The weather is beautiful and you’re just aching to transplant those vegetable starters and add a layer of mulch. Well, what’s better than reading about DIY gardening? Going to a book reading of Homesweet Homegrown with the author, Robyn Jasko!

Tour stops include:

• June 16-17: Seattle
• June 18-19: Portland, OR
• June 21-22: Seattle
• June 24: Denver
• June 25: Boulder
• June 26-27: Austin
• June 28-29: Asheville
• July 7: Philadelphia

Learn more at http://homesweet-homegrown.com!

The sequel to Raleigh Briggs’ DIY powerhouse Make Your Place, Make It Last: Prolonging + Preserving What We Love is about keeping the things you own in good working order. It’s about repairing instead of tossing out, about maintaining and preserving in an age when our landfills threaten to overtake our cities. Keep an eye out for a one-off zine featuring one of Raleigh’s chapters (Fix Your Clothes) coming soon! Note: This book is available for pre-sale now! Check it out right here!

Once in a while it occurs to me that I ought to be a better person. Better in the selfless, I’m-going-out-for-coffee-can-I-get-you-anything kind of way. Better like my grandmother, who never forgets a birthday for any of her children, or her children’s children, or the steps, the halfs, or the otherwise affiliated but geographically estranged. My grandmother always bought me books for my birthday. I loathed getting books when I was younger, books which were always a few hundred pages beyond my yet undisciplined attention span, usually featuring protagonists who were a little too world-wise for a grade-schooler to appreciate. And, anyway, I was a materialistic brat of a tweenager– I wanted lip-gloss and nail polish and body lotion that would make my arms glittery.

As an adult, all I ever want to give anyone is a book. For a birthday, a funeral, a holiday, for an ‘I’m sorry’ or a ‘thank you,’ for a long train ride, or to strangers I meet briefly and with no expectation of seeing again. Like my grandmother, I usually give my favorite books, which is, I am aware, completely inconsiderate of the literary sensitivities of the recipients of these books, but it is something they will endure as I did, because eventually you will find yourself thinking of this person (be they a kind stranger or a far-from-home friend), and in the book you will find their company.

On the night of April 23rd tens of thousands of people will swell into the streets of their cities and neighborhoods to give 20 copies of a specially-printed, not-for-resale edition of a book of their choosing to 20 strangers. Launched internationally in 2011, World Book Night debuts in the United States this year, joining the U.K. and Ireland to celebrate the power of books, spread literacy awareness and bring individuals together on a date that famously marks Cervante’s death and Shakespeare’s birth. It is my instinct that this night will unwittingly inspire some new friendships, that insights usually reserved for classrooms will be exchanged without pretention or hesitation and that there will be much to be thankful for in April. It’s like Trick-or-Treat with books. Thanksgiving in spring. A birthday present for Shakespeare. It’s good-doing that’s really, really fun. 

This year’s deadline for becoming a giver has passed, but for those of you who were able to become givers this year, we invite you to share your stories of the events of the night of the 23rd with us. Learn more about World Book Night , or to visit their blog. Do you have your own blog? We’d love to share your posts about WBN on microcosmpublishing.com. You can also view their Facebook Page, where other givers will be sharing their stories, as well.

Homesweet Homegrown author Robyn Jasko (also of growindie.com) and illustrator Jennifer Biggs are currently Kickstarting their upcoming BY-TRAIN BOOK TOUR! That’s right: They’re doing an AMTRAK TOUR and we were so stoked to hear about their upcoming adventure we just had to do an interview! Here Robyn talks growing season, tour plans, and more!

Q: So what’s this we hear about you guys deciding to Kickstart your upcoming tour? Tell us a little about that …

A: Yes, it’s true! We are spreading the word out about our new gardening and homesteading book called Homesweet Homegrown: How to Grow, Make and Store Food No Matter Where You Live. To fund the tour, we launched a Kickstarter campaign and are selling signed copies, organic/non-gmo garden seed collections, and lots of other schwag.

Check it out here.

There’s also a fun little video we made featuring myself, Classy Poppy, and illustrator Jennifer Biggs that shows off the book, and some of our homesteading shenanigans.

