I need a book, DVD, or online media recommendation

Hi Everyone -

I'm looking for a book or video recommendation on permaculture landscape design. We have about a half-acre in climate zone 5B (very arid, long growing season) with literally nothing on it, and it's flat. There are some large shade trees on the neighbors property that provide shade for an understory zone but that's about it.

We have access to a tractor and can make swales, hugelkultur beds, etc. We're starting literally from scratch, so we want to 'design it right' from the ground up. Pun intended.

Thanks

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=404901426225774&set=a.399852263397357.79282.150840081631911&type=3&theater

All Geoff Lawton videos talk about design and some of them show it from beggining to end, have a look at them and much more:

http://permaculture.org.au/store/menupage.html?menu=1

This one should be good for you



Sepp Holzer videos and books are also awesome resources, although he doesn't live on arid places he does have many tricks that work everywhere.

Good luck.

I recommend "Establishing a Food Forest" DVD from PRI : http://permaculture.org.au/store/cartview.html?id=2

Example of a total permaculture design: http://permaculture.org.au/2012/06/01/zaytuna-farm-video-tour-apr-may-2012-ten-years-of-revolutionary-design/

For a smaller property, Happy Earth is a good example with plenty of design details on their website: http://www.happyearth.com.au/

For the actual design process, Permaculture Design: a step-by-step guide by Aranya is fantastic.



It's already available in the UK and is due to be released in the US on September 3rd, though according to the amazon.com link it seems to be already in stock so I'm not sure what's going on. I'm in the middle of writing a review for it, and there's a promotion planned to start on September 10th where Aranya will be visiting the forum, so get ready to pick his brains, and maybe win a copy, too! I'll get that review finished asap and come back and post a link to it.

Burra Maluca wrote:For the actual design process, Permaculture Design: a step-by-step guide by Aranya is fantastic.

It's already available in the UK and is due to be released in the US on September 3rd, though according to the amazon.com link it seems to be already in stock so I'm not sure what's going on. I'm in the middle of writing a review for it, and there's a promotion planned to start on September 10th where Aranya will be visiting the forum, so get ready to pick his brains, and maybe win a copy, too! I'll get that review finished asap and come back and post a link to it.

Thanks - I just went to Amazon and was able to order it. It said I should have it in 3 to 5 days (I'm in California).

Thanks for the recommendation.

I've also been watching "Back to Eden" -- anyone have any thoughts or experience with that method?

the above are all good, also Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway...also you mention zone and aridity but not the actual state or area of country you are living in..I am in zone 4/5 in Michigan..see my blog for some ideas

I add my newbie two cents.
If you are a seasoned permaculture Yoda, ask yourself this question:

"If I was brand new to permaculture what resources would I pick to start out focusing on to accelerate my understanding and abilities?"

List your top 3 resources in a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd fashion;
Top 3 books.
Top 3 DVD's or online documentaries.
Top 3 online resources, this one included.
Top 3 masters to absorb from.

Just a little side note, I live in the Dallas area which has wetter fall, winter and spring with sometimes no rain in the summer for a couple months.

Thank you