The Suburban Micro-Farm: Modern Solutions for Busy People
The Suburban Micro-Farm: Modern Solutions for Busy People book cover

The Suburban Micro-Farm: Modern Solutions for Busy People

Paperback – Illustrated, March 23, 2018

by
Price
$27.04
Format
Paperback
Pages
356
Publisher
Twisted Creek Press
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0997520835
Dimensions
8.4 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches
Weight
1.64 pounds

Description

"I just finished reading The Suburban Micro-Farm and I can say without reservation that it's the best book of its kind I've read yet. My verdict: 5 out of 5 stars. Get a copy and get another copy for a friend." - David Goodman @Mother Earth News "Great for green thumbs or anyone ready to think about seed catalogs, spring planting, and biting into fresh figs or tomatoes." - Library Journal "Those who live in the suburbs would likely agree it offers many advantages, such as proximity to schools, workplaces, and other amenities. But how about its food production potential? In The Suburban Micro-Farm , Amy Stross makes the case that all sorts of small spaces can yield a surprising amount of food, and it can be done without sacrificing every spare moment. The secret is thinking like a farmer, but on a micro-scale." - Mary S. Chadduck, The American Gardener "A suburban micro-farmer myself, I love Stross's no-nonsense advice, colorful pictures, and detailed organizational planning. From creating rich soil to composting, planting vegetables to growing fruit trees or kitchen herbs, The Suburban Micro-Farm is jam-packed with information and deserves a spot on your bookshelf." - Jennifer Melville, San Francisco Book Review "...this book takes a permaculture approach to starting a micro-farm in the suburbs that speaks not just to a stay-at-home mom or dad, but to all busy people. Indeed, it is one of the few gardening books that is aware that you may not have a lot of time to start a garden, and shows you that it's still possible anyway." - Jesse Frost, Hobby Farms Amy Stross is a permaculture gardener, writer, and educator with a varied background in home-scale food production. Through years of experience as a professional gardener specializing in ecologically friendly and edible landscapes, she discovered that healthy fruits and vegetables could actually grow right outside her own door. After receiving her permaculture design certificate, she began to design ecologically regenerative and productive landscapes for others. Her own 0.10-acre micro-farm became a thriving example, with berry bushes, fruit trees, herbs, flowers, and vegetable gardens. Amy also founded and ran a 5-year community food forest project at her local university, which included a variety of edible gardens. Her current adventure is transforming a 3-acre property into a micro-farm with her husband and mischievous farm cat. She reaches hundreds of thousands of people with her adventures and expertise in small-scale permaculture gardening on her popular website, TenthAcreFarm.com.

Features & Highlights

  • Nonfiction Book Awards 2018 Gold Winner
  • Foreword INDIE Awards 2018 Gold Winner (Hobbies & Home category)
  • Nautilus Book Awards 2018 Silver Winner (Green Living & Sustainability category)
  • Reduce your lawn and your grocery budget. Take gardening to the next level!
  • Would you like to grow healthy food for your table? Do you want to learn the secrets of farming even though you live in a neighborhood? Author Amy Stross talks straight about why the suburbs might be the ideal place for a small farm.
  • In these pages you'll learn:
  • How to make your landscape as productive as it is beautiful
  • How to make your landscape as productive as it is beautiful
  • Why the suburbs are primed with food-growing potential
  • Why the suburbs are primed with food-growing potential
  • How to choose the best crops for success
  • How to choose the best crops for success
  • Why you don't need the perfect yard to have a micro-farm
  • Why you don't need the perfect yard to have a micro-farm
  • How to use easy permaculture techniques for abundant harvests
  • How to use easy permaculture techniques for abundant harvests
  • If you're ready to create a beautiful, edible yard, this book is for you.
  • The Suburban Micro-Farm
  • will show you how to grow your own fruits, herbs, and vegetables even on a limited schedule. From seed to harvest, this book will keep you on track so you feel a sense of accomplishment for your efforts.You'll learn gardening tricks that are essential to success, like how to deal with a 'brown thumb', how to develop and nurture healthy soil, and how to manage garden pests.Although this book has everything a new gardener needs to get started, experienced gardeners will not be disappointed. With helpful tips throughout, you will love the in-depth chapters about permaculture and making money on the micro-farm.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(254)
★★★★
25%
(106)
★★★
15%
(64)
★★
7%
(30)
★
-7%
(-30)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Would give it a 2.5 if I could.

Lots of hype, not much substance. Number one most important section in a book about growing food: 'Guide to Planting and Growing Vegetables'. This section is basically a mantra: ______(fill in blank with vegetable name) "prefers rich, fertile, well-drained soil with full or partial sun". "The photo at end of this chapter shows ____ ..." except the photo is right next to the section on the plant. If you actually want to learn what is needed to grow _____ vegetable, I recommend an old book 'The Vegetable Gardener's Bible' by Edward C. Smith. He actually tells you what each vegetable actually requires. Hint they are different with different requirements. Plus it is full with a lot more actual useful information. Waste of money, if you are serious about growing food, in your back yard or anywhere else. Not the first book with a lot of hype and little substance. Reminds me of another book by an "expert" that mention she and her husband allowed their animals to freeze to death because they thought they didn't need shelter. I'm 72 and have been growing food in my yard(s) longer than most people have been alive but things do change.
98 people found this helpful
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5/5 worth the price and time

An all-in-one bible for beginner and experienced gardeners alike. We’ve had gardens for ten years and I still learned a ton in this book. Crop rotation, saving seeds, composting, bed preparation and over-wintering, underplanting fruit trees, repelling pests and deer... it’s all here. She even includes links to customizable calendars you can print out to plan your whole year.
10 people found this helpful
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but this was one of the best. It made me feel like I could finally ...

