My Review Of “The Backyard Homestead” Survival Gardening Book

I’ve recently been reading a number of books on the topic of survival gardening and urban homesteading. One of my favorites so far is called “The Backyard Homestead, Grow All the Food You Need On A Quarter Acre”.  Even if you are not into the concept of a “survival garden” or “urban homesteading”, you can probably get some very useful information from this book if you are considering a backyard garden for food production and saving money.  This is one of the most comprehensive backyard homestead – survival gardening books I have read so far. I believe part of the reason this is such a well put together home survival gardening book is because it is not simply from the perspective of  just one person. Storey Publishing has been printing backyard homesteading books for many years and what editor Carleen Madigan has done is draw on all of the books that Storey has published since 1983 for her ideas.

A carefully planned garden can provide much of the food you need from a quarter acre homestead.

What Is A Backyard Homestead?

The title of the book in this review, “The Backyard Homestead”, alludes to creating a modern self sufficient homestead similar to those of early pioneers. The small farms of yesteryear were not dedicated to just one crop, like today’s farms usually are. A small homestead would have produced much of the food that the family ate, as well as some to sell for a profit. A backyard homestead is for food production for a single family only and seeks to be as self sufficient and sustainable as possible.

Is It Possible To Grow All The Food You Need On A Quarter Acre?

It has been proven that you can grow all the food you need to survive on a quarter acre, if you have the right conditions, can have animals (and you are not vegan), and are willing to put in several hours each day growing, canning and processing the food you grow on an quarter acre homestead. I know it may be technically possible to grow all the food a vegetarian needs from a quarter acre, but it is largely impractical.  The concept of producing all the food you need from a city lot is not practical for most people who have full time jobs, but if you retired and are looking for a challenge then you might come pretty close to growing most of the food you need to survive on a quarter acre homestead.  While this book falls under the genre of “urban food production” it is targeted more toward suburban properties with fewer restrictions. Still, city dwellers can use much of the subject matter when it comes to urban survival gardening.  What I gained from the book in this review, “The Backyard Homestead” was useful tips about growing more of my food in the small space that I have and doing it in a manner that cuts down on pest control, weeding, etc. I’m going to see if our family can grow most of the vegetables we use on our property. Raising chickens, keeping pigs, bees, etc, is not not an option for us due to city restrictions.

Summary Of My Review of The Backyard Homestead.

If you want a good overview of organic gardening, canning, drying, general food production for small plots of land, then this book fits the bill.  I found it an easy to read book, well illustrated and practical on most levels. You can take what you need, and skip those things (like bee keeping), that you have no desire for.

You can browse through the book here: The Backyard Homestead or click on the photo below for more reviews of The Backyard Homestead.

Click on the photo for more reviews of The Backyard Homestead