Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier

I give this book 9/10 acorns...
Ok so I gave a 9 because I think eric could have made this soooo much bigger. That being said this book is great and turned me on to many plants that I wouldn't have paid attention to. At a glance you can tell if it will grow in your region and what you can do with it when it grows. It was invaluable as I made my permiculture design, it tells you how big things get and how aggressive they are, different varieties of the same thing that will grow in a colder/warmer climate, recipies, history, ecology, uses, storage- the list goes on and is probably why the book only goes as far as it does- we probably would have had to wait years for a more comprehensive version. There is a tremendous amount of information in this book and I can only hope that this leads to several books specific to each climate zone, but don't worry there is plenty in this book to give everyone a bunch of things to experiment with.

I give this book 9 out of 10 acorns.

I had no idea there were so many perennial vegetables. I will definitely try to incorporate more perennials into my vegetable garden and landscape. In addition to the wonderful array of options to consider, with in depth information on each (including tolerances and preferences, and propagation and planting...), Perennial Vegetables also provides useful gardening information, (including diagnosing nutrient imbalances, diseases and pests, and design..). Sadly, as Toensmeier admits, many of the perennial vegetables covered are not currently easily available. Also, the climate map could have been more accurate.

Beautiful book, but inevitably it covers a lot of plants that I either cannot grow or don't happen to have access to. And due to the sheer scale of the endeavour, of course it omits other edible perennials that I have grown or know about. Beautiful, almost like a coffee table book. This would be a good gift for the person in your life who is interested in gardening, but has not explored edible perennials so far.

I give this book 8 out of 10 acorns.

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns.

An incredible resource, meticulously researched and very level-headed. Inspiring in a way that helps you actually do something, not just daydream.