As for rewards, we are offering signed copies and super easy to grow seed collections for just $35. Or, for $65, you get a book and 20 packets of organic/non-gmo seeds—which is enough to grow a ton of food!

Q: One of our favorite things about this tour is you’re doing it via TRAIN. Why go Amtrak?

A: There are so many reasons we wanted to take the train—we are big fans of public transportation and cutting down on fuel fuels/emissions, so the train was an obvious choice. Plus, there’s a drink cart! We hope to be hanging out there, talking about the book to whoever will listen and proselytizing our mission of homegrown foods as we trek through the US.

Q: Considering the material you’re working from, this definitely doesn’t sound like your boring ol’ traditional read-a-chapter-in-a-bookstore-then-sign-books kinda book tour. What sorts of things do you plan to do?

A: Exactly, instead, we’ll probably be canning/pickling/and planting up a storm, or making a few projects from our Make section, like newspaper pots and easy homemade seed tape. Or, maybe we’ll make one of our 30 vegan recipes from the book that show you how to get the most out of your garden or CSA share.

Our plan is to hit up urban garden centers, indie shops, and bookstores to reach as many farmer/foodies and DIYers as possible. Through the Kickstarter we even have an option to come help you start a garden! So, you never know what we might be up to … but it most likely will be a good time.

Q: It’s spring and a lot of us are growing stuff at the moment. (Many of us being excited beginners.) If you had one tip to give the new gardener/future farmer/homesteading urbanist, what would it be?

A: You can grow anywhere—even if it’s just a little windowsill basil plant or a rooftop tomato plant, that’s one less thing you have to buy at the supermarket, so give it a try! It’s not that hard, I promise.

Q: Finally, what kinds of things are you growing this season?

A: So many things—I have been obsessed with garlic lately, and we have 32 pounds growing in the test garden right now. We’ve also been really into ancient grains, and are experimenting with quinoa and amaranth—in addition to all the usual cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, basil, potatoes, cabbage, zucchini, beans, corn, oh it goes on. Maybe I should have listed what we aren’t growing this year. (Probably peanut plants—although who knows?)

See the Homesweet Homegrown book tour kickstarter right here.

We are in LOVE with MJ Robinson’s new comic Rebel Rebel. This well-drawn mini looks at gender roles and is a good companion to Julia Eff’s Every Thug is a Lady: Adventures Without Gender. What if gender roles were flipped? What makes a “man” a man and a “woman” a woman? Do girls have long hair because they’re “girls”? Is facial hair manly or feminine? How does the world around us cramp our gender-free/personal-idea-of-gender style? MJ’s comic is a total shake-up of existing “rules” and roles and the result is a pleasant mindblower and a great gift for that special someone in your life with rigid views of what a “man” and a “woman” must be. Order Rebel Rebel right here.

And, alas, we bid sad farewell to our Vegan Cookbooks and Cookzines Book List series. Here’s number one. Here’s number two. And, without further pomp and circumstance, three …

Generation V: The Complete Guide to Going, Being, and Staying Vegan as a Teenager

Please Don’t Feed the Bears book

by Brad Misanthropic

In the vein of the classic Soy Not Oi cookbook, Please Don’t Feed The Bears compiles three issues of the previously self-published vegan cook zine with a range of tasty and simple animal-free dishes. The collection finally makes available these long-obscure fanzines originally published in the mid 1990s. Here you’ll find incredible recipes for stews, soups, sauces, noodle & bean dishes, baked entrees, deserts and more! There is also a fair smattering of new material bringing this to a whopping 160 pages of deliciousness! In the spirit of Soy Not Oi, these recipes are written to be simple, straightforward, and perfect for the newest convert to the vegan revolution! But far from bring just a vegan cookbook, Please Don’t Feed The Bears reads as a look into vegan lifestyle and underground culture. The book is thoroughly illustrated with eye-catching drawings and clearly laid-out graphics. In addition, the book also includes assorted rantings about music and the politics of leading a vegan lifestyle. Together the book provides easy-to-make and delectable recipes while reflecting the DIY punk rock sensibility of zine culture. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/1785/

