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Jan 06, 2009

Erica rated it:

To my horror, I found that science is not only under attack by the conservative right, but by the liberal hippie left. ::shudder::

This book had the potential to be useful and informative but when the author states, "...urine is totally sterile. In the garden fresh urine can be diluted 1:10 with water and poured on the soil or compost pile" she is just plain wrong.

Sure, urine is totally sterile if you remove it from yourself using a catheter. As soon as urine p More...

11 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 23, 2008

BunWat rated it:

I think whether you like this book depends a lot on what you are looking for going in. The author is a community activist whose central concern is convincing people to live more communally and sustainably. Its not a book about how to grow food in your neighborhood so much as it is a book about why you should. Which is fine, and good, and not what I was looking for. There are some useful tips here and there but there are also a lot of passages that go something like for example; "compost More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 05, 2008

Dioscita rated it:

This book, for me, was ... enh.

I skimmed a lot of this book because much of it was familiar, a repeat of what I've read in the rather copious SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) reading I've done in my day. There's a bit of hippy-dippy, self-righteous, holier-than-thou stuff from Flores that got a little old after a while; I was particularly irritated at her carbon footprint section because I thought, "Well, cool for you, Ms. Flores. And if *everybody* did the same thin More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2008

Jeffrey rated it:

--wrote this for www.greenprophet.com--

I finished reading Food Not Lawns on my roof, just after I checked my new vermi-compost bin. The roof compost represents my attempted adaptation to life in the modern world whereby I try and lead a more sustainable lifestyle within my means and ability in our modern world. I was hoping to read Flores’ book and gain tips on how to build and maintain an edible yard in my future home, and possibly how to manage to grow edibles in the most unlikely More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Aug 26, 2009

Mo rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. Beginning with a brief overview of the benefits of choosing local, organic food, the first half focuses more on practical considerations, such as finding a suitable location for a garden; tapping into a community's waste stream, as opposed to buying new tools and materials; and restructuring the home water cycle in order to maximize efficiency.

Flores also introduces basic permaculture, biodynamic farming and polyculture principles, outlining various garde More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Inder rated it:

I just pulled this out recently for inspiration, and I gotta say, it's really inspiring! Sure, okay, it's a bit hippy-dippy, but doesn't our world need a few more guerilla gardeners? This book inspires me to make good use of my land, to be more adventurous with my gardening, and to see gardens as potential community builders. Let me tell you, my neighborhood needs more of that! I'm seriously considering sneaking a few veggies into the abandoned lot across the street. What can I lose?

More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Meredith rated it:

while this isn't the most in-depth or scholarly approach to permaculture, it is a radical treatise on getting out of the industrial food and water system, getting back in touch with the earth, setting up an ecologically sound garden and home water system, and finding ways to pass this wisdom on to your community. there are a lot of great ideas (and a fabulous resource section at the end of the book) in this basic introduction to permaculture. while the book is primarily geared toward urban env More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 27, 2009

Elizabeth rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Dec 17, 2009

Alec rated it:

I liked this book a lot. Other readers' criticisms here are valid - the author's politics are on the page, lots of ideas and projects are mentioned without an exhaustive how-to, and there's quite a bit in here that is not just about turning your own lawn into a garden. That's all okay with me. I would recommend looking for this book at the library (mine has at least 6 copies) or getting it used, starting with a topic that interests you, and skipping around as you like. If you get bored or th More...

0 comments like

Nov 25, 2007

Sarah rated it:

Now I am pretty crunchy/granola according to my friends. I compost, garden, eat little meat, raise chickens for eggs, cook from scratch, recycle, conseve energy, drive carefully, care about where my food is coming from... blah, blah, blah.

This book is all about those things and more and how to do them, but it's all phrased in a preachy holier than thou, hippie propaganda manner. Some funny lines, but overall it was too touchy feely, group-think for my tastes.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 11, 2008

Claire rated it:

I'm only 20 pages in, but I'm feeling so inspired by this book. The anarchist in me is bubbling with joy at all the ways communities can come together and create meaningful connections and relationships, all while damning the man (peacefully!)

Amazing.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 29, 2007

Sarah rated it:

If I ever get out of cover crop phase of my backyard garden plans, God Help any of you who don't like vegetables.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2011

Charlie rated it:

Here's a book review I wrote for www.matterdaily.org:

Food Not Lawns
How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community
By H.C. Flores

Reviewed by Charlie Malone
Wednesday, 15 September 2010

Food Not Lawns

H.C. Flores writes, “the Natural world is in deep decline due to the grossly unsustainable habits of humankind. This is no secret.” If you’ve a propensity for subversion, if you’ve time and passion to organize your commun More...

