Sepp Holzer farms steep mountainsides in Austria 1,500 meters above sea level. His farm is an intricate network of terraces, raised beds, ponds, waterways and tracks, well covered with productive fruit trees and other vegetation, with the farmhouse neatly nestling amongst them. This is in dramatic contrast to his neighbors’ spruce monocultures.
In this book, Holzer shares the skill and knowledge acquired over his lifetime. He covers every aspect of his farming methods, not just how to create a holistic system on the farm itself, but how to make a living from it. Holzer writes about everything from the overall concepts, down to the practical details. In Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture readers will learn:
- How he sets up a permaculture system
- The fruit varieties he has found best for permaculture growing
- How to construct terraces, ponds, and waterways
- How to build shelters for animals and how to work with them on the land
- How to cultivate edible mushrooms in the garden and on the farm
- and much more!
Holzer offers a wealth of information for the gardener, smallholder or alternative farmer yet the book’s greatest value is the attitudes it teaches. He reveals the thinking processes based on principles found in nature that create his productive systems. These can be applied anywhere.
This book gave me the encouragement and creative thinking needed to venture beyond the Colorado frost hardy brassicas, salad greens and staple herbs and try my hand at more fruit bushes (and maybe trees!) and warmer climate medicinal herbs as well as pollinators and mycelium. While this book will be a hard sell to the more traditional landscape gardener, those that wish to have a better understanding of cultivating natural, organic microclimates and polycultures will gain plenty of inspiration from this book. It is just as much a read for the naturalist as it is for the backyard gardener.
scale farming in our increasingly dangerous world of profit-first agribusiness. It is refreshing to read how someone has used the best of traditional rural practices to come up with innovative ideas. I've come up with my own as a result. I was particularly interested in his solutions for ponds and terracing on steep slopes, since I have very little level land and erosion is a serious concern. Now I just need a mini-excavator.
The downside of the book is that the methods aren't very applicable to most of us. Holzer's techniques are uniquely suited to high elevation Europe (approximately equivalent to zone 5 in the US), and require the use of lots of heavy machinery and large acreages.
That said, some of his tips might just happen to fit your homestead, if you read with a critical eye. The book is definitely worth reading, though won't be stay on my bookshelf with the classics.
He talks about permaculture, principles that he has been applying even before the term was coined. He has some great ideas, and you only have to see the pictures of his farm to know that they really work.
What I didn't like about it was that although he tells us what he did on his farm, he doesn't give enough details on how he does them. He whets your appetite for his methods, but then doesn't tell you enough. For example, he says stuff like: "I use foxglove to improve the health of the soil, among other reasons". It only leaves me wondering, what are those reasons?
He keeps telling that he has been watching the nature for 40 years, but he doesn't give the recipes for his plant mixtures. Instead, he suggests that one should observe nature and experiment for oneself.
I bought the book precisely to learn from his experiences, instead of having to spend years observing nature myself.
But overall it is a fascinating read, especially if you want an introduction to permaculture. It is a great lesson on thinking outside the box and succeeding against all odds. You can feel his love and respect for nature and for his land.