So Raw It’s Downright Filthy

by Joshua Ploeg

Let us not understate the might and magic of Joshua Ploeg’s cooking. The dude’s meals sparkle in your mouth; they burst and bloom; they explode and breakdance and pirouette! Joshua’s the “traveling vegan chef” and he is—as we speak, no less!—touring the world making insane-in-the-membrane multi-course DIY meals at shows and dinner parties. (You can book him right here! http://joshuaploeg.blogspot.com/) A wonderful follow-up to his third cookbook, In Search of the Lost Taste, this brand-new zine is Joshua’s take on raw food and it is llllllong awaited. Revel in the majesty of easy and cheap recipes like his Mushroom-Pear Salad with Five Spice. Give yourself a massive high five after fixin’ up his pho (which is pho-king great!). Go bananas with his green curry, his incredible Shitakesbury Steak, his OMG-worthy raw Shepherd’s Pie! Want some more? There’s more, much more: 28 slammin’ pages with tips on all-things raw, raw-related articles, and awesome-a-licious recipes like Garlic-Sunflower Pate, Cashew Sour Cream, Melon Gazpacho, and Gumbo! The raw diet does not have to mean a pile of wilted lettuce with lime squeezed over it or a handful of stinkin’ peanuts! The raw diet can be a party! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/3362/

 

 

How It All Vegan Book

by Tanya Barnard

Vegan recipes for such delights as bee pollen blue banana muffins, tofu jerky, vegan ice cream, chocolate cheese-free cake, and cosmetics, pet treats, even household cleaners. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/848/

 

EXTRA! VEGAN BOOKS/ZINES THAT AREN’T QUITE BOOK/COOKZINES BUT STILL RULE

Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice

by Nathalie VanBalen

“Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice is a fresh, one-of-a-kind book designed to get a person’s mental juices flowing about compassion, vegetarianism, stereotypes,  expectations, and (of course) juicing. Like the title, a lot of interesting ingredients get blended together in this book; and although it sounds funny, it sure gets one ‘pumped!’ (like the the main characters say). The story revolves around two characters who are super enthusiastic about juicing. They find a reference to using yellow spotted snail shells to make them strong and healthy (and it goes well with juice!), so they bag a bunch and prepare to add them to their special garlic-onion-beet-spinach-mango-carrot-grapefruit juice. One of their housemates firmly believes snail shells do not belong in juice and begins thinking about the snails’ perspective and models critical thinking, empathy, and compassion for the reader. She asks herself thoughtful questions, one of which is ‘How does it feel to be food?'” -VegBooks review Note: Also check out author Nathalie VanBalen’s vegan Thanksgiving coloring zine, Happy Thanksliving! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3719/

 

Vegan Freak Book: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World, Version 2.0

by Bob Torres

At one time or another, every vegan has felt like an outsider, even in places where they’re supposed to feel comfortable. This book is written to help you embrace your inner vegan freak. Written by people all along the continuum of veganism—there is a special focus towards young, independent minded, tattooed vegans. There’s practical tips, advice, stories, and comprehensive lists of resources, tips of keeping sane, being happy, and being healthy in a non-vegan world. Witty, opinionated, and eminently useful. The tone is refreshing compared and language to most books of this sort. Note: This edition includes revised, expanded, and updated material. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3766/

Green is the New Red: An Insider’s Account of a Social Movement Under Siege

by Will Potter

Like the Red Scare, this “Green Scare” is about fear and intimidation, using a word—”eco-terrorist”—to push a political agenda, instill fear and silence dissent. The animal rights and environmental movements directly threaten corporate profits every time activists encourage people to go vegan, to stop driving, to consume fewer resources and live simply. Their boycotts are damaging, and corporations and the politicians who represent them know it. In many ways, the Green Scare, like the Red Scare, can be seen as a culture war, a war of values.