Practical and inspiring. I've read so many gardening books, but this was one of the best. It made me feel like I could finally do it. It's filled with practical, doable steps to get you started.
10 people found this helpful
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If you only buy one gardening book, make it this one!

This is the absolute BEST book for beginner and intermediate gardeners! It covers everything from soil health, composting, amendments and worm composting, how to grow dozens of different veggies and fruit (even the unusual ones), season extension, gardening planning and organizing your garden tasks, all while beautifying your yard and supporting native wildlife. Its easy to read and find the information I need when I go back to it. This copy was a gift for my sister, I wish I could buy everyone a copy!!! She also has a fantastic website with additional resources. Just get it!
8 people found this helpful
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New favorite gardening book

This is my new go-to book for gardening. Makes sense, easy to follow. Lots of warnings for not getting started too big too fast, and very helpful suggestions for both beginners and seasoned gardeners.
8 people found this helpful
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Great book for beginners and some intermediates

I have about 2000 books about gardening, permaculture, food forrests, soil science, vegetables, fruits, all books from Royal Horticulture S., etc... This book is condensed to cca 300 pages, of course lot if missing, othervise it should be 3000 pages. Lot of practical experience, some theory, easy read and very understandable even for me not native english speaker. Writing style is excellent and fun to read, something about social contacts with neighbours, funny stories, this is one od the best books for beginners with wide overview on a subject, and if you need details you can go to next step or maybe author shall write a new book addition I hope, because like her style.
7 people found this helpful
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You do have time for a garden!

This book is for anyone who doesn't think they have time to garden! A lot of people like the idea of growing their own food but don't think they have the time. Like anything else worthwhile, it's all about how you organize yourself, your schedule and your garden. The author doesn't like to you - gardening IS work. However, she makes it completely DO-able! I love the "life hacks" for gardeners that she outlines and the realities of gardening that she talks about.

There's good info here about building good soil, picking the right plants to grow and the other topics necessary for food growing enthusiasts to understand. Though this book is geared toward those growing in a confined space like a city lot, the information here is applicable to any gardener since deciding how best to use your space is pertinent to every gardener. I'm reading the permaculture section right now, especially how to build a terraced garden and use water direction swales in my steeply slopped back pasture. I have a lot of land, but I struggle with the same issues I have in every garden - how to prep the soil to plant what I need and have it grow! Herbs are included in this book, too, FYI.I

The color photos are great, as are the ink line drawings. All the charts are really helpful, too. The text is clear, the writing great and the formatting very well done - easy to read.
7 people found this helpful
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The No-Excuses Guide to Self-Reliance in the Suburbs

Do you live in the suburbs but yearn for the farm life?

The two do not have to be mutually exclusive. This book can help you realize your self-reliance dreams no matter where you live.

This is the best gardening book I have seen for making the most of a small space for growing food. The ideas in it are not only useful but also beautiful. The inspiring full-color photographs will make you want to go dig in the dirt immediately. If you have permaculture dream for a small space, this is the book for you. It's the kind of book you will refer to again and again because it is such a thorough wealth of information.

I guarantee that you will be shocked to learn how much food you can grow in very small spaces - and so beautifully that your HOA won't get worked up about your vegetable garden. Whether you are brand new to growing food or an experienced gardener, you'll find loads of ideas you will be eager to implement. BUY THIS BOOK!
6 people found this helpful
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Helpful resource and delightful read!

I found Amy's website more than a year ago and because we were learning from her permaculture experience so much, we decided to just buy the book. I was not new to permaculture but this is a very different way to garden. There is a lot to learn and can be discouraging among "conventional" gardening people. We've purchased many books on gardening and we always pull away some helpful knowledge. I think the readers need to take into consideration that no book can be a full resource on all topics. Her tenth acre farm was identical to what we were working with only we have a quarter acre and 6-7 story tall oak trees in our backyard with a slope and lots of water runoff. I have heard all the negatives and said them myself but. We are happy to use her knowledge in creating our gardens! Her book is encouraging, helpful and fun to read. Thanks Amy! :) As a side note, our book fell apart too and she made that right by sending us another, no big deal. This was not her fault but something in the printing or storage most likely. I always give the vendor a chance to make things right before I go and post a negative comment. We know how this affects business owners being the same! I love all my gardening books and use each of them for different reasons. That is my take away. Hope this helps!
5 people found this helpful
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Book falling apart

The book fell apart at the seams when I first started reading it. I am very excited about the info, but am disappointed at the quality of the book making. And I am past the time to return the book to hopefully get a new one that won’t fall apart. Very disappointed.
3 people found this helpful

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