Eric Toensmeier
 Eric Toensmeier has studied and practiced permaculture since 1990. He is the author of Perennial Vegetables and coauthor of Edible Forest Gardens with Dave Jacke. Toensmeier has worked as a small-farm trainer at the New England Small Farm Institute, has managed the Tierra de Oportunidades new-farmer program of Nuestras Raices, and is a graduate and former faculty member of the Institute for Social Ecology in Plainfield, Vermont. His current interest is in large-scale permaculture farming as a carbon-sequestering solution to climate change. Toensmeier’s writing, consulting, and teaching business is based at www.perennialsolutions.org, where he posts his latest articles and videos. He lives in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Eric's Upcoming Events
- Jonathan Bates at The Resilience Hub
222 and 224 Anderson St., Portland ME June 2, 2013, 9:30 amThe Resilience Hub and Portland Maine Permaculture host Jonathan Bates, contributing author of "Paradise Lot," on June 7th for a "Permaculture Livelihoods, Life Design, and Community Plant Nurseries" workshop.
Cost is $30 per person
- Eric Toensmeier at Permaculture Your Campus International Conference
University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA June 26, 2013, 12:00 pmEric Toensmeier will be the closing keynote at the 2013 Permaculture Your Campus Conference on June 23-26. The time for Eric's remarks is still pending.
The UMass Permaculture Initiative has had remarkable success in the creation of campus edible and sustainable landscapes, the development of experiential and academic programming and the strengthening of local networks
toward community resilience. - Eric Toensmeier at 2013 Northeast Permaculture Convergence
, July 5, 2013, 12:00 pmEric Toensmeier will be speaking a the 2013 Northeast Permaculture Convergence.
This 9th edition will be a wonderful opportunity to bring, in Quebec, beginners and experts from all over Northeast America interested in Permaculture, local resilience, alternative economy, eco-construction and food sovereigntyÂ… We need to create fair and sustainable alternatives for the present and the future. This is one of the main reasons so many people are interested in Permaculture today.
More details to come... - Eric Toensmeier at Paradise Lot
, Holyoke MA July 13, 2013, 9:00 amEric Toensmeier will be hosting a workshop in his backyard Paradise Lot in Holyoke, Massachusetts on July 13, 2013.
"Spend a day with the co-designers and managers of the garden that inspired the book Paradise Lot.
We will tour the garden and sample the vegetables and fruit that are in season.
Expect to come away with a good understanding of what inspired the garden, how it was designed, the opportunities and challenges along the way, and our vision for the future. We will touch on other garden elements including the bioshelter greenhouse, ecological tool shed, tropical garden, edible water garden, and our microlivestock: chickens, compost worms, soldier flies, silk caterpillers, fish." - Eric Toensmeier at Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
, Occidental CA August 2, 2013, 10:00 amEric Toensmeier will be offering a weekend workshop on Designing Edible Food Forests at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center in Occidental, California from August 2nd to August 4th 2013.
"Edible forest gardens mimic the structures and functions of natural ecosystems while producing food and other products, with an emphasis on low-maintenance perennial crops. Design and plant selection help provide fertility, control of weeds and pests, and more. Come for a hands-on introduction to this fascinating and delicious approach to food production.
Cost: $495/445 if registered three weeks in advance (includes meals and lodging). The deposit amount for this course is $100." - Eric Toensmeier at Holyoke, MA
, Holyoke MA October 8, 2013, 6:00 pmEric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates will be offering a workshop in Holyoke, Massachusetts on October 18th and 19th, 2013.
"Edible forest gardens mimic the structures and functions of natural
ecosystems while producing food and other products, with an emphasis
on low-maintenance perennial crops. Design and plant selection help
provide fertility, control of weeds and pests, and more. Come for an introduction
to this fascinating and delicious approach to food production.
Sample the seasonÂ’s harvest of chestnuts, walnuts, hazels, kiwis,persimmons, pawpaws and more.
Tour the garden used as the case study in Edible Forest Gardens Volume II with its designer-managers
Visit Tripple Brook Farm, with over 600 low-maintenance fruits, nuts, bamboos, edible groundcovers, and hundreds of useful species from around the world and our own Northeast bioregion.
Learn from the successes and mistakes from the last decade"
Registration required.
Course fee is $175 early bird discount until August 31.
Cancelation policy: July 30, we can provide a full refund. August 31, half refund.
For more information or if you have questions contact jonathan@permaculturenursery.com or
phone: 413-437-0101.
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Eric's Books
 Get the best information on growing these easy and interesting crops from Eric Toensmeier's award-winning book Perennial Vegetables, and tour the author's own lush forest garden in the new DVD, Perennial Vegetable Gardening with Eric Toensmeier.  Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the CityWhen Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates moved into a duplex in a run-down part of Holyoke, Massachusetts, the tenth-of-an-acre lot was barren ground and bad soil, peppered with broken pieces of concrete, asphalt, and brick. The two friends got to work designing what would become not just another urban farm, but a "permaculture paradise" replete with perennial broccoli, paw paws, bananas, and moringa -- all told, more than two hundred low-maintenance edible plants in an innovative food forest on a small city lot. The garden -- intended to function like a natural ecosystem with the plants themselves providing most of the garden's needs for fertility, pest control, and weed suppression -- also features an edible water garden, a year-round unheated greenhouse, tropical crops, urban poultry, and even silkworms.  In this DVD -- a culmination of workshops recorded in Mexico, Florida, and Massachusetts -- plant specialist Eric Toensmeier introduces gardeners to more than 100 species of little-known, underappreciated plants. Ranging beyond the usual suspects (asparagus, rhubarb, and artichoke) to include such delights as ground cherry, ramps, air potatoes, the fragrant spring tree, and the much-sought-after, antioxidant-rich wolfberry (also known as the goji berry), Toensmeier explains how to raise, tend, harvest, and cook with plants that yield great crops and culinary satisfaction. Toensmeier also takes viewers on a plant-by-plant tour of his garden in Massachusetts.  Ecological Design and Practice for Temperate Climate PermacultureEdible Forest Gardens is the authoritative text on edible landscaping featuring a step-by-step guide to designing your own aesthetic yet productive environment using vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs for a combination of ornamental and culinary purposes  Ecological Vision and Theory for Temperate Climate PermacultureEdible Forest Gardens is the authoritative text on edible landscaping featuring a step-by-step guide to designing your own aesthetic yet productive environment using vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs for a combination of ornamental and culinary purposes  From Artichokes to Zuiki Taro, a Gardener's Guide to Over 100 Delicious, Easy-to-Grow EdiblesIn Perennial Vegetables the adventurous gardener will find information, tips, and sound advice on less common edibles that will make any garden a perpetual, low-maintenance source of food.  Volume I: Ecological Vision and Theory for Temperate Climate Permaculture,
Volume II Ecological Design and Practice for Temperate Climate PermacultureEdible Forest Gardens is the authoritative text on edible landscaping featuring a step-by-step guide to designing your own aesthetic yet productive environment using vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs for a combination of ornamental and culinary purposes
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