Will Potter outlines the political, legal, extra-legal, and public relations strategies that are being used to threaten even acts of nonviolent civil disobedience with the label of “terrorism.” Here is a guided tour into the world of radical activism that introduces the real people behind the headlines and tells the story of how everyday people are being prevented from speaking up for what they believe in. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3625/

Happy Thanksliving! A Coloring Zine

by Nathalie VanBalen

This one is somethin’ special. Nathalie VanBalen’s Happy Thanksliving! is a coloring zine about having a vegan Thanksgiving! The fully illustrated zine is a friendly take on animal rights, beginning its running narrative with “We’re setting the table and chopping our veggies for a Thanksgiving feast tonight. We’re excited to say that this is our way to celebrate feeling just right. There isn’t a turkey on our table and we’re happy to tell you why–because turkeys are FRIENDS (like cats and dogs) and feathered friends must FLY!” This engaging, happy, good-hearted zine is perfect for radical kids and adults alike. VanBalen, author of the awesome Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice, has done a good thing here and we’re stoked to have this on our site. We’ve only got a few of these so jump on this while it’s HOT! Get those crayons and colored pencils ready! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/3716/

 

Part two! See part one right here.

Barefoot & In the Kitchen: Vegan Recipes For You

by Ashley Rowe

COMING JULY 1! This heavily illustrated vegan cookbook is packed with delicious recipes and entertaining essays. Not at all an exclusive affair, Barefoot and in the Kitchen works with ingredients available to folks everywhere—not just those with access to fancy health food stores. Make a basic white sauce, your own seitan, mac’n’cheese, cornbread, and cookies. Folks who have been vegan for awhile will love variations like stuffed shells, dirty rice, and “Cinnamon Buns of Doom.” For Ashley resistance is tasty and once you try out these recipes your resistance will taste good too! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3337/

Hot Damn & Hell Yeah / The Dirty South

An anthology of Vanessa’s “The Dirty South”, meets Ryan Splint’s Australian masterpiece “Hot Damn and Hell Yeah”. HD&HY is a finely illustrated and designed collection of recipes that aren’t afraid of spices but are suited for those into easy to find ingredients that don’t taste like sawdust. The Dirty South is a unique take on southern cooking, vegan style with some tasty delectables, especially for those not afraid of garlic or baking. Sizzling with great cooking ideas and recipes, nutrition isn’t always the first priority for either of these editors but the recipes are damn tasty! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/86/

Vegan Cupcakes book: 75 Dairy Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule!

by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Hungry? We are too. Let’s fix that WITH A BOOK LIST! Vegan cookbooks and cookzines, without further adieu … 

In Search Of The Lost Taste

by Joshua Ploeg

Joshua Ploeg’s cooking blows my mind so much that a secret door opens in the back of my head and white doves, musical notes, and winged horses fly out. His cooking is transcendent: Dangerous, strange and perfect. It¹s full of colorful tastes that explode in your mouth like Pop Rocks ­flavor combinations you never thought possible. Crazy alchemy. Freaky magic. Joshua’s the Traveling Chef; you make an appointment, he shows up at your house with a load of groceries, makes an incredible multi-course vegan meal using your pots and pans, and then he’s gone like the Lone Ranger riding into a big Texas sunset. Joshua’s been in a bunch of hardcore bands and he brings all the good things punk rock gave us: risk, passion, creativity, and weirdness; then he applies them to his meals. I randomly lucked into one of his dinners last year. I usually eat really fast and mindlessly, but I had to take this one slow and let all the flavors develop and do their respective stuff. Each had its own distinctive note ­ its own voice that rang out to let it be known that it was something special and unique. It was an experience in the finest sense of the word. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/2724/

Homesweet Homegrown: How to Grow, Make, And Store Food, No Matter Where You Live

by Robyn Jasko

Robyn Jasko and Jennifer Biggs’ Homesweet Homegrown is self-described as “a simple DIY guide to growing, storing, and making your own food, no matter where you live.” An ideal companion to Raleigh Briggs’ DIY guide Make Your Place, Jasko and Biggs’ debut book will turn you into a healthy, happy farmer even if you live in a big city sky-rise. Based around eight comprehensive sections (Know, Start, Grow, Plant, Plan, Make, Eat, and Store), this wonderful 128-page guide takes you through all the steps of crop nurturing, and gives the goods for everyone from the base beginner to the well-seasoned farmhand. (The recipe section alone is enough to keep you comin’ back to this gem for years to come!) Narrated in a friendly, helpful tone by Jasko and held aloft by Biggs’ great illustrations, this book is the definition of awesomely useful. Super, super, SUPER inspiring. Grow your own! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3613/

 

Vegan Vittles-Second Helpings (New Edition!)

