--- product_id: 229236 title: "The Backyard Homestead" price: "£17.05" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 11 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/229236-the-backyard-homestead store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # Grow a full homestead on 0.25 acres Livestock basics for urban farming Stepwise, resource-rich guidance The Backyard Homestead **Price:** £17.05 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🌿 Cultivate your own food empire—no farm required! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Backyard Homestead - **How much does it cost?** £17.05 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/229236-the-backyard-homestead) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **From Garden to Table:** Master vegetable growing, canning, and even homemade mozzarella for ultimate farm-to-fork freshness. - • **Livestock Made Simple:** Get practical insights on raising chickens, goats, and more—even in small urban spaces. - • **Maximize Your Mini-Farm:** Unlock the full potential of just a quarter acre with smart, space-efficient food production. - • **Step-by-Step Yet Flexible:** Perfect for beginners and seasoned growers alike, with clear guidance and curated resource links. - • **Sustainable Lifestyle Starter:** Join thousands embracing self-sufficiency and eco-conscious living with this top-rated homesteading bible. ## Overview The Backyard Homestead is a bestselling guide that empowers urban and small-space gardeners to produce all their own food on just a quarter acre. With practical advice on growing vegetables, raising livestock, and preserving harvests, it offers a flexible, resource-rich approach to sustainable living. Highly rated by nearly 5,000 readers, this book is a must-have for anyone seeking self-sufficiency and a deeper connection to their food. ## Description The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! [Madigan, Carleen] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! Review: Excellent for what it is. - I live in cornfield county. Everybody around here is either a farmer or grew up working on a farm. This stuff is in our DNA; our parents and grandparents grew and canned or butchered just about everything they ate, many of us still do. So, I can tell you from years of experience that as an aid to inexperienced or new urban farmers, this book is worth its weight in gold. It does not take you by the hand and give you step by step instructions; instead, it helps to open your eyes to all of the possibilities for food production that many simply haven't thought about. It gives a general overview of what you can do on limited land and what the minimum space requirements are for each endeavor. Can you raise chickens just by reading the chapter on chickens? No; ditto for cows, goats, pigs and other edible critters. But it will give you a good starting point and keep you from making "rookie" mistakes. Think of this book as an "idea" book. Identify what looks good to you and then use other resources to increase your knowledge of those subjects (the book does have a section of additional resources at the back). I grew up working on farms and still grow and preserve much of my own vegetables and fruit; still I found myself surprised at some of the things I read in this book that I simply hadn't thought much about, like dandelion coffee or flower fritters. I also got ideas on new things to grow. For those of you who have not gardened much, you'll never go back to store bought spaghetti sauce or salsa once you make your own. And even your ugliest green bell pepper will taste so much better than that big sterile waxy green one in the store. Growing your own food and living at least partially off the land is a legacy that should be passed down to every generation, just in case. The Backyard Homestead can be an indispensable aid to helping you become at least partially self sufficient. 2023 update: I only garden about 75 sq. feet now (two 8'x4' beds and one 10sq ft grape arbor.) I typically yield about 20 lbs. grapes, 18 qts raspberries 400-600 Roma hybrid tomatoes and 60+ peppers . Pics show produce from various harvests over the years. Review: Great find - Was just what I was looking for. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #31,095 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2 in Sustainable Agriculture (Books) #35 in Do-It-Yourself Home Improvement (Books) #35 in Vegetable Gardening | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (4,907) | | Dimensions | 7 x 1 x 9.05 inches | | Edition | 14th Printing | | ISBN-10 | 1603421386 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1603421386 | | Item Weight | 1.55 pounds | | Language | English | | Part of series | Backyard Homestead | | Print length | 368 pages | | Publication date | February 11, 2009 | | Publisher | Storey Publishing, LLC | ## Images ![The Backyard Homestead - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/912UGH21YmL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent for what it is. *by K***G on February 11, 2013* I live in cornfield county. Everybody around here is either a farmer or grew up working on a farm. This stuff is in our DNA; our parents and grandparents grew and canned or butchered just about everything they ate, many of us still do. So, I can tell you from years of experience that as an aid to inexperienced or new urban farmers, this book is worth its weight in gold. It does not take you by the hand and give you step by step instructions; instead, it helps to open your eyes to all of the possibilities for food production that many simply haven't thought about. It gives a general overview of what you can do on limited land and what the minimum space requirements are for each endeavor. Can you raise chickens just by reading the chapter on chickens? No; ditto for cows, goats, pigs and other edible critters. But it will give you a good starting point and keep you from making "rookie" mistakes. Think of this book as an "idea" book. Identify what looks good to you and then use other resources to increase your knowledge of those subjects (the book does have a section of additional resources at the back). I grew up working on farms and still grow and preserve much of my own vegetables and fruit; still I found myself surprised at some of the things I read in this book that I simply hadn't thought much about, like dandelion coffee or flower fritters. I also got ideas on new things to grow. For those of you who have not gardened much, you'll never go back to store bought spaghetti sauce or salsa once you make your own. And even your ugliest green bell pepper will taste so much better than that big sterile waxy green one in the store. Growing your own food and living at least partially off the land is a legacy that should be passed down to every generation, just in case. The Backyard Homestead can be an indispensable aid to helping you become at least partially self sufficient. 2023 update: I only garden about 75 sq. feet now (two 8'x4' beds and one 10sq ft grape arbor.) I typically yield about 20 lbs. grapes, 18 qts raspberries 400-600 Roma hybrid tomatoes and 60+ peppers . Pics show produce from various harvests over the years. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great find *by D***N on April 1, 2026* Was just what I was looking for. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ For a self suficient life, please GET THIS BOOK! *by C***O on July 18, 2010* I've always lived in contact with farming and agriculture. And ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to plant and harvest my own veggies, and raise my own chickens. Now that I'm married, I wanted to have a greater involvement with that lifestyle I dreamed of as a kid. Enter The Backyard Homestead (or as my hubbie calls it, THE BOOK). I now have a clear and precise image of the house I want to build (we are saving now) and how I want to distribute my "crops" and animals! even now, living in a VERY small house without any sort of soil to plant in, we have our small crops going on and even a handful of hens and roosters! The book is divided very nicely, and it takes you step by step, starting with the easiest part (growing your own vegetables) all the way up to caring for your livestock! you can take baby steps or jump right in, The Book will be there providing answers, and since it is not an Encyclopedia but a single volume, in some instances it will direct you to another source where you can explore in depth in any given subject you are interested. I really want to try my hand at making wine and beer from local produce (since I have yet to have my dream home), and I find the advice regarding fruits and veggies quite helpful! right now my plants are just potted, and I still have a wide array of veggies and herbs (and a small guava-strawberry tree already being subjected to the treatments explained in The Book!) Whether you have half an acre, a tenth of an acre or just a balcony, you will find plenty of valuable information. you can make your own mozzarella from fresh milk even if you don't have a cow, or learn how to can your veggies even if they are store bought at the peak of the season and not grown in your home. I would give it ten stars! ## Frequently Bought Together - The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! - The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner: What to Do & When to Do It in the Garden, Orchard, Barn, Pasture & Equipment Shed - The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals: Choose the Best Breeds for Small-Space Farming, Produce Your Own Grass-Fed Meat, Gather Fresh ... 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