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Recommended Reference Books for Small-Scale Farming

February 16, 2021 BrassEgg Big Ideas, Worth The Money

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The following reviews are books from my own personal library that I’ve collected over the years in a quest to Prepare for Abundance. This article covers the best reference books for the small farm that I have read yet. Some perfect for gifting to a homesteader, but too overwhelming to help persuade a reluctant spouse. Books are listed in order of preference, with the first book being my favorite of the grouping and so on. This is just my opinion to serve my particular purpose, so I give enough honest feedback about the book that you might find that my last listed book is just exactly what you have been looking for.

Sample Illustration from The Permaculture Handbook.

The Permaculture Handbook
One of the foundation books you need in your library to get motivated and inspired to begin your small farm adventure. This fantastic 400-page work comes recommended by Mother Earth News and is attractive enough to give as a gift and well-edited enough to keep the most easily distracted of us engaged for page after page. The two columns that explain the value of pigeons are a perfect example of why you want to own this book. In just two columns I am inspired, informed and encouraged that their are other ways to have modern conveniences without the modern price tag.

Although filled with drawings and photographs, this is no picture book. The cover photo is the only staged and picturesque photo you will find. That is no problem if you are already excited or curious about building a small farm. I mention this to warn you away from letting a hesitant spouse thumb through the book. The ideas contained inside can quickly overwhelm the uninitiated. The photos would be very discouraging to my city-dweller spouse who doesn’t want to live in a constant construction zone. Great book that I highly recommend, but I also recommend you hide it from anyone who might discourage you from your dream.

The idea of ‘Garden Farming’ is referenced and explored again and again even though the actual book title touts ‘Permaculture’. Garden Farming is a an idea we can easily get behind because it’s accessible to most anyone with a yard or access to someone else’s yard. It’s attraction is highlighted when we read that this hobby farm idea saved the Russian people from starvation when the Soviet Union collapsed. Now those little hobby farms provide, “50% of the countries vegetables, fruits and dairy on 7% of the land.” (pg.3) Now that shows the great potential of a concept that is incredibly easy to start.

Permaculture embraces most every concept I agree with. The only permaculture concept I don’t embrace is a heavy reliance on trees and shrubs. A reliance on trees and shrubs can quickly become a discouragement for the beginner because there is such a time lag between planting and fruit that the ‘delayed gratification’ can cause beginners to give up on the entire concept. The second issue with relying heavily on trees and shrubs is related: recovering from any sort of setback can take several years. Say an ice storm destroys your entire orchard or a disease kills not only your whole stand of fruit trees, but contaminates the ground so that you can’t plant the same type of fruit back again. My childhood failures with grapes, pears, apples and peaches may be clouding my vision on this one issue though. As long as their isn’t a purist insistence on trees and shrubs as an essential element of farm design, Permaculture is a fantastic concept. It can become an obsession just like homesteading, but understanding the concepts as you design out your own little farm or backyard garden can make expanding your project so much easier down the line because you will know as you design where to leave blank space for the big innovation you have planned for 5-10 years down the line.

Sample illustration inside Encyclopedia of Country Living

Encyclopedia of Country Living
Now going on 50 years in print, this book is a classic. Much like the encyclopedias of our childhoods, it provides good insights into a wide range of concepts. With over 900 pages of entries, this can be seen as a ‘box of chocolates’ where you sit down and zip through an endless parade of ideas and concepts. It is a primer that can get your thought process going if you are still trying to decide what interests you in the realm of making your own abundance. As proof of the far-ranging concepts; inside you will find how to sharpen an axe and how to deliver a baby. How to build a barn and how to grow your own coffee.

Sample Illustration inside Country Wisdom and Know-How

Country Wisdom & Know-How: Everything You Need to Know to Live Off the Land
The danger with these encyclopedias is that they can quickly become ‘Jack of All Trades, Master of None’. Though I have heard that the original quote is “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” With that said, my 2004 edition is an ambitious work that embraces many of the recreational aspects of Country Living like feeding birds and making candy along with some advice that would seem at home in a preppers book. The font is small, maybe 10 or 9 and three columns are spread across 13.5″ x 10.5″ pages that feel a little bit like a small newspaper. These aspects make it a very impressive gift item though. Just the sort of thing you share with someone who has begun gardening or chicken-keeping. The kind of book you really shouldn’t read before bed because you will be unable to sleep…you will be too excited about the possibilities.

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Recommended Coffee Table Books To Gift and Inspire

February 15, 2021 BrassEgg Worth The Money

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The following reviews are books from my own personal library that I’ve collected over the years in a quest to Build Unbreakable Abundance. This article is my impressions of Coffee Table books perfect for gifting to a homesteader or persuading a reluctant spouse of a homesteader. Books are listed in order of preference, with the first book being my favorite of the grouping and so on. This is just my opinion to serve my particular purpose, so I give enough honest feedback about the book that you might find that my last listed book is just exactly what you have been looking for.

“A Rich Spot of Earth”: Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello
One of the most inspiring books in my library. The Monticello visit was even more stirring than the visit to Colonial Williamsburg because everything was done to perfection. Jefferson paid such attention to his garden design that it doesn’t suffer from the common eye-sore issues that usually plague vegetable patches. Page after page of photos give examples of how to layout a vegetable garden to capture the maximum amount of sun and rain while providing a visual feast for the gardener.

American Barns
This gorgeous book can stir even the most rigid city dweller to dream of rolling hillsides. The American Barn is the epitome of the Farming Dream, and a lovely barn is the icon. If you are planning your own barn construction project or trying to tempt someone to consider farming, this is a great book to lay out for review.

