Earth Users Guide to Permaculture

This weekend, I finished Rosemary Morrow's earth user's guide to permaculture, 2d ed., (Chelsea Green Pub. Co. 2006). The book is written in clear sentences. I really liked Rob Allsop's illustrations.

The book has five sections:

1. Observing;
2. Ecological;
3. Applying;
4. Resilience; and 
5. Social.

Each section has substantial merit and so much meat that it will take review and contemplation to take it in and understand its breadth and scope. The application section by itself is worth buying the book.  

A couple notable chapters were 

• climates and microclimates (ecological);
• trees, forests, and windbreaks (ecological)
• developing your design methods (applying)
• a chapter each for permaculture zones zero to five (applying)
• design for disaster (resilience)
• pest management--IPM (reslience)
• aquaculture (reslience)

The book tends to devolve slightly into political environmentalism from a governmental perspective.  I am not sure how the authors would feel about individual liberty philosophy. Clearly, that is a trait that many permaculturists exhibit. That said, the political crap is definitely a far-backseat to the practical principles that Morrow clearly explains in her excellent book 

Now I just need to apply some of the stuff I learned.