Reading list for first time farmers?

My fiancé and I are first-timers, starting a farm in Central Florida in June. We have a very limited amount of time to read up and prepare. We've read Teaming with Microbes; Salatin's Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal, and (halfway through) You Can Farm. We spent $90 (we didn't have) on Permaculture: A Designer's Manual, only to find that there were 2 books that were supposed to come first. The designer's manual is pretty overwhelming. I'm most concerned about learning to garden and how to set up a basic permie design on our land. I'm looking for suggestions about what to read (considering limited time and money), and any other suggestion about preparation!

Especially, how useful/necessary are Mollison's Permaculture 1 & 2? Could I stand to wait on them, considering time/money constraints?

Thank you!

I grew up farming, in a family that has farmed for as long as anyone can remember, in a community of farmers and ranchers. Therefore, I didn't feel a need to read books about farming. However, someone sent me a book about farming that turned my farming world upside down. I gave the book an honor that I have given only a few books in my lifetime. I read it a second time. Then I gave it away because I felt like it was too valuable to keep.

The book is named "Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener's and Farmer's Guide to Plant Breeding and Seed Saving", by Carol Deppe.

Beth Daughtry wrote:My fiancé and I are first-timers, starting a farm in Central Florida in June. We have a very limited amount of time to read up and prepare. We've read Teaming with Microbes; Salatin's Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal, and (halfway through) You Can Farm. We spent $90 (we didn't have) on Permaculture: A Designer's Manual, only to find that there were 2 books that were supposed to come first. The designer's manual is pretty overwhelming. I'm most concerned about learning to garden and how to set up a basic permie design on our land. I'm looking for suggestions about what to read (considering limited time and money), and any other suggestion about preparation!

Since they allow you to be doing something else at the same time, podcasts are one of the most efficient ways to gather information. My recommendations would be:
The Coop Cast,
The Beginning Farmer,
Farm Marketing Solutions,
Permaculture Voices,
The Survival Podcast, and
a podcast about starting up a business.

Howdy Beth, welcome to permies!

If you haven't seen the books forum you might find some good stuff there.

https://permies.com/forums/f-83/books

Also , do you have a library ? You could save some money that way.

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:Someone sent me a book about farming that turned my farming world upside down. I gave the book an honor that I have given only a few books in my lifetime. I read it a second time. Then I gave it away because I felt like it was too valuable to keep.

The book is named "Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener's and Farmer's Guide to Plant Breeding and Seed Saving", by Carol Deppe.

After seeing this I searched our forums here for more information. Deppe is mentioned positively in many contexts, and her book got some discussion in this thread:

https://permies.com/t/27470/plants/Breed-vegetable-varieties-Carol-Deppe