Fresh Food From Small Spaces talk on May 12 at West Portal Library

[Guest guest]

R.J. RUPPENTHAL, author of FRESH FOOD FROM SMALL SPACES: The Square-Inch

Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting.

Tuesday, May 12, 6:30 p.m. West Portal Library, 190 Lenox Way, San Francisco.

(415) 355-2886.

 

Many gardening books describe ample land and space as being a prerequisite for

growing flowers, plants, and food. And the ever popular container gardening

books, generally written for those with little land or space in which to garden,

do not always cover the question of raising fresh food that way. Ruppenthal, a

business professor and lifelong trial-and-error gardener, here fills a gap in

gardening literature and helps readers discover techniques for sustainable food

production—even on a small scale—by using every square inch of space that is

available to them. His book walks gardeners through assessing their available

space and its lighting, deciding what to grow in the spaces they have, and

buying (or building) vegetable garden containers. Using his techniques,

gardeners will learn to grow herbs, vegetables, fruit, grains, and mushrooms, .

.. . .It may be nearly impossible to live completely off the grid in an urban

environment, but through practice, patience, and creativity, it is possible to

establish such a productive urban garden that you can eat some homegrown, fresh

food every day of the year. Highly recommended for public libraries, special and

academic libraries with strong agricultural collections, and all those who are

serious about producing food and creating a more sustainable lifestyle. Library

Journal

 

" This is one of the most important gardening books in years. Ruppenthal is ahead

of the curve, promoting sustainability and even self-sufficiency in the

burgeoning urban environment. His holistic approach to nutrition, conservation,

recycling/repurposing, and composting will help redefine urban gardening. Fresh

Food From Small Spaces is loaded with great ideas for urban gardeners.

Ruppenthal gives great tips and background info to get beginners started. Yet,

the diagrams, charts, and plant lists make it a satisfactory and intriguing

reference even for experienced gardeners.

" Besides being a timely, progressive, intelligent reference, Fresh Food From

Small Spaces is a great story and comfortable read. I enjoyed following

Ruppenthal's personal struggles and ordeals. This is a fun, informative book.

" Ruppenthal has seen the future of city gardening and I like it! Fresh herbs on

every windowsill. Pole beans on every balcony. Beehives with honey on every

rooftop. And tasty shitakes in every garage. " --William Moss, " Moss in the City "

columnist at the National Gardening Association's Garden.org

 

" Every generation there is a move back to growing food close to home for various

reasons: victory gardens, back-to-the-land gardens and community gardens come to

mind. Now, as oil prices permanently increase, we have 'post-petroleum gardens'

and Fresh Food From Small Spaces is a timely guide for a highly productive home

food system, full of new and proven sustainable ways to grow and process your

favorite foods in the smallest of space. " --Will Raap, Founder, Gardener's Supply

Company

 

While the information in this book will benefit all those seeking to grow and

prepare their own food at home, it is especially informative for people with

only limited space. Ruppenthal covers every food I ever heard of and a whole

bunch I never heard of, like water kimchi (!) that can be grown indoors or

outdoors where there is not enough room for a regular garden. This is the

perfect answer to the question many people are asking me: How can I take charge

of my own life now that food prices are soaring when I hardly have space for a

container-grown tomato or two? Reading Ruppenthal, I get a distinct feeling that

one can grow enough food to survive on down in the cellar and out on the porch..

--Gene Logsdon, author of The Contrary Farmer and Living at Nature's Pace:

Farming and the American Dream

 

" Fresh Food From Small Spaces is a passionate manifesto as well as a practical

primer for urban food production. It presents clear information, innovative

strategies, and enthusiastic encouragement that will motivate, inspire, and

empower city dwellers seeking to grow food and build greater sustainability into

their lives. " --Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation and The Revolution

Will Not Be Microwaved

 

" Fresh Food from Small Spaces is a helpful guide to the range of food production

strategies for urban spaces. A great resource for urban dwellers, enabling even

those in basement apartments to produce copious food through sprouting and

mushroom production. I particularly appreciated Ruppenthal's first-hand

experience in building low-cost self-watering planters. " --Eric Toensmeier,

author of Perennial Vegetables

 

" Unfortunately, many urban-dwellers avoid gardening due to a perceived lack of

space. Ruppenthal explodes these barriers by showing us in cogent hands-on

detail how to cultivate meaningful quantities of healthful food from the air,

sun, water, and earth available to us in our own spaces, no matter how

small. " --Stephen & Rebekah Hren, authors of The Carbon-Free Home

 

http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/fresh_food_from_small_spaces:paperbac\

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