by Joanne` Stepeniak

In this expanded edition of the highly popular original, Jo Stepaniak has retained the book’s imaginative concepts and down-home appeal, while broadening many sections to cover a vast wealth of alternatives for every animal-based food under the sun. From homemade veggie “meats” and uncheeses to scrumptious egg and dairy substitutes, Vegan Vittles fills the whole table, and does so simply, tastefully, and creatively. Written in conjunction with staff members of Farm Sanctuary, North America’s oldest and largest farmed animal sanctuary and advocacy organization, Vegan Vittles provides valuable and timely information about modern “food animal” production, as well as constructive and effective actions that readers can take on behalf of these animals. The recipes are without pretense, ranging from hearty, home-style American, to ethnic and elegant. With over 100 exciting new recipes and clear, detailed instructions, Vegan Vittles is sure to inspire compassionate cooks of all ages, regardless of their comfort level in the kitchen. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/1518/

 

 

Viva Vegan!

by Terry Hope Romero

Viva Vegan! is the work of culinary genius Terry Hope Romero, coauthor of the best-selling cookbook, Veganomicon.  In this cookbook, Romero walks us through over 100 delicious Latin American recipes.  Upon owning Viva Vegan!, you will find yourself flipping it open on a daily basis to see what delectable dish you will prepare next.  Although Romero doesn’t sacrifice quality in the name of simplifying recipes, even the most complicated meals seem within reach without going out of your way to hunt down obscure ingredients or spending four hours in front of a stove.  This will go down as a classic in the vegan cookbook world. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3288/

 

Let Gluten-Freedom Ring! A Vegan, Gluten-Free Cookzine!

by Adam Gnade

It’s our first-ever GLUTEN-FREE COOKZINE! This 37-page vegan/gluten-free recipe zine features tasty guest contributions from Kittee Berns, Xerography Debt‘s Davida Gypsy Breier, Happy Thanksliving‘s Nathalie VanBalen, Taking the Lane‘s Elly Blue, Joe Biel, Megan Michelle, superstar vegan chef Joshua Ploeg, Laura Grant, Robin E. Osborne, Coleen Cata, Adam Gnade, and the multi-talented Rio Safari! Recipes include breakfast “sausages,” mac and cheese, Kittee’s “Occupies”, faux pho, sugar cookies, carrot cake, waffles, and many, many more! Make a meal for your gluten-free self. Make something sweet for that gluten-free friend of yours. Cut out wheat for a while just to see how your body handles it. Whatever you choose to do with Let Gluten-Freedom Ring, this easy-to-use, friendly, comfort-food-lovin’ zine is all about making the gluten-free diet not suck. NOTE: This zine’s second printing has an additional recipe from Green is the New Red‘s Will Potter! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/3723/

 

 

Vegan Brunch

by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

A good cookbook should be informative, but a great cookbook should be inspirational. And let’s just say I want to make everything in this book right this second. The entire book is in full color, with glossy photos of pancakes dripping with fruit and faux whipped cream, cherry sage “sausages” and the tofu benny, dripping with hollandaise sauce. This book contains 175 delicious-looking recipes. Please get this book, and make vegan brunch for your friends! (and invite us over too!) https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/2875/

 

Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Moskowitz and Romero’s newest delicious collection makes it easier than ever to live vegan. You’ll find more than 250 recipes—plus menus and stunning color photos—for dishes that will please every palate. All the recipes in Veganomicon have been thoroughly kitchen-tested to ensure user-friendliness and amazing results. And by popular demand, the Veganomiconincludes meals for all occasions and soy-free, gluten-free, and low-fat options, plus quick recipes that make dinner a snap. Recipes include:

Autumn Latkes, Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes, Grilled Yuca Tortillas, Baby Bok Choy with Crispy Shallots, Chile-Cornmeal Crusted Tofu Po’ Boy, Roasted Eggplant and Spinach Muffuletta, Jicama-Watercress-Avocado Salad with Spicy Citrus Vinaigrette, Acorn Squash, Pear and Adzuki Soup, Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti and Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/2755/

 