Williamsburg Before and After: A Rebirth of Virginia’s Colonial Capital
This Coffee Table Book will appeal to the reader who loves architecture and seeks renovations that are are farm-house practical yet classic enough to still appeal to the eye 200 years later.

Robert Mondavi Winery
This is a picture book in the purest sense. There are only 5 pages of words. My goal in buying this book was to serve as a bridge for my husband to see ‘farming’ in a different light. A Post-It in my handwriting to my husband read, “Forget ‘Farm’ think VINEYARD!” Even the most stalwart city dweller enjoys a trip to the winery and this experience can springboard into a vision of delightful and elegant agriculture. The winery is a commercial endeavor though, so small scale farmers may not feel like there is not much there to relate to.

Small-Scale Farming is Better Than Prepping

February 12, 2021 BrassEgg Big Ideas, Chickens, Featured Favorites

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Prepping has become incredibly popular over the last decade, but it is a difficult and expensive route to take. Is there a better way to spend your time and money? I would suggest that building a small farm is a much better approach that will cause you less stress in the short run and less waste in the long run.

Please let me explain: There are several really big categories of prepping, mostly based on ‘scenarios’…economic collapse, natural disaster, EMP, martial law, etc. In each of these big categories the prepper generally makes a decision of if they will ‘bug out’ or ‘shelter in place’. This can quickly spiral into an obsession of purchasing and preparing for every possible eventuality. That is a lot of work and money that I’ve seen have a detrimental effect on relationships, work performance and life savings.

I went down the ‘Prepper Rabbit Hole’ for a few years. After only a few months I had rejected the idea of storing several years of MRE’s, hundreds of batteries or maintaining a huge cache of drinking water. It became clear that the “Amish Prepper” model was a better fit for my personality. Even with that less wasteful approach and the ability to cover it all with the label of ‘homesteading,’ eventually I had to ask myself some questions:

What will I do with all this stuff if nothing happens? If something does happen, do I have enough to get through a really bad situation? Can I ever have enough to feel secure? Would I really have the heart to turn away people who hadn’t prepared for trouble? What is the long-term effect of dwelling in this ‘lack and fear’ mindset?

The Prepper mindset had been an alarming call to action at first that gave me the motivation to break free from my consumerism mindset. Unfortunately, the thought process quickly began draining my energy and scattering my attention. After rejecting the task of ‘prepping’ I spent about a year researching and planning out a ‘Homesteading’ plan, which was not fear based. However, the wide range of possibilities can still stifle progress. I won’t rehash that, feel free to read my article on homesteading here.

How does a very small farm correct these shortfalls? Quite simply, a very small farm gives you the benefit of the Pareto Principle, better known as the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the benefits you seek are met with just 20% of the work you put in. Instead of having to become Bear Gryles, and an organic gardener, and a dairy goat expert, and an Herbalist…you can choose just one thing. Choose the one thing you enjoy. Pursuing one thing will cause you to purchase tools and stock (livestock or seeds) that you might have piled up with regular prepping, but it allows for focused attention and energy to gain the head knowledge and skills it takes to actually make something work.

Lots of business people believe there is a Pareto Principle of the Pareto Principle. Or, in other words, there is an 80/20 inside the 80/20 rule. That means that 64% of the results you want come from 4% of the effort you put in! If you don’t mind, I’d like to give you my opinion on what that might be for the average prepper or person looking for an alternative to prepping.

The number one thing would be real paper books written as tested how-to guides. Not a digital copy…actual paper books. If you can only start with one I recommend this one, but there are so many you can get to create an at your fingertips library. That would be the tippy-top of 4% effort. You don’t even have to read them right away….just have them.

The number two thing I would recommend is spend time only on what is the most likely scenario for your geographic or economic situation, and then walk away from prepping mindset before it drains you dry. Where I live tornadoes are a big concern. Our area lost 250+ homes to tornadoes in 2013, so our family’s buildings must have basements, we keep digital backups of photos off site, crucial documents are stored in a firesafe in the basement, and any tornado warning means everyone dresses in good shoes and weather appropriate clothing and hangs out in the basement together (a little praying doesn’t hurt!). Took a little time to set that up, but we increased our chances of surviving and bouncing back. And I don’t worry as long as all my babies are home when the warning goes out. Decades ago we lived an hour from the coast. In that home hurricane shutters came standard with new homes, and our emergency plan was to be the first mini-van to evacuate if a hurricane was called for. Depends on where you live and where your extended family/support is located.

The number three thing I would recommend is part of the original 80/20 rule. The effort for #3 might be beyond a 4% investment if you live inside the city limits, but it certainly falls within a 20% framework. We are talking chickens. If you have your heart set on a different kind of livestock and you are able to bring them home this week then fine. If you have had chickens in the past and hated them then okay. However, let me challenge you to name any other single agriculture option out there that gives you 6-7 grams of protein per day, keeps producing even when it’s cold, known as the farm’s garbage disposal, will forage her own food if allowed, raise 5 new babies each year (more if you use her as a foster mom instead of incubator) and provide a family-sized portion of meat if absolutely necessary. Not every neighborhood lets you, I know….just give thought to how much faster you can be up and running with laying hens than any other livestock or even a garden.

If those two things sound like more than 4%, it’s really not very much compared to full-on prepping. You order the one book, maybe two more that look interesting. Next you decide what your most likely emergency could be and you take a few common steps that your neighbors also know about. The third, a few hens, may be a problem if you live in a subdivision, but gifts of eggs and kindness smooth over a world of potential ruffled feathers. Give it some thought. Once you’ve taken those three steps, you can relax a bit, or you can pursue a small farm knowing you’ve got your basics covered. In my humble opinion, those three steps get you 64% there.