Will Bonsall has worn many hats since going "back to the land," including prospector, draftsman, gravedigger, hobo, musician, logger, and artist, among others; however, he considers subsistence farming to be the only true career he ever had. He is the director of the Scatterseed Project, which he founded to help preserve our endangered crop-plant diversity. His first book, Through the Eyes of a Stranger (Xlibris, 2010), is an eco-novel set in a sustainable society of the future. Will lives and farms in Industry, Maine, with his wife, Molly Thorkildsen, and two sons.
Publishers Weekly- "Homesteader, organic farmer, and visionary
Bonsall offers a thorough, albeit apocalyptic, farming guide to
surviving the current times and, if need be, the end times. The
title is misleading; the book is not so much a gardening guide as a
set of survival instructions, and not for the casual gardener.
Drawing on 40 years of personal experience growing his own food,
Bonsall emphasizes three principles: economic exigency that
requires making do; planning to survive a future catastrophe; and
transforming civilization. To this end, the book focuses on staple
foods, including grains, dried legumes, and oilseeds, as well as
the usual greens and root crops, while discussing such fundamentals
as assessing soil fertility, composting, using manure (including
human), mulching, grafting, pollinating, seed saving, milling,
malting, freezing and fermenting. The book will not suit everyone,
but those who share Bonsall’s vision will be well served and firmly
grounded. Over 200 full-color photos.”
“Every gardener and small farmer can benefit from Will Bonsall's
decades of focused, quality experience. Will's book is one of
the key practical resources you should read—as you reach
for full sustainable soil fertility in your garden or
farm!”--John Jeavons, author, executive director of Ecology
Action, and developer of sustainable biointensive mini-farming
"Will Bonsall’s homestead is a 'thinking farm,' not one engaged in
armchair musings about agriculture, but where difficult
questions are addressed by intense experimentation. This book pairs
the incredible depth of Bonsall’s gardening knowledge with his
infectious enthusiasm. It is both a magnificent reference and an
inspiring call to action. Every practical lesson throughout is
guided by the vision that our humble gardens can affect the
world."--Steve Conaway, Conservation and Outreach Director at
Greenwich (CT) Land Trust
“Every gardener and small farmer can benefit from Will Bonsall's
decades of focused, quality experience. Will's book is one of the
key practical resources you should read—as you reach for full
sustainable soil fertility in your garden or farm!”--John Jeavons,
author and developer of sustainable biologically intensive
food-growing
“Here is a bright star in the constellation of voices for
land-based sustainability. Not only is Will Bonsall incredibly
learned – the result of decades of careful studies in the field and
out – he is bawdy and brave and bold. His credibility is a Ph.D. in
homesteading and his rambunctious wisdom is very worth reading. If
you want to learn from a master, you need this book.”--Janisse Ray,
author of The Seed Underground
"The risk of describing Will Bonsall’s Essential Guide to
Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening as a gardening book is that
the aspiring reader may miss the reality that it is really a book
on life, centered as a good life should be, around a garden.
Will is a patient teacher with encyclopedic knowledge. His writing
style is warm and authentic, accentuated by his dry New England
humor. To read this book is akin to having Will stop by and visit
by the glowing kitchen cookstove. He shares a lifetime of
observations and conclusions – both useful and essential – and a
deep respect for those who have come before us."--Jim Gerritsen,
certified organic seed potato grower and owner of Wood Prairie
Farm
"Will Bonsall—Mr. Scatterseed himself—has done it all, and this
book covers it all, from maintaining soil fertility with minimal
external inputs to growing annual and perennial vegetables, fruit,
nuts, grain, beans, and even oilseed crops. Will’s methods are all
vegan based and garden scale, with little resort to tools beyond
hand tools and a rototiller and shredder. His description of making
oil-seed seed meals and cooking with them is particularly
interesting. Will’s book is a great introduction to gardening for
the beginner, and it also offers enough brand new original material
to delight even the most expert. Best of all, the interweaving of
Will’s coherent personal philosophy, decades of gardening
experience, down-to-earth style, and touches of humor all make for
an interesting, entertaining read."--Carol Deppe, author
of The Tao of Vegetable Gardening and The
Resilient Gardener
"Eco-efficiency is the key new word
and gardens-without-borders is the key new concept with
which Will Bonsall illuminates 'this experiment we call
civilization.' His view is wide and deep. You can accept his warm,
witty invitation to explore the big questions. Or/and you can, with
grace and ease, pluck out practical, hands-on directions as needed
for all aspects of cyclical food production and use. I will read it
again and again for reference, guidance, inspiration, and
delight."--Eva Sommaripa, pioneering organic farmer at Eva's Garden
in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and the hero of Wild Flavors by
Didi Emmons
"If you wish to live well and eat well no matter what is going on
in the rest of the world, this book is for you. Thresh your own
grain and press your own oil. Can't buy seeds, no problem. Can't
buy fertilizer, no problem. Will Bonsall will help you enjoy the
good life under any and all conditions."--Eliot Coleman, author of
The New Organic Grower and The Winter Harvest Handbook
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