Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and The Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City by Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates.
I borrowed this book from our local library, having a growing interest in making my own garden more fruitful and self-sustaining than just a mixed flower bed. At first, I was a little intimidated by all the gardening experience and education the authors, Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates, had throughout their careers, but Paradise Lot proved to be a digestible, easy and enjoyable read. I couldn't wait to read a couple of chapters each night after putting Henry down for bed, a cup of tea in hand and my gardening journal beside me for note taking. After completing Paradise Lot, I have to say that my understanding of edible gardening has increased, as did my curiosity in permaculture gardening.
Written in a sequential manner, Paradise Lot follows Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates' journey as they create an oasis straight out of a city lot that was considered a dump. Asphalt, debris, and scraggly weeds was all that the lot had to offer them in the beginning. Throughout their journey, they met lots of push back from city officials as the pair pushed boundaries in order to make their lot and lives as self-sustaining as possible--at one point they even received fines for owning chickens, which was at the time banned from small homesteaders in the state of Massachusetts. Even though there were a few lows throughout the process of creating an oasis, they also met many people who supported their project, and were even inspired by it. As their garden grew, so did the yards around their neighborhood, vacant lots of trash and dirt soon growing green towards the sky.
Throughout the book, Toensmeier and Bates both wrote extensively on how returning to our yards and gardens to provide some, if not most, of our food intake can do so much for our health, and the health of the environment. By not depending on over-sized commercial farmers for everything we eat, we cut down on our carbon footprint, and will eat more organically (if you choose to not grow with chemicals!), and therefore, improve our overall health. Not only did they grow vegetables and fruits for their table, but also used their produce to barter for foods and other goods they couldn't grow, usually taking their produce by bike to the local farmer's market. Reading Paradise Lot made me even more encouraged to feed Henry pureed fruits and veggies from my garden, or my mother's garden when possible.
Paradise Lot also inspired me to begin looking at native species of plants to integrate into my garden, and to look at how certain plants can develop symbiotic relationships to each other to ward of pests, fungal diseases and even weeds. Since finishing the book, I've added several milkweed plants to the main flower bed, and cone flowers which are fantastic pollinators pretty enough to set in a vase on the dining table.
So, if you are curious about how to create a garden that not only looks beautiful, but can also feed you and your family, I highly recommend reading Paradise Lot. If you are curious on how to cultivate a garden that consists of only native species, I once again recommend this book, and Eric Toensmeier's other book (cowritten with Dave Jacke), Edible Forest Garden, which is up next on my reading list.
Happy reading, and happy gardening!
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