Austrian Sepp Holzer was friends with fellow Austrian the late Joe Polaischer who moved to New Zealand and set up Rainbow Valley Farm at Matakana, north of Auckland. They had much in common, espousing the virtues of sustainable agriculture. Sepp, for the past 40 years, has been farming 50 hectares of steep mountainside up to 1500 metres above sea level in Austria and has just written his second book “SEPP HOLZER’S PERMACULTURE”. The book incorporates landscape design, (creating terraces, raised beds, water gardens, ponds, humus storage ditches and micro-climates), agroforestry (integrating trees and shrubs into farming), fishery, growing aquatic plants, keeping livestock (pigs, poultry and cattle), fruit growing, alpine pastures, and medicinal plants. Based on decades of experience running a full time farm, the author has had time to continually improve and develop his methods so that now he has as little work to do as possible but still achieve good yields. Making raised beds is an example. Where he once filled the beds with a mixture of earth and wood chips, he now just lays whole trees and branches unchipped in the bed and covers with earth. The raised beds are big and he uses an excavator to make them. His unconventional method of growing fruit trees is similar to that described in Fukuoka’s famous book “The One Straw Revolution.” Though the book is written for a much colder climate than we have, its greatest value is not so much in the information it contains but in the attitudes it teaches. A 232-page paperback with colour illustrations and photographs throughout, $52.00.

Five nice, practical A5-sized books from Australia.

The first is “AUSTRALIAN GRASSES. A GARDENER’S GUIDE TO NATIVE GRASSES, SEDGES, RUSHES AND GRASSTREES” by Nick Romanowski. I would not have bothered with this except it has a bit about grass trees which I find fascinating. Good photos throughout, 183 pages, $34.00.

“KEEPING YOUR OWN FREE RANGE PIGS” by Jen Owens is a beginners guide to raising porkers, baconers and backfatters, what breeds to use and what to feed them. Also includes instructions for making bacon, ham, sausages etc. Well illustrated. A 122-page paperback, $30.00.

“HOME DAIRY. KEEPING A HOUSE COW, GOAT OR SHEEP” by Ann Cliff covers what breeds to use, what to feed them, how to milk them and how to make cheese, yoghurt and other dairy products. A 150-page paperback with photos, $30.00.

By the same author is “PRESERVING MEAT”. It covers smoking, potting, brining, drying and other traditional methods of preserving meat, fish and game at home. A 144-page paperback with colour photographs throughout, $30.00.

“BERRY BOUNTY” by Allen Gilbert explains how to grow traditional and unusual berries. Has a good bit on growing passion fruit including how to graft them, propagation, and pests and diseases, all well covered. A 215-page paperback with photos throughout, $34.00.

“HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN TOBACCO - FROM SEED TO SMOKE” by Ray French, an American nurseryman and a great believer in crop rotation and organic farming. He says “Much of the farmland in the US is depleted of nutrients and is being sustained by the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and genetically engineered crops. Each year we become more and more dependent on these practices. With deforestation and urban sprawl also taking their toll, we need to start taking care of our farmland for future generations. My decision to write this book was not taken lightly in view of the health risks associated with smoking. But I have often wondered why cancer and breathing disorders are so prevalent in modern times yet, as I learned researching this book, humans have used tobacco since the time of the Mayan civilisation. Maybe it’s not the tobacco itself that is causing disease, but all the stuff added to it. Who knows for sure?" A very comprehensive 160-page hardback with black and white illustrations throughout. Good grief! It’s only $40.00 - cheaper than 50 grams of pipe tobacco.

Due to giving up smoking about two years ago I have got very fat and rather than just take Henry the dog for a walk, I have been out spraying gorse and blackberry or planting a tree or two - many of them with individual 44 gallon drum and wire mesh barricades. Trees planted include 18 magnolias, 80 oaks, 100 shipmast acacias, 50 alders, 100 totaras, 25 rimus, 5 sweet chestnuts, 2 maples, and about 20 assorted singletons including a tung oil tree, Juglans australis, and Chorisia speciosa. I like trying odd-ball trees. After much puffing and wheezing, I am a bit fitter but no thinner.

“STARTING OUT WITH PALMS” by David L Jones is this author’s fourth book about palms. It covers more than 200 species, each illustrated with a colour photo, description, temperature zone, and instructions on how to grow it. A 192-page paperback, $35.00.

Due this month is a new edition of Lawrie Metcalf's“THE CULTIVATION OF NZ TREES AND SHRUBS”. This is ideal for gardeners and landscapers in that it covers about 600 native plants including the latest cultivars. It includes useful lists of plants for special places or purposes. Mostly text and a handful of colour photos. A 408-page paperback, $55.00.

Dawn Eagle, past president of the NZ Rose Society and co-owner of Southern Cross Nurseries for 29 years has just produced a small 28-page book called “GROWING ROSES IS EASY”, a commonsense book written specifically for NZ conditions, $15.00.

“KEN RING’S PREDICT WEATHER ALMANAC FOR NZ, 2012” by Ken Ring. Some swear by it - some at it. Diane says our part of the world is in for several years of wet, and the thunderstorms which we haven’t had since the 1982 drought have started. Yippee - lots of grass and tree growth. Ring’s book is 520 pages, spiral wire binding, $50.00.

We have over 50 categories listed on the front page of our website and more than 450 sub-categories. Our computer boffin Graham has installed a “Guided Tour” to help you find particular books that could be listed in more than one category. Click on “Guided Tour” and follow Graham’s steps to find the topics or books you are looking for.

While you are on our website visit our list of New Titles. These list, on a monthly basis, titles new to our shelves. Also have a quick look at Diane's specials, there's some good buying there while stocks last.

Peter Arthur
Touchwood Books
4th November 2011