And now we proudly present our third and final list of books and zines on the subject of growing-your-own. The first is here and here’s the second. Thanks for reading! Oh, and if you do end up starting a garden or a farm or just growing some DIY bucket potatoes, send us pictures! We’d love to see them. Yo: adam@microcosmpublishing.com

Fireweed: A Zine of Grassroots Radical Herbalism and Wild Foods Connecting With Kids and Family Life

by Jess Krueger

Fireweed, as the full title implies, is all about introducing your kids to plants. It’s about teaching young children the joy of gathering edibles, and making them into candies, teas, jellies, or even medicines. There’s tips for going on plant walks, and suggestions for good introductory plants like ginger, mint, and marshmallow. There are recipes for prickly pear crisp, catnip tea, and simple fermented herbal infusions. The authors conduct a couple interviews with parents about their experiences sharing plants with their children. Overall, this zine is really inspiring.  https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/2836/

 

 

Fireweed: A Zine of Grassroots Radical Herbalism and Wild Foods Connecting with Kids and Family Life, #2

by Jess Krueger

We are so incredibly stoked to have issue two of the Fireweed zine in stock! Like its subtitle says, Fireweed is about getting kids (and friends and your family) in touch with herbalism and wild plants in a radical sense. Issue two is a massive 67-page collection of essays and interviews, reviews and articles. Some of the features include: a piece on harvesting wild plants by Fireweed‘s editor, Jess; an article on the magic of chamomile; an interview with Herbal Feral Family; a piece on Magical Arts; a piece on the healing properties of plantains; advice on herbal baths; writing on doulas; Traci Picard’s “Holistic Support for the new mama in a scrubbled up world,” and much, much more! This zine is a real treasure trove of wisdom, advice, and inspiration for living a life closer to the land. We endorse Fireweed with a massive thumbs up! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/3768/

 

Greenwoman #4

by Sandra Knauf

Greenwoman is a mother’s look at her life of family and gardening. A majority of the issue is a long well-written piece on raising chickens, with beautiful photos of her children holding the birds. It’s all the ups and downs that come along with raising animals, including untimely death. Sandra, the author, also spends alot of time thinking about her garden, the earth, and how to make it a better place for everyone. This includes more inclusive sex education for children, and less wasteful lawns. Spirited and opinionated, Sandra endeavors to share the dynamic experiences of her world. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/2793/

 

Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food In Hard Times

by Steve Solomon

Gardening When It Counts helps readers rediscover traditional low-input gardening methods to produce healthy food. Designed for readers with no experience and applicable to most areas in the English-speaking world except the tropics and hot deserts, this book shows that any family with access to 3-5,000 sq. ft. of garden land can halve their food costs using a growing system requiring just the odd bucketful of household waste water, perhaps two hundred dollars worth of hand tools, and about the same amount spent on supplies – working an average of two hours a day during the growing season. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/2721/

 

Seeds: An Anthology of Comics About Food

by Offshore Comix

“Seeds” collects comics about food, from 18 different people. Some people address food production, like the harvesting of syrup, large scale agriculture, or where the meat you eat comes from. Others address the meaning of food in their lives. Includes comics by Matthew Reidsma of High Maintenance Machine zine, and Dan Archer of “What a Whopper” zine. This zine also comes with a free organic seed packet! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/2664/

 

Guerrilla Gardening: A Manualfesto

by David Tracey

An introduction to guerrilla gardening that covers the basics. Where to plant, what to plant, and what to do if your urban garden meets resistance from local officials. “Guerrilla Gardening” helps you start from scratch as an excited future gardener. It also contains inspirational interviews with people who change the street-scape in a myriad of ways: From city planners to street artists, many different perspectives are explored! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/2555/

It’s the second installment of our DIY gardening/farm book/zine/DVD reading/watching list! For the first list click the blue here right here. Keep your eyes here for the third installment coming soon!

