Probably the biggest influences for me and others from my generation were:
The Mother Earth News magazine…
Founded by John and Jane Shuttleworth
Founders John and Jane Shuttleworth started the magazine on a "shoestring" budget of $1500, published from home in 1970. The first issue was published in January of that year.
This was the How-To Hippie guide for the back to the land movement with instructions for everything from log cabin building to solar power to organic gardening to rebuilding the engine in your Pickup truck.
The Whole Earth Catalog…
Published by Stewart Brand
This was much more than Google, and Facebook, and Amazon, and Instagram combined… you could get lost in the pages for days completely unaware of time. You were in the ozone with page after page full of useful tools, gadgets, old implements you never dreamed of, and forgotten knowledge that made perfect sense. This was the source for everything…
Organic Gardening magazine
By Robert Rodale Editor and published by Rodale Press.
According to Encyclopedia.com, the story of the original magazine begins when J.I. Rodale established the magazine Organic Farming and Gardening in 1942. J.I. Rodale died in 1971, his son Robert “Bob” Rodale took over the reins at Rodale Inc.
Robert Rodale was described by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Library as the man who “carried on his father’s work through publications, lectures, agricultural research, and inspirational leadership.”
This was the gardeners bible for everything organic…
In the past I never missed watching
The Victory Garden on PBS…
With Cable TV I was a regular fan of
Paul James “The Gardener Guy”
on HGTV
I recommend other
Paul James YouTube videos.
Today we are lucky to have have many good online videos
I recommend other
Eliot Coleman YouTube videos.
I followed Will Allen founder of Growing-Power urban agriculture.
Growing Power’s Milwaukee farm. (Photo credit: Will Allen)
I read many books by Ruth Stout, Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch, Scott and Helen Nearing, and others …and luckily most of their books are still available.
A New Age Scam?
I am probably going to make a few enemies with this opinion, but I must be honest; I just don’t feel comfortable supporting the “Permaculture Movement” or the educational organization known as "The Permaculture Institute." I see no real value in their “expensive classes” that reach a small audience at a very high price – or the “ Permaculture Design Certificate ” with no real value for the price. It seems to me that there should be a simpler way to provide information without such a high cost that many just cannot afford. There is lots of good information available in books and online - and I don't personally see very much in the “Permaculture Movement” that is new or unique. To me it kinda smells like another “New Age scam” like Feng shui, or Est?
Passing It On…
I try to pass on what others have taught me. I am not trying to tell you how to do something. I am just sharing how I do something and what works for me or what fails. Some of my articles include Amazon associate links. If you buy something through these links, I earn an affiliate’s commission at no extra cost to you. This is how you can help to support this effort. My recommendations are based on personal knowledge of these products, and I recommend them because they are genuinely helpful and useful. I have not been given any free products, services or anything else in exchange for linking to products on this site. I provide complete plans for the Alaska Grow Buckets system online for free. It was not my original idea, but I made some changes and improvements. Anybody can get the complete instructions and make this simple growing system. Some people preferred to buy a complete kit and I tried to keep the price as low as possible. It was just not practical with high shipping and supply costs here in rural Alaska. You can still order everything you need at my Alaska Grow Buckets Shopping page. If you buy something through these shopping links, I earn an affiliate’s commission at no extra cost to you. My grow bucket design will not feed your family after a disaster – but it is a simple step in the right direction. People in cities, like Anchorage and Fairbanks, still want Avocados in January, and much of what we eat cannot be produced here. It is still cheaper to grow tomatoes in Mexico and ship them to Alaska all winter than it would cost to grow enough here to fill the supermarkets. I can grow enough fresh tomatoes in my living room for myself all winter and so can anybody else… and I enjoy sharing that knowledge.