Learn how to fill forests with food by viewing agriculture from a remarkably different perspective: that a healthy forest can be maintained while growing a wide range of food, medicinal, and other nontimber products. The practices of forestry and farming are often seen as mutually exclusive, because in the modern world, agriculture involves open fields, straight rows, and machinery to grow crops, while forests are reserved primarily for timber and firewood harvesting. In Farming the Woods, authors Ken Mudge and Steve Gabriel demonstrate that it doesn’t have to be an either-or scenario, but a complementary one; forest farms can be most productive in places where the plow is not: on steep slopes and in shallow soils. Forest farming is an invaluable practice to integrate into any farm or homestead, especially as the need for unique value-added products and supplemental income becomes increasingly important for farmers. Many of the daily indulgences we take for granted, such as coffee, chocolate, and many tropical fruits, all originate in forest ecosystems. But few know that such abundance is also available in the cool temperate forests of North America. Farming the Woods covers in detail how to cultivate, harvest, and market high-value nontimber forest crops such as American ginseng, shiitake mushrooms, ramps (wild leeks), maple syrup, fruit and nut trees, ornamentals, and more. Along with profiles of forest farmers from around the country, readers are also provided comprehensive information on: • historical perspectives of forest farming; • mimicking the forest in a changing climate; • cultivation of medicinal crops; • cultivation of food crops; • creating a forest nursery; • harvesting and utilizing wood products; • the role of animals in the forest farm; and, • how to design your forest farm and manage it once it’s established. Farming the Woods is an essential book for farmers and gardeners who have access to an established woodland, are looking for productive ways to manage it, and are interested in incorporating aspects of agroforestry, permaculture, forest gardening, and sustainable woodlot management into the concept of a whole-farm organism.

Excerpt from The Forest Nursery: Collection of Tree Seeds and Propagation of Seedlings The art of raising forest-tree seedlings and planting trees is but little known among farmers, for whom it has very great economic interest. For the farmer of the Eastern wooded country, the study Of how to grow trees has not yet reached, nor is it likely to reach, the same degree Of importance as for the Western farmer. The Eastern farmer has often to consider only what trees shall be allowed to grow up and what shall be introduced, while the Western farmer has to consider what may be grown and how. The greater interest centers about the Western planter because Of his greater need for wood material, and also because the growth of trees under his conditions is most difficult. The importance of establishing wood lots or shelter belts on farms that lack them is no less Obvious than the necessity of raising the staple crops. The provident farmer can not afford to buy firewood, fence posts, or building timber any more than he can afford to buy corn and wheat. A part, if not all, of the wood material used on the farm can and should be grown there. The profit on this timber growth rightly belongs to the farmer, and it is therefore one which economic agricultu're can not neglect. The relative value of wood lots in the prairie region and the wooded East is, of course, different. To the prairie farmer the possession Of a wood lot affording posts, rails, poles, and firewood is of very great importance, since, being in a treeless reglon and distant from the sources Of wood supply, he would otherwise be compelled to pay high prices for such material. The Eastern farmer is less dependent, even though his wood lot has been cut Off, for he lives in a wooded country, where posts, fuel, and lumber are comparatively cheap. The scope of the farmer's tree planting will necessarily be small. In order to be entirely successful, smaller tree-planting operations should give useful results within one man's lifetime. To accomplish this the farmer tree planter must confine his attention chiefly to quick growing trees. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This antiquarian text contains a guide to managing woodland on a farm, with practical information on soil, tree growth, marketing timber, planting, and much more besides. Complete with helpful tips, clear instructions, a plethora of detailed illustrations, and a wealth of interesting and practicable information, this volume will be of great value to the modern farmer. It makes for a worthy addition to any collection of farming and agricultural literature. The chapters of this book include: 'History of the Woodland', 'Easy and Convenient to Manage', 'Soil for Trees', 'Tree Growth', 'Protection of the Woodland', 'Grazing Incompatible with Woodland', 'Fire', 'Insects and Diseases', 'Developing the Crop', 'Seedling Stage', 'Sapling Stage', 'Polewood Stage', etcetera. We are proud to republish this book, now complete with a new introduction on farming.

Growing for 100 - the complete year-round guide for the small-scale market grower. Across North America, an agricultural renaissance is unfolding. A growing number of market gardeners are emerging to feed our appetite for organic, regional produce. But most of the available resources on food production are aimed at the backyard or hobby gardener who wants to supplement their family's diet with a few homegrown fruits and vegetables. Targeted at serious growers in every climate zone, Sustainable Market Farming is a comprehensive manual for small-scale farmers raising organic crops sustainably on a few acres. Informed by the author's extensive experience growing a wide variety of fresh, organic vegetables and fruit to feed the approximately one hundred members of Twin Oaks Community in central Virginia, this practical guide provides: Detailed profiles of a full range of crops, addressing sowing, cultivation, rotation, succession, common pests and diseases, and harvest and storage Information about new, efficient techniques, season extension, and disease resistant varieties Farm-specific business skills to help ensure a successful, profitable enterprise Whether you are a beginning market grower or an established enterprise seeking to improve your skills, Sustainable Market Farming is an invaluable resource and a timely book for the maturing local agriculture movement.