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Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre

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Description

Go back to basics—compost, raising chickens, water and irrigation, dealing with pests, and much more—with this unique, full color bestseller (over 400,000 sold). Mini Farming describes a holistic approach to small-area farming that will show you how to produce 85 percent of an average family’s food on just a quarter acre—and earn $10,000 in cash annually while spending less than half the time that an ordinary job would require. Even if you have never been a farmer or a gardener, this book covers everything you need to know to get started: Buying and saving seedsStarting seedlingsEstablishing raised bedsSoil fertility practicesCompostingDealing with pest and disease problemsCrop rotationSelling your produce arm planning, and much more. Because self-sufficiency is the objective, subjects such as raising backyard chickens and home canning are also covered along with numerous methods for keeping costs down and production high. Materials, tools, and techniques are detailed with photographs, tables, diagrams, and illustrations. Read more Read less

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Skyhorse; Illustrated edition (April 1, 2010)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1602399840


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 46


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.39 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.8 x 11 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Garden Design (Books) #1 in Sustainable Agriculture (Books) #2 in Organic & Sustainable Gardening & Horticulture


#1 in Garden Design (Books):


#1 in Sustainable Agriculture (Books):


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If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Friday, Aug 22

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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Great Book
I am more than halfway through this book - it is so well written and so educational.
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024 by Lydia Garza

  • Fantastic book
Fascinating read lots of helpful tips and really a great resource.
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2024 by s.

  • Annoying to southern gardeners
I really like this book. But so much of the advice assumes you are in zone 4-6, it feels like -- and that on the east coast. As a gardener relocated to Virginia (piedmont 7b) from the East Bay (CA, semi-arid zone 10a), a lot of the advice is a little tone deaf to the idea that all places are not western Massachusetts. In fact, many parts of the US are radically different, and a novice could be misled. Be sure to find region/zone specific information. Get to know your county's USDA Extension Service. They are absolutely required supplements to this otherwise outstanding book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2023 by Shava Nerad

  • Excellent, well-organized guide on moving from casual gardener to self-sufficient gardener
While I've maintained small gardens and potted plants for years, for 5+ years I've casually kept a 1,000 square foot garden. I've mostly winged it... sometimes impressively, other times with dismally. But, never consistent year over year results. I picked up this book to take my gardening to the next level and broaden my horizons. In short, I'm very satisfied with the insights and guidance I've gleaned from this book. I'd go so far as to say that while you don't need a background in gardening to benefit from this book, this book is a perfect fit for people in my situation. Here are the pros and cons from my perspective. Pros: - The content of each chapter is very well organized, with concepts building onto one another very neatly. - The broader subject matter of the chapters takes one through the process of planning, preparing, selecting, timing, managing, etc. most everything one would need to successfully grow a garden. - This book strikes a good balance between giving you the key information you need for any one aspect of self-sufficient gardening, but not inundating you with too much detail. (In other words, this book threads the needle on delivering a lot of helpful information, while still feeling like an easy read.) - I've seen other reviews for this book that complain that the author 'rips off' others' ideas and re-packages them for profit. I read quite a bit and have over the years seen serious examples of what these other reviewers are claiming. But, in the case of this book, while the author informs on alternative (and even competing models) for gardening, the author always informs the user on what, in his experience, has or has NOT worked from various models; how he has modified some of those ideas to work in his growing climate; and where he completely parts ways from others' techniques and espouses his own approach (including very clear instruction on how to use his modified or totally unique processes). - Finally, where possible, the author provides the equivalent of 'modified workouts' for those 'less fit' (MY WORDS, NOT HIS) in their gardening abilities. In other words, the author provides sufficient detail on what might be the most efficient and beneficial approach to say irrigation or composting, but then across the various subjects covered in the book, he provides a less expensive/quicker/initially easier alternative for those lacking the time, resources, space, skills, etc. to fully implement the best possible approach for one aspect or another of gardening. For example, as I'll be looking to expand my garden this next spring, I fully intend to utilize some of the quicker soil prep techniques offered up in this book for use in a pinch while I build up my long-term composting and soil amendment routines. Cons: - While some of the chapters really cover all the bases for the targeted subject matter (i.e. plant spacing, soil prep, etc.). Others give you just enough to run with but leave you wanting more. A good example of this would be Chapter 7 ("Time and Yield"). While the author gives a good and broad overview of timing techniques (i.e. succession planting, timed planting, interplanting etc.), for such an important subject matter, I was disappointed by just how short this chapter was. I live in Michigan, with a shorter growing season. I see this topic as critical for people in shorter growing zones like mine, and apart from a quick overview of each of the techniques used to maximize productivity, and a handful of real-world examples of plant groups that work well for things like succession planting (taking into consideration their hardiness in colder climates), this chapter really leaves readers wanting. - While this book is beautifully illustrated, there's no doubting that the abundance of pretty pictures of garden produce, chickens, tools, etc. serve as fill to make the book feel a bit more substantial in size than it need be. I don't want to over play this point, as A LOT of the illustrations (pictures/graphics/tables) are pertinent to the content of the book (and in any event, some amount of artwork is always nice to have), BUT... I think you could produce this book, still with plenty of beautiful illustrations, and reduce it from its current 227 pages (including the index and notes pages) down to 175 pages. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2019 by Matt Marshall

  • Great ideas!
Learning lots
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2024 by Jami

  • Lots of great info
This has a lot of info if you are new to farming. Easy to read and I like how it has pictures to show what they are talking about
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023 by tiffany knowles

  • One of the best on gardening, mini-farming, food self-sufficiency
I just read this book and I am very impressed. It compares favorably both to classics of intensive gardening and to classics on self sufficiency. Less complicated than How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits: (And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) (How to Grow More Vegetables: (And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains,) , less expensive and resource-hogging (in terms of peat moss, vermiculite, and grids) than All New Square Foot Gardening (which is still well worth buying for the beginning gardener; the charts on planting for a continuous three-season harvest alone are probably worth the price of the book). More focused and with more current (though perhaps still debatable) numbers than One Acre and Security: How to Live Off the Earth Without Ruining It , and written for an even smaller (and tractor-free) scale than Successful Small-Scale Farming: An Organic Approach (Down-To-Earth Book) . This book contains the simplest and most understandble description of double-digging that I have ever read, and the simplest way of placing seeds at the correct spacing in intensive gardening. It has good discussions of thermophilic composting and of the importance of aging compost; various types of irrigation systems; food requirements per person and practical ways of meeting them (including the economic infeasibility of growing wheat in the home garden); making aerated compost tea with a simple and inexpensive homemade system; the best media for seed starting; an introduction to saving and storing seeds, and references to excellent books that provide more information (such as Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners and Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener's & Farmer's Guide to Plant Breeding & Seed Saving ); inexpensive ways to extend the growing season; fruit trees, bushes, and vines; raising poultry for eggs and/or meat; organic and certified naturally grown; and maximizing the money you make selling produce. The chapter on preserving the harvest by canning, freezing, and dehydrating (no mention of Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables ) is not in-depth and will not take the place of other books on the subject, but serves as a good introduction. The only disappointment to me was that there was no mention of sheet composting (see Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling,No Weeding, No Kidding! ); I might suggest building your raised beds in that way rather than by double digging. If you are trying to move off the grid, grow 100% of your own food, and make your own clothes, this may not be the book for you. If you'd like to raise a lot of your own food in a garden that will fit in the typical suburban yard (the actual number of square feet he suggests cultivating for a family of three is just under 1/20th of an acre), this book is a great place to start. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2008 by MYOB

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