Here’s a comprehensive range of videos, suppliers and books. Unless specifically mentioned, Permaculture Adventures receives no affiliate commissions from the resources listed. We’ll add to this list over time, but we also have a massive compendium of resources that we’re developing for sale as part of our offering to course attendees.
SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE VIDEO RESOURCES
The Permaculture Vine Podcast. Hosted by Cormac Harkin, one of my friends and a fellow permaculture designer, based in the UK and sharing permaculture with a global audience. Cormac interviews permaculture consultants to learn about their careers and to gain advice for recent graduates of permaculture courses for how to start their own careers. See Episode 47 where Cormac interviews Graham Towerton.
Charles Dowding No Dig. Charles is an excellent person to watch as he displays all aspects of no-dig gardening, seed planting, compost making, growing in greenhouses, use of cold-climate growing methods and much more.
MIGardener. Based here in my home state of Michigan, Luke provides a wealth of relevant information for growing annuals and perennials in cold northern climates. Also see his site for purchasing seed in our “Seed and Nursery Suppliers” section.
The Millennial Gardener. Based in the area round Wilmington SC, a very good range of “how to grow it” tutorials including methods for pushing the envelope to grow warm climate plants.
The Gardening Channel with James Prigioni. James is one of the most enthusiastic teachers of permaculture on the internet. Join James and his much beloved dog Tuck as they journey through their gardens and display an abundance of food production in New Jersey.
The Weedy Garden in Australia. Weedy gives great tours and discusses permaculture on his own property in northern New South Wales.
Geoff Lawton’s Discover Permaculture. For in-depth learning about permaculture and how to apply it, you cannot go past Geoff Lawton as one of the world’s pre-eminent teachers of permaculture.
SEED AND NURSERY SUPPLIERS
I only list seed and nursery suppliers here that I have used myself and have had good experience with.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I’ve used these dating back to 2006 with good results growing in climates from USDA Zone 5b to 9b. The seeds are non-GMO, open pollinated heirloom and heritage varieties. Many rare varieties are available due to Jere Gettle’s efforts to obtain seeds from all over the world. They also supply a number of annual and perennial plants and they have one of the best seed and plant catalogues available.
Ferry Morse. I’ve used the non-GMO heirloom seeds, both conventional and organic for herbs and vegetables. I don’t use this company’s seed as often any more as I’m preferring now to get more seed locally, but have no hesitation in recommending them.
Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply. Organically grown, non-GMO, heirloom seeds. Based in California, but I’ve used their seed in USDA 5b to 9b without any problems. They also have a large variety of fruit and nut trees and I have purchased many of these in the past to grow in several locations in Texas and Oklahoma.
Reimer Seeds. This company offers over 3,000 varieties of vegetable, herbs and flowers and you can even search for varieties based on their country of origin. I’ve grown their Telephone (Alderman) Peas and their Windsor broad beans as well as some of their onion varieties. I’ll be trying out more of this company’s offerings in future years. I do also like the larger package sizes they offer for buying seed in ounce and multiple ounce quantities.
Stark Bros. One of the larger and more reliable mail order nurseries for fruits, nuts and berries. They’ve always been responsive and effective in resolving any problems I have had with damage during shipping or standing by their 1-year plant warranty.
The Growers Exchange. I particularly like this company for their wide variety of annual and perennial potted plants at prices which are quite competitive with local nurseries and with a much wider selection. Many of the plants are herbal or medicinal in nature.
Willis Orchard Co. Another good quality mail order nursery supplier for fruits, nuts and berries. They have a large variety of sizes for their fruit and nut trees which enables you to buy more mature trees for quicker production for a small increase in cost.
Wilson Bros Gardens. A wide array of fruits, nuts, berries and ornamental plants, including many natives and rare varieties.
BOOKS
I have a very large collection of books for permaculture, organic gardening, herbalism, natural health and healing, homesteading and self-sufficiency. Here are a few of my favourites. Links to the Amazon.com website are provided to allow you to see the books and content, but you may obviously purchase from other locations if you prefer.
Permaculture, A Designers’ Manual by Bill Mollison. A detailed technical manual on permaculture design that also forms the basis of most Permaculture Design Certificate courses.
Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway. Follows permaculture principles and methods closely but is targeted at the layperson to allow permaculture to be applied by any home gardener.
Miraculous Abundance by Perrine and Charles Hervé-Gruyer. This book is a great source of inspiration for those who wish to create an abundance of production using permaculture in small areas of land. Set in Normandy, France on a 1/4 acre plot, this story shows how two people with no prior farming experience have created a permaculture paradise and profitable business.
The New Self-Sufficient Gardener by John Seymour. John is the father of the actress Jane Seymour who writes the foreword to this book. It describes numerous home gardening practices and how to plan and implement a fruit and vegetable garden. While not explicitly stating that permaculture methods are used, it’s obvious that many of the practices fit well within permaculture.
Tree Crops, A Permanent Agriculture by J. Russell Smith. First published in 1929, this book pre-dates the modern teaching of permaculture by Mollison and Holmgren. No doubt that this book is a permaculture book as it very comprehensively describes the use of permanent tree species for provision of food for humans and animals as a replacement for annual crops that are damaging to the soil – with annual corn cropping described as “the killer of nations”.
The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka. This book was one that fundamentally pushed me towards permaculture, even though it covers the growing of annual grains in amongst other permanent crops. As a government consultant for Japan’s department of agriculture, Fukuoka describes his journey to challenge all of the conventional modern practices and return to natural and sustainable growing methods.