Buy Some Books

Okay, you may noticed a slew of new books from Amazon sitting in the sidebar to the left. These are books that I personally own and are favorites here at Boulder Belt Eco-Farm. Here's the deal. I write this blog because I love writing. But I want this blog to generate some income and Google and Amazon ads are posted here for that purpose. Click on an ad, and I get a tiny % for allowing these ads to clutter up this blog. With Google I do not have any say as to what will be posted. For the most, part the Google ads have been unoffensive (there are a few that appear from time to time that do piss me off. Milk is Milk is one such ad. It's Alex Avery's site touting the wonders of rBGH and GMO's and telling us that organics will kill us all. Oh, and anything associated with Monsanto).

With the Amazon ads in order for me to get any $$ you do have to buy a book (and it has to be from the selections posted here on this very blog). Since it is the Holiday season and you likely have to buy some presents anyhoo why not support small farm in doing so

So I am asking you to take a look at the Amazon selections here. If you see something that interests you (and if you are a beginning locavore or market farmer all these titles ought to pique your interest)click on that link and buy the product and I get a % and the blog generates money for our sustainable farm and that means income during our slow season (winter) so we can pay bills, buy seed and equipment for the upcoming growing season.

Okay about the publications listed.

Food and Farms of Ohio; I have to admit I have not read but Boulder Belt Farm is profiled in this book. The reason I do not own this is because I usually get a copy of any book I am in (and there have been several) and for some reason I was not sent a free copy of this book. At any rate this is a cookbook that celebrates local food and farms of Ohio.

Root Cellaring; This is a must have book if you intend to be a locavore/eat locally year round. Beautifully and simply written it explains how you grow and put up food for the winter so you can eat local year round. And this is not just for us rural folks, they have lots of tips for apartment dwellers as well.

The New Organic Grower; I think this is Eliot Coleman's best book. It covers about everything you need to know to set up a market garden of really large and complex home garden. I think this book would be overwhelming for a gardening newbie. Coleman covers site selection, laying out a garden, crop rotation, equipment needs, seed starting, season extension, etc.. this book is what got us through the jump from teensy market garden to growing on an acre (now we are at around 3 acres).

Seed to Seed; This is the best book on basic seed saving. Anyone interested in heirloom crops and seed saving should have a copy of this book. it is basic and well laid out and is the seed saving book we use most often here at Boulder Belt Eco-Farm.

The New Farmers Market: This is simply the best book ever published on farmers markets. If you are a in the process of developing a new farmers market you must have this book. If you are a market grower you must have this book, it is loaded with tons of information as to how to better market what you grow. I have used this book a lot, both for my own farm's sales and also to help create the Oxford farmers markets Uptown (which is very very successful, in part because of this book)

Breed Your own Vegetable Varieties; When you have gotten beyond basic seed saving and want to try your hand at breeding it is time to move from Ashworth's Seed to Seed and buy a copy of this book. Deppe is a professional seed breeder (she has a Ph.d and everthang) and a very good writer. this book is a series of stories about seed saving and breeding along with all the technical information you need to know about isolation, plant selection, etc..


Acres Magazine:The Voice for Eco-Agriculture; I have been an Acres subscriber for well over 10 years (and because these are too good to ever throw away-like Nat'l Geographics-I have a 4' stack of the back issues). I love this publication as it keeps me up to date on farm issues, industrial organics, NAIS, etc.. It has a lot of information on soil building, grazing, permaculture, biodynamics, small farming, alternative medicine for man and beast. If you are at all into alternative living check out this magazine.