Has anyone read this book? I saw it in a reputable seed catalog and was curious. It says you can homestead on just 1/4 acre. I find that really hard to believe. The description talked about raising vegetables, bees, hogs, and even a cow. On 1/4 acre???!!
Do we personally have the room on our property for a cow? Sure we do! Can we put up a barn for it- yep, no problem. Would our cow be on green pasture? Nope. It would be eating hay and stuck in a barn with a small area for it to go outside and walk around in the mud. No thanks. Keeping it (the cow) would cost more than buying raw milk from cows that graze on lush green grass.
What type of garden is the book proposing? One where all your veggies are so crammed together that they are basically nutritionless since they're all fighting for the nutrients that the ground can't support?
O.k., someone tell me that this book is good- has some good ideas and worth reading because I am still interested to know how you can homestead on 1/4 acre. Or better yet, do you do it? Do you homestead on a little piece of property? I'd love to hear your ideas or your practices. :)
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8 comments:
Zoning is always an issue. In our area you must have at least 5 acres for livestock. This is a small kindness to the animals, your neighbors (who may live in the burbs because they don't want to smell that farm fresh country air!), and yourself. Pigs stink! Cows are some better. All are a lot of work. We live on 2 acres in the country. No large animals for us! Our neighbors raise cattle, actually more cows than people in our area. Plenty of fresh air and pasture make them pleasant neighbors.
Blessings,
KT
wow...it is hard to imagine fitting all those things into a 1/4 acre...especially the garden.
I actually just checked this out from the library. It's one of those books that has a lot of good info, but I wouldn't necessarily apply all of it to my life. It's literally telling you what you could do, but it's not producing meat the way I'd want to eat it, etc. I live on about a quarter of an acre in the city, and although the veggie aspects are great (I'm setting up square foot gardening as we speak), I legally can't have any kind of livestock :(
I haven't read the book, but having a garden on a 1/4 acre is absolutely doable! My sister grows more veggies in her city backyard than I do on my 8 acres! She does square foot gardening and does it well. I can tell you though, 1/4 acre is NOT enough room to house a pig or cow! Just the smell alone...whew! I've seen people raise bees on city lots and rooftop gardens (on HGTV!), so I guess it can be done.
BTW, we tried square foot gardening this last summer and our tomatoes went beserk! We canned approx. 250 quarts and another 50 pints of salsa.
I have a tiny garden next to my pool that puts out a lot of lettuce, green beans, and a few tomatoes. Does that count?
The only wildlife is that which comes and goes of its own accord, rabbits, ground hog, frogs, etc.
I think the purpose of homesteading on 1/4 acre it to see if you will do the nitty gritty. The garden which produces a great deal of food and weeds. You know get it planted at the right time, keep it weeded and watered (watered with out just mindlessly turning on the hose) A few chickens and the "routine" they involved - everyday. I think a single person could manage on a 1/4 acre homestead. Sure you give up the cow but that is alot of homesteading, doing what can and should be done, not the part that you WANT to do.
I have bought and read this book.
It does have some fantastic ideas. From what I can remember 1/4 acre is the smallest garden and then it has no livestock on it. She taylors what you can grow depending on the size of your plot. So for example on the smallest size only certain veggies, fruit and herbs, then on a larger plot other plants including things like maize.
The next size up chickens as well, then pigs then cows etc.
I have no intention of keeping livestock and it is not all relevant to us, but I did enjoy the book.
I have the book and have enjoyed thumbing thru it. The part I like best is how many dwarf fruit trees can be grown in a small area-an orchard would be wonderful to have! I disagreed with raising a pig on small acreage, and wouldn't even try to keep a cow w/o an acre, but I guess that doesn't mean it can't be done.
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