Book review on urban agriculture – a spectrum of science

Describing the book is not easy. On the other hand, one learns what is hidden behind the term permaculture i.e. how a consistent consideration of ecosystems, natural cycles and processes through synergy can lead to greater yields than industrial agriculture. You get practical advice on creating such gardens, as well as instructions for building raised beds. On the other hand, the book not only teaches you how to create a small private garden for sustainable agriculture in your city, but also how to think bigger and create an association like Vegetable Heroes, who act as an eco-social project across the city.

Initially, the vegetable champions were no more than a few like-minded people who together cultivated a small plot of vegetable plot in Frankfurt. Then there were more plots and more people involved, fruit, herbs and nuts were added to the veggies – and finally PermaKulturGarten Frankfurt 2025 vision for the city’s “green lung”: “A meeting place will be created in the district where individuals can participate in schools, institutions, initiative groups and citizens The focus is on fresh fruit and vegetable production: the permaculture farmers grow here together – for themselves, their neighborhood, the café in the park, and the local shops in the area.”

Information is sometimes collected on facts, sometimes personal experiences (including setbacks), and sometimes interviews with experts or photos of various contributors. This makes reading diverse, but somehow spreads the information between 300 pages. Although there is a good table of contents and a small glossary, you can’t avoid reading the book from cover to cover, for example, if you are only interested in sustainable agriculture and not the community projects developed around it. But if you want to, you might be better off with another book. Urban Agriculture is aimed at people with visions who may need a boost or just a guide. The book is a bit like a (one-sided) exchange of experiences turned into a paper — or, in Setzer’s words: “This book shows the genesis of the vision that was born in our heads and finally became a reality.”