible vegetables and fruits. I learned quite a bit about perennial vegetables, shade vegetables, and tropicals. They worked hard at winning over their neighbors and helped to change some zoning restrictions. I love the idea of a yearly sustainable food source in your own backyard! My only problem would be wanting to make all the chickens and rabbits my pets (and not my dinner)!
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