“Paradise Lot: Making an Edible Garden Oasis in the City”
With Jonathan Bates
Greater Seacoast Permaculture Group
Durham Community Church, 17 Main St., Durham, NH
Saturday, June 1, 2013
1 – 2 pm
A talk and slide show summarizing Jonathan’s new book: “Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City.”
When Jonathan Bates and Eric Toensmeier 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 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 more. The pest control des moines company are also at times roped in to deal with the pest problems. In telling the story of Paradise Lot, they explain 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.
Paradise Lot is also a funny and charming story of two single guys with a wild plan: to realize the garden of their dreams and meet women to share it with. Amazingly, on both counts, they succeed!
Cost: $5-10 per person, payable at the workshop. Books will be available for sale and for signing after the program.
PLANT PREORDER: Jonathan will also be offering to bring with him plants that we order – thus saving a lot on shipping! The order deadline is April 15. Here’s the link to get in on that: http://www.permaculturenursery.com/specialordersonly.html
About Jonathan Bates: Jonathan owns Food Forest Farm Permaculture Nursery (permaculturenursery.com), a nursery specializing in educational services and useful/edible plant sales. He has been studying, creating, and working with rural and urban gardens in the Connecticut River Valley for over a decade. With a bachelor’s degree in biology, and an MA in social ecology from the Institute for Social Ecology, Jonathan loves wild crafting with friends, and working with folks to better the world we live in. He cofounded and is a board member of the Apios Institute, is a teacher at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School, and is a farmer with Nuestras Raices, Inc. He lives in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
For more information: www.meetup.com/GreaterSeacoastPermaculture/