[The following is a guest post by Pat Meadows. Yes, we just ran another review of this one, but Pat's extensive knowledge of container gardening and related topics warrants revisiting this book...]

‘Fresh Food from Small Spaces‘ is an exciting book, an inspirational and
informative book. Ruppenthal’s main topics are container gardening,
sprouting, fermenting, growing mushrooms, and small livestock (chickens and
bees only), making compost and worm boxes. He lists and describes steps
that anyone can take towards helping to build a more sustainable planet and
living more lightly on the earth, as well as being more self-reliant.

I was very glad to see a short chapter on ‘Survival During Resource
Shortages’ and one on ‘Helping to Build a Sustainable Future’. The
‘Introduction’ also touches on these topics.

I was also glad to see that Ruppenthal recommends the use of Self-Watering
Containers. I know from personal experience (and from being the listowner
for a list devoted to Edible Container Gardening) that this is a very, very
superior way to grow vegetables in containers.

What the book is *not*: it is definitely not a how-to book. It is *not* the
only book you’ll ever need about *any* of the topics that it covers. If you
buy the book thinking that it is, you’ll probably be disappointed.

Instead, it gives an excellent general overview and introduction to some
very disparate topics. It gives you ideas for things *you can actually do*.
The author also points you towards more detailed sources of information on
each topic. I doubt if *anyone* could have written a detailed instructional
guide on all of these very different topics.

Major disappointment: the only illustrations are black-and-white stock
photos. Some color photos – and more personal photos – would have been a
great addition. This is really a very glaring lack. (Shame on you, Chelsea
Green Publishers!)

Second major disappointment: no index. I would have expected an index in
anything published by Chelsea Green, a quality publisher.

Major plus: The book is referenced, with endnotes. There is a list of
resources as well.

Ruppenthal writes well, and I would definitely have given this book my unalloyed
praise if it only had better photos and an index. I have no other criticisms.

TreeHugger featured this video on making your own compost tumbler. The author was stoked, and so am I. I’ve been after one of those compost tumblers but who has $150 to waste on one? Now you don’t have to.

After reading the Humanure Handbook (which you can download for free here) I have to say, I have an all new appreciation for the subject of composting. Not just composting normal yard waste and kitchen scraps for my garden. But also thoughts on how to compost better, and more efficiently. How to compost better my own waste, if I chose to, as well as waste from other animals.

The Humanure Handbook, in case you have been living under a rock, is a short book put together to introduce people to the idea of composting their own human waste and recycling it onto their gardens. There is compelling information here as to why it should be done. As we all know when you remove a crop from the ground you take some of the nutrients with you. Adding them back through compost and green manures are important. But one missing link in the current chain is that a lot of people flush their waste down a drain, thus polluting clean water that they spent oodles purifying. When they do this they also take precious nutrients and toss them down the drain. Nutrients that should be recycled back into the soil.

Now, before you get up in arms about pathogens and diseases and other nasties you need to read the book. This information is all detailed in the book, very frankly, and the system sounds like it works very well. There is no smell, when you do things right, and there aren’t any problems, when you follow the precautions. Most places in America aren’t ready to accept composting toilets just yet, but the knowledge from this book did come in handy recently when my city was flooded and we were told not to flush the toilets or use water for fear of compromising the water system. We still flushed the toilet in certain instances, but we were able to dump liquids onto our compost pile and follow the directions in this book with no problems. Now, no emergency problem at my house.

If you get a chance, check out the Humanure Handbook, if for no other reason than to learn even more about how to compost, a very valuable skill when gardening.

Images courtesy for the author’s website.