The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! Paperback – February 11, 2009

Great book great info this surprised me how detailed it was and more topics then I expected can’t wait to finish reading it is perfect for beginners

I know it’s really easy to watch videos and look things up about homesteading on the internet but this book covers a lot and it’s great to have on hand. Really pleased with the amount of info in this book.

I live in cornfield county. Everybody around here is either a farmer or grew up working on a farm. This stuff is in our DNA; our parents and grandparents grew and canned or butchered just about everything they ate, many of us still do. So, I can tell you from years of experience that as an aid to inexperienced or new urban farmers, this book is worth its weight in gold. It does not take you by the hand and give you step by step instructions; instead, it helps to open your eyes to all of the possibilities for food production that many simply haven't thought about. It gives a general overview of what you can do on limited land and what the minimum space requirements are for each endeavor. Can you raise chickens just by reading the chapter on chickens? No; ditto for cows, goats, pigs and other edible critters. But it will give you a good starting point and keep you from making "rookie" mistakes.Think of this book as an "idea" book. Identify what looks good to you and then use other resources to increase your knowledge of those subjects (the book does have a section of additional resources at the back). I grew up working on farms and still grow and preserve much of my own vegetables and fruit; still I found myself surprised at some of the things I read in this book that I simply hadn't thought much about, like dandelion coffee or flower fritters. I also got ideas on new things to grow.For those of you who have not gardened much, you'll never go back to store bought spaghetti sauce or salsa once you make your own. And even your ugliest green bell pepper will taste so much better than that big sterile waxy green one in the store. Growing your own food and living at least partially off the land is a legacy that should be passed down to every generation, just in case. The Backyard Homestead can be an indispensable aid to helping you become at least partially self sufficient.2023 update: I only garden about 75 sq. feet now (two 8'x4' beds and one 10sq ft grape arbor.) I typically yield about 20 lbs. grapes, 18 qts raspberries 400-600 Roma hybrid tomatoes and 60+ peppers . Pics show produce from various harvests over the years.

I'd describe this book as the first book a prospective homesteader should buy. The book covers a lot (vegetables, fruits, nuts, dairy, grains, poultry, herbs, foraging, canning, drying, companion planting, how to select the right varieties for your family, various recipes, basic construction designs, etc.), but at a **very surface level**. It's the tip of the iceberg for what to consider, and much more thorough research should be done into all of these topics for someone who actually plans to do any of this at a serious level.If you want to homestead, reading this book is a great place to start. But as you're going along, keep a running list of questions/topics to dive deeper into -- you'll want to do a lot of extra research to farm successfully. There is so much more to learn (especially since this book was published a decade ago). You'll be much more successful if you use this text as a launching point to delve much deeper into all of these topics.

I read this book on my kindle, but I will be getting this in print as soon as possible! Maps, diagrams, charts, recipes, and more. This book has so much helpful info. Plant types, when to plant, how to use... I want to grow more of our food and this book is a perfect resource to help with that!

I've always lived in contact with farming and agriculture. And ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to plant and harvest my own veggies, and raise my own chickens. Now that I'm married, I wanted to have a greater involvement with that lifestyle I dreamed of as a kid.Enter The Backyard Homestead (or as my hubbie calls it, THE BOOK). I now have a clear and precise image of the house I want to build (we are saving now) and how I want to distribute my "crops" and animals! even now, living in a VERY small house without any sort of soil to plant in, we have our small crops going on and even a handful of hens and roosters!The book is divided very nicely, and it takes you step by step, starting with the easiest part (growing your own vegetables) all the way up to caring for your livestock! you can take baby steps or jump right in, The Book will be there providing answers, and since it is not an Encyclopedia but a single volume, in some instances it will direct you to another source where you can explore in depth in any given subject you are interested.I really want to try my hand at making wine and beer from local produce (since I have yet to have my dream home), and I find the advice regarding fruits and veggies quite helpful! right now my plants are just potted, and I still have a wide array of veggies and herbs (and a small guava-strawberry tree already being subjected to the treatments explained in The Book!)Whether you have half an acre, a tenth of an acre or just a balcony, you will find plenty of valuable information. you can make your own mozzarella from fresh milk even if you don't have a cow, or learn how to can your veggies even if they are store bought at the peak of the season and not grown in your home.I would give it ten stars!

Absolutely amazing! It has everything you need to know. There is so much information and simple, straightforward instructions on how to do it all!