Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!

I have really enjoyed this book for its overall content. I will keep this one for years to come as a reference. We don't have a farm but do have over an acre of land and are able to use some of the suggestions given here.

Now that I am approaching the age of double nickles, I am thinking on what I wanted to do at retirement. This is my niche. I have a small arce in northwest Missouri. I love to be outdoors. I have gardened for the last 30 years and I thought that homesteading sounded like my cup of tea. This book has it all. Plans and how to set up your garden, how to raise small amounts of livestock, how to raise chickens, milk a goat you name it's in here. Now that homesteading is a trend you can do this in a suprising small amount of land (with very little investment) or just a large vacant lot. Have fun with this book. I am going to try my hand at making homemade cheese. If you want a book that will keep you busy and be a asset to your grocery bill buy this one.

Cindi Stratton from NW Missouri

A wealth of information, well-organized and easy for those of us new to the game to digest. Great reference book to have on hand if you want to grow your own food, whether just a few potatoes, or your entire fridge and pantry.

Great starting point for homesteaders. For those looking for a pathway to self reliance and connecting with nature may find it lacking in creative and sustainable ideas. Good overview of the basics for plant and animal care and making things at home. The book is great for re-educating families on traditional knowledge that has been lost but if you are looking for forwarding thinking concepts on permaculture or self-reliance/sustainability you will find them missing from this text. The lay out and graphics are super cute - but some photos would have been a great addition to bring the text to life.

I purchased this book but returned it because I already had "Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance" and it contains almost all of the same information. For the little bit of new information contained in this book, I didn't think it was worth purchasing this book in addition. I didn't realize this book would be so similar. If you don't have or never read "Storey's Basic Country Skills...," this book will be a great find for you. It's a smaller, easier to handle book than "Storey's Basic Country Skills..," but it has much less content, for those deciding between the two. However, the information it contains is valuable for backyard homesteaders.

This book has information about a lot of different subjects, but it does not go into great detail about most of them. This would be a great book to get if you're just getting started looking into homesteading.

There was a lot of erroneous information in this book and it doesn't focus enough on the important facts. I think there wasn't enough info to really do what they advertise you can do, there is no way you could follow this guide and farm on that small amount of land!

I first found this book in the public library and checked it out. It quickly became a Gotta-Have book for me because of its wealth of information. After marking over 35 pages to be copied before taking the book back, I realized that it would make much more sense to just purchase it. It gives plant by plant information on planning, preparation, planting, picking, and preserving. There is a complete chart on spices - including which part of the plant to use and when. There are chapters on berries, wine making, cheese making as well as livestock raising. You really can produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!

This book has information about a lot of different subjects, but it does not go into great detail about most of them. This would be a great book to get if you're just getting started looking into homesteading.

There was a lot of erroneous information in this book and it doesn't focus enough on the important facts. I think there wasn't enough info to really do what they advertise you can do, there is no way you could follow this guide and farm on that small amount of land!

I first found this book in the public library and checked it out. It quickly became a Gotta-Have book for me because of its wealth of information. After marking over 35 pages to be copied before taking the book back, I realized that it would make much more sense to just purchase it. It gives plant by plant information on planning, preparation, planting, picking, and preserving. There is a complete chart on spices - including which part of the plant to use and when. There are chapters on berries, wine making, cheese making as well as livestock raising. You really can produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!

Definately abook to have when starting your first homestead! Lots of great information in this book. I would highly recommednd it to anyone starting out. it was enjoyable to read and it gave me many good ideas for planning out my homestead

This little book was an understatement. It is concise about what you will need for gardening, offers more than what it advertises and is compact. It is easy to read and the instructions are in plain English. There is nothing technical about this book. It is a must for backyard gardners.

The Backyard Homestead is well worth the purchase. This book is well written and the information is well put together. The author teaches you how to look at your property in a new way regardless of how big or small. I am always looking for new and better ways to be a good steward of the property that our family owns and this book has opened my eyes to a whole new way of doing things. The author very creatively teaches you how to use your land so that it is working for you. Lot's of great detailed instructions on getting started. I would recommend this book to anyone that would like to try their hand at farming in a updated way that will give back for many years to come.

This book has me feeling motivated and excited to start my backyard homestead. It gives great information about multiple climate types to help personalize your own plantings at home. There are also diagrams and sketches in the book that compliment the guidelines very well.

very detailed account of what, when ,where, and hows of being self sufficient. i started gardening off this book. there's a variety of brreds of livestock it talks about, how to cure and make cheeses/butter, etc. it's also one of the more entertaining guides ive come across. need i say more?

This book is a must-have for anyone interested in starting a homestead. It contains everything from growing your own food to brewing your own beer and much, much, much, more! I highly recommend this wonderful book.

This is an encyclopedia of backyard homesteading. It is filled with a plethora of great ideas to get you started on living more independently and living a much healthier life. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in taking a more hands on approach to their life, more than just buying organic produce at Walmart, and reaping the benefits of growing their own food.
On a side note, I honestly believe that this would be a great educational book for people looking to shed body fat. Not only does the author give you the guidance to live healthier and eat a whole foods based diet, but the sweat equity involved in living sustainably will also burn some serious calories.

This is a very informative book for people starting out. We have farmed/ranched most of our lives, but this is helping us with answers to questions that we didn't have before we retired. Good for young and old. I recommend it wholeheartedly and would buy it again.

I have a small library of books on self-sufficient living. This book is focuses just on the area of food production and use, including vegetables, fruit, nuts, eggs, dairy, poultry & meat. I have found it to be useful.

Of all the many books out there nowadays about sustenance gardening, this one is by far the most complete and easiest to use. Not only is it a thorough reference, the easy-going writing style makes it a joy to sit and read.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is informative for beginners, and helps someone who has never started their own garden or raised animals to make informed decisions about what to keep in their backyard.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to step into self-reliance, but doesn't quite know how.

This is an awesome book focused on living off your land. It is well written, fun to read, fille with lots of facts and very helpful.
Plan on producing lots of things off my own property and the author has me ready to go!

My husband has hardly put down this book since we got it! I really bought it for my own interest but he has latched onto it now. When I first got it home I did get to read it and it seems a fairly well rounded book! It covers vegetable gardening and raising livestock. I do think it is geared toward city people as it is all about what you can do on a small amount of land. We have six acres (which to us seems small) and there are not really plans on how to manage that amount of land. The livestock section has left a few things that need to be further researched and I am surprised it does not go into any detail of hunting wild game, particularly deer as they are a great food source. Other than that, it does contain a wide variety of information and I would recommend it.