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Jan 13, 2008

Jen rated it:

I've really only perused this book, but I've loved it so far. It's an extremely useful tool for anyone wanting to do backyard gardening, urban gardening, or community building. She makes the point that lawns were invented by French bourgeoisie to show off how rich they were, the lawns demonstrating that they could let large portions of their land be completely unfruitful because they had more than enough land to grow on. Of course the French people were struggling to survive off of their meag More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 04, 2009

Jeannette rated it:

This is definitely a hippy-dippy book, but there's great info on water conservation and using grey water to water your garden. And of course, I love the ideas on turning your neighbourhood into a community through setting up a community tool lending library or doing things like City Repair does in Portland. The author is a bit out there (she lives without a fridge) and uses the phrase "earthlings", but that's okay. This isn't a gardening book per se, but it's got some good information. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 29, 2008

K rated it:

The title is a bit misleading - the book focuses far more on the value of gardening and other aspects of green living than on instructions on how to do so. I also find it difficult to envision doing many of the projects she suggests with the scant directions she provides. However, it did give me a lot of ideas I want to try and implement, albeit I want to search for more thorough information elsewhere. The resources appendix she gives, though, should easily help remedy the brevity of instruction More...

0 comments like

Aug 07, 2008

Sarah rated it:

This book was a really great start and introduction. It's not for someone looking for specifics on what to plant, where, what to plant it next to, and so forth.
However, it's a great resource for someone looking for more information on sustainability in general, and specifically how it relates to creating your own garden - wherever you live. There are even some great tidbits for city dwellers.
Part of the book focuses on creating a "paradise garden," information on how t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 06, 2009

Erin rated it:

I typically enjoy books of this type, and take out the usable info where available. This book was a tough one to get through, however, as about the first 1/3 of the book was a little pretentious with very little practical advice. It wasn't until I got about half way through the book that the author offered the reader some practical advice on perhaps unknown subjects. Once Flores actually started delving into specifics a bit, I enjoyed the book and gained from it. I completely appreciate her pass More...

0 comments like

Jul 15, 2010

Amanda rated it:

I can get into hippy-dippy crap, but this chick is WACKED! I own the book, much to my dismay, and there are about four useful suggestions, a lot of extreme lifestyle suggestions, and, I shit you not, magic suggestions.

It reads like the rantings of a manic psych patient, and yes, I can state that from experience.

0 comments like

May 20, 2008

Beegobug rated it:

This is an excellent read for those who are craving a sense of community and also want to learn about gardening, saving seeds through seed swaps, etc. Lest you think this is a militant diatribe discussing the evils of the way we live, be assured it is not. Heather Flores is as accessible on the page as she is in person, and she doesn't try to convince everyone to get rid of their lawn and replace it with food. Rather, she gives the reader a way to start building community through gardening and e More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 17, 2010

Jessica rated it:

Eh, I was a little indifferent about this book. I was really excited to read it, but in the end I felt it was boring and mostly annoying. I expected a little bit more from it, and to be honest I stopped reading about 3/4 of the way through, something I don't often do.

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Dec 06, 2008

Bianca rated it:

A lot of gospel preached to the choir, but really inspiring. I wish there was a little more practical thrown in and less fly by the seat of your pants punk, but there are other books out there to fill the gap. Over all a good read, even Brodie liked it.

0 comments like

May 09, 2010

Michela rated it:

s'allright. I love the idea and philosophy behinf Food not Lawns, but I'll admit I skimmed. Alot in this is one woman's opinion and perspective. But some useful information and creative ideas. I will probably refer to this at a later date.

0 comments like

Aug 12, 2010

Dianna rated it:

This book has some good ideas and how-tos for transforming your yard into a garden.

However, 75% of the book is activist propaganda. While I think that a lot of what she has to say is fine (yes, I do think grass is a waste of space), she is so unreasonable about it all. While I do intend to attempt to grow more food on my own land, you won't catch me practicing "guerrilla gardening" or planting and watering my friend in my garden or starting my own local chapter of Food Not More...

0 comments like

Feb 06, 2009

Laura rated it:

An interesting book, contains many of the concepts in other permaculture books but with a heavy emphasis on creating local community changes. Also unusual for a published book is the sections on dumpster diving and organizing protests.

0 comments like

Sep 09, 2009

Kristin rated it:

Okay, okay. I did not read this in its entirety. BUT I read a lot of it, enough to know its got some really sound ideas for gardening and sustainability. I'll probably check it out again once I have more land to do things on, but for right now it did inspire me to turn my back dirt hovel into a sitting area!

0 comments like

Dec 26, 2007

Anastasia rated it:

I learned so much from this book. Heather Flores has blown my mind with all her good ideas and new ways of looking at things. This book is about permaculture, but Flores calls her version "paradise gardening" and one big part of it is all about having a great food garden with minimal work. I guess that's what permaculture is all about, too: working with the natural order of things, taking advantage of existing resources, choosing designs and resources that are mutually beneficial. I wo More...

0 comments like

Jul 24, 2009

Joy rated it:

I'm enjoying this a lot however the hippy bent is off-putting. It's good enough, though, that I've kept my copy even though it's due at the library and someone is waiting for it! I promise I'll return it soon!

0 comments like

Nov 13, 2011

Millicent rated it:

This book is like a handbook for how I want to live my life. Starting in the garden and building into a multi-layered human community, Flores guides the reader in establishing a regenerative paradise, emphasizing diversity, simplicity, creativity, and ecology. This book is an important and accessible supplement to the Permaculture design course I took last January. It's helping me translate what was an overhwelming amount of knowledge into workable steps without losing the big picture. Flore More...

0 comments like

Jan 06, 2010

Anthrodiva rated it:

Good comprehensive overview for a beginner who wants to convert their lawn. I need a book that says, 'hey idiot, when experimenting, don't do X.'

4 comments like

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