How and Why: A Do-it-yourself Guide

by Matte Resist

“I dream of a better world,” writes zinester and How and Why author Matte Resist in the intro to his new book. He continues, “To me DIY culture is about grabbing a little piece of that dream.” What follows over the course of the next 176 pages is Matte doing what all dreamers must do—waking up from his dream, opening his eyes, and confronting what roadblocks and hurdles lie between him and his goal. Matte does this by laying down chapter upon chapter of blueprints for a better world. A sequel to our do-it-yourself handbook Making Stuff and Doing Things, How and Why gives us detailed, engaging, easy-to-use info on bicycles, home and garage, gardening, educating children, musical instruments, and the all-inclusive “everything else” section. If you dream of taking back your life and building a better world, How and Why might be your new best friend. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/2857/

The Garden Cycles Bike Tour Presents: Faces From The New Farm

Liz Tylander, Lara Sheets and Kat Shiffler are the Garden Cycles Bike Tour. In the summer of 2007, these quirky ladies took off on bikes and filmed what would become a 35-minute film chronicling their 2,000 plus mile journey in search “the new American farmer”. From Washington, DC to Montreal and back, the trio interview enthusiastic gardeners in urban areas, youth involved in food justice, new immigrant farmers and a new generation of back-to-the-landers. The film features The Food Project, Nuestras Raices, The Germantown Community Farm, The Intervale Center, and many others redefining the word “farmer”. This is a great film for anyone interested in grassroots food and farming initiatives or do-it-yourself film projects and bike adventures. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/videos/2864/

 

The Backyard Homestead

by Carleen Madigan

With just a quarter acre of land, you can feed a family of four with fresh, organic food year-round. This comprehensive guide to self-sufficiency has all the information you need to grow and preserve vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, and grains; raise chickens for eggs and meat; raise cows, sheep, and goats for meat or milk; raise pigs and rabbits; and keep honey bees. Simple instructions make it easy to enjoy canned, frozen, dried, and pickled produce all winter; use your own grains to make bread, pasta, and beer; turn fresh milk into delicious homemade yogurt, butter, and cheese; make your own wine, cordials, and herbal teas; and much, much more. It truly is possible to eat entirely from your backyard. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3598/

 

fix it, make it, grow it, bake it: The D.I.Y. Guide to the Good Life

by Billee Sharp

Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It is an inspiring and instructive guide to living the handmade life by consuming less and creating more. Practical and profound, this handy how-to covers every area of life and offers easy-to-do tips, recipes, and advice on saving money and the planet. You and your family can live more joyfully and far more creatively, all on a dime. The best things in life are free — or if they aren’t, you can have a lot of fun making them. Learn how to: Ditch the lawn and raise organic veggies; cook healthy meals for pennies; eco-clean your house with lemons and lavender; cure minor maladies from the kitchen cabinet; join a seed sharing community garden; save big dollars with small repairs; organize a free market; put the “happy” back in your holidays; and more. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3287/

 

Greenwoman #6

by Sandra Knauf

Sandra is a “greenwoman” who loves to garden. She confesses her thumb could be greener, but she’s obviously passionate for plants. In this issue, her daughter turns 18 and graduates high school. Other changes include a greater focus on gardening in her town of Colorado Springs. The failing economy motivates alot more residents to try their hand at growing vegetables. Sandra also educates us about garlic, and writes a love letter to her stove. Contributor Pat Gulya attends a food pantry and weighs in on the experience, and Becky Elder writes a sweet ode to her garden. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/3212/

 

The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City

by Kelly Coyne

The Urban Homestead is the essential handbook for a fast-growing new movement: urbanites are becoming gardeners and farmers. By growing their own food and harnessing natural energy, they are planting seeds for the future of our cities.

If you would like to harvest your own vegetables, make homemade jam or bread, raise chickens or convert to solar energy, this practical, hands-on book is full of step-by-step projects that will get you started homesteading immediately, whether you live in an apartment or a house. It is also a guidebook to the larger movement and will point you to the best books and Internet resources on self-sufficiency topics. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3107/

 

 

Radical Mycology

by SLF

There’s a fungus-among-us…in the form of Radical Mycology zine! This zine is a mushroom primer, focused mostly on the Pacific Northwest, and contains a wild mushroom identification guide. This is a good time to point out that you should be very careful with wild edibles always! And you should not eat anything you can’t positively ID!! Moving on, this zine is a hefty one. Besides profiles on 11 different mushrooms, it contains info on medicinals, cultivation, making mushroom dyes and paper, bioremediation using mushrooms, and a little history on psilocybin-containing mushrooms. There are even mushroom jokes. This zine is really well put together. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/3041/