Want to be in to win a free copy of this AWESOME book?  As part of our fair share policy we have been giving away free awesome books to people all over the globe every fortnight (well, to be fair, we have been a little slack lately with all that's going on and our current internet connection).  The 2011 Garden Writers of America Gold Award for Best Writing/Book proves soil is anything but an inert substance. Healthy soil is teeming with life; and not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web; the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants.

We have been a little behind with our fortnightly awesome book giveaway and other admin duties.  Ridgedale Richard has been working abroad the last couple of months and in the meantime Ridgedale Yohanna has been organizing and managing the spring orders and deliveries for Ridgedale.  We just ordered 13 species of mushroom sawdust spawn we'll be putting into logs thinned from our dense riparian areas.  Lion's Mane (hericium erinaceus),  Shiitake (lentinus edodes), Cauliflower (sprassis crispa), King Oyster (pleurotus eryngii), Pioppino (agrocybe aegerita), Enoki (flammulina velutipes), Nameko (pholiota nameko), Pearl Oyster (pleurotus ostreatus), Elm Oyster (hypsizygus ulmarius), Blue Oyster (pleurotus columbinus) , Common Oyster (pleurotus pulmonarius), Tarragon Oyster (pleurotus euosmus) & Branched Oyster (pleurotus cornucopiae).  We have plenty of willow, alder & some oak to thin, so we can turn thinnings into high quality food.  To celebrate spring around the corner we thought we would give away a copy of Paul Stamets awesome book.  Read more for details...

Peter Bane wrote a nice review for Permaculture Activist which gets deeper into different aspects of the book if you are interested.  If you are considering taking a Permaculture Design Course this year check out the listings at the farm, where we are proud to have some of the leading global practitioners & researchers join us via digital link up, as well as local expertise joining us for different trainings.  Details are getting posted on relevant course listings as they come in.

We are also excited to offer what we think is a unique learning opportunity in Europe- our 10 Week Professional Permaculture Accelerator Internship.  We might be biased, but we think it's the most exciting Permaculture event happening in Europe this year, including over 530hrs of curriculum based learning & 5 Certificate Courses with some awesome folks joining us on the ground & via teleconference as we initiate this flagship project;

• 90hr+ PDC certified by PRI (Aus) & PC Assoc (UK)
• 5 day Forest Gardens & Perennial Cropping
• 5 day Regenerating Soils
• 5 day Keyline® Design & Holistic Management®
• 5 day Teaching Permaculture Creatively

We devised this training to put you in the driving seat.  We want to support more professionals getting out there in the field.  Having observed the PC world over the past years we see that there are few defined pathways into professional design and the most efficient tools, techniques & decision making processes are often quite different from the "standard" Permaculture approach.  Ever looking to integrate what actually works from our experience we will be examining the "nuts and bolts" of how to take design out into the field; looking at effective design and how to plan, budget and implement projects in an effective and methodical way.  It is through the actual realization of designs that the true learning takes place, and so this program is formulated to offer a professional accelerator for those wishing to work in this broad and exciting field.  The insights we have gained from our work with Keyline design and Holistic Management  deeply inform how we organize Permaculture Design and how we manage effective decision making in a holistic and inclusive manner.  We are excited to be able to support anyone dedicated to regenerating their soils, communities and economy for the benefit of all through our work at ridgedale PERMACULTURE, do not hesitate to be in touch with the farm if you like.  Trainings listed in the drop down box above.

R.J Garners "The Grafters Handbook" has long considered the bible for professional horticulturists and hobbyists alike, and offers a comprehensive grafting course, accompanied by line drawings and photographs that provide a vivid visual reference. Topics include using rootstocks from seed and cuttings, identifying viruses, and grafting established trees.

It's an awesome book and with grafting season approaching we thought this would be a great way to celebrate moving to the farm.  If you want a copy just post a comment of how it would benefit you and we'll pick out a lucky winner at the end oof the week and zip you a copy....

Continuing on the theme of money for our free book giveaway we decided to gift a copy of our friend Mark Boyle's Moneyless Manifesto.  Mark is an awesome writer and speaker who has dedicated many years to writing & talking about our relationships & embedded philosophy of money as well as demonstrating how to live well without participating in a degenerative economy.  Mark lived completely without money in England for two and a half years which formed the basis for his first book, The Moneyless Man. He is also the founder of Freeconomy, an alternative economy which has local groups across 171 countries.

Mark very kindly came as a guest speaker to a PDC we ran near Bristol, UK, back in 2012 and together with his partner Jess (who is also an awesome writer) is currently in the process of creating a fully localised, land-based gift economy in Éire which will demonstrate how all the ideas and practical solutions described in The Moneyless Manifesto can be integrated into one holistic system design.

To celebrate the beginning of our new Permaculture project & enterprise we thought is would be perfect to give away a copy of Ethan Roland & Gregory Landau's new book Regenerative Enterprise.  I first met Ethan whilst working in Thailand, then again during my time at Gaia University in California, where Gregory also studied. 

Globally we have spent a huge amount of resources, energy and money wreaking havoc on soil, ecosystems and ultimately our own health, and we are going to have to spend a lot more to restore it all.  But as Ethan & Gregory put it, "It is no longer acceptable to create financial profits by extracting the foundational living wealth of our lands and waters. Enterprises need a new model with which to interpret the world, and a new process for whole-systems design and decision-making."

Money is still largely a contentious issue in the Permaculture world it seems, and as a...