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Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage in Partnership with the Earth

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Author: Barbara Berst Adams
Publisher: New World Publishing
Category: Book

List Price: ~~$16.95~~
Buy New: $10.13
You Save: $6.82 (40%)

New (30) Used (8) from $10.09

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

13 reviews
Sales Rank: 16978

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.5

ISBN: 0963281437
Dewey Decimal Number: 635.0484
EAN: 9780963281432
ASIN: 0963281437

Publication Date: May 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description

Microfarms—or small acreage farms—are gaining popularity across the country for their astoundingly high yields and great tasting produce, as well as their profitability. This handbook reveals the secrets of successful micro eco-farming and explains what eco-farmers need to know to start their own small agribusiness. Questions such as What can be grown? How do farmers reach their markets? and What sustainable production methods can be used? are answered in detail and supported be hundreds of real-life examples. A variety of unusual uses for crops are also provided, including producing organic spa products, building an urban greenhouse, creating a heritage rose farm, or cultivating a connoisseur apple orchard. Ecologists, amateur gardeners, farmers, and those interested in sustainable living will enjoy this in-depth look at the spiritually and financially rewarding aspects of this new field.

Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

It's all about the possibilities! October 13, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is the right book, written at the right time, by the right author!
Barbara is on the money--it's about exploring all the possibilities, enhancing the soil with trace minerals, learning how important innovative marketing is vs. just getting higher yield, showing that micro eco-farms are "design-your-own." There's not one cookie-cutter method everyone across the country can imitate (one of the main reasons small farms died out in the 80s -- everyone doing surplus of the same thing), and something needed to be written for both newbies and generational farmers looking to diversify. This is the book. It is well-researched and well-written. If you're about doing well by doing good, then this book is for you.

3 out of 5 stars

I expected more too July 1, 2008
It gives a true beginner some helpful insights into the different forms of micro-agriculture but it never goes into detail.

5 out of 5 stars

The Future Of Farming May 9, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This is a concise review of where large and small farming is going. It needs to be read by all. Just reading this book has elevated my urban garden to unbelievable heights.

3 out of 5 stars

Be careful about what you wish for September 6, 2007
14 out of 21 found this review helpful

This is a very enchanting book, but I think the reader would be wise to take it with a grain of salt. The author makes a list of vegetables sound so good your mouth starts to water. Food literally comes to life. One farm has world class leafy lettuce. Another has miraculous tomatoes. A third has peppers for every taste. A fourth makes wool as smooth as silk.

On the other hand, some of the stories are fanciful at best. For example, there is the story of the 'good' coyote. A farmer takes pity on a limping coyote and offers it some food. The standard practice in the neighborhood was to shoot coyotes on sight, but this coyote touches the farmer somehow. The coyote mends. Once recovered, the coyote decides the farmer is 'one of the pack' and his chickens are 'his things'. Thus, she identifies the farmer's chickens as off limits and protects them from other coyotes, raccoons, and varmints. I've got chickens and cohabitate with coyotes. The idea of a coyote protecting the farmer's hens was good for a hearty laugh.

Another story concerns the 'good weed'. This story is part of section on letting plants restore soil depleted of essential trace minerals. The idea is that plants can concentrate trace minerals deep in the soil and deposit them on the surface. In this context, we meet the good thistle. The good thistle pulls out trace minerals out of the stony soil, then dies out as the soil returns to health. I had another good laugh with this story. In some ways there is truth in it, but let me tell you about my thistles. They are beautiful. Every year my soil gets better. I haven't noticed them dying out, though. Maybe next year!

Finally, there is the story of the weak plant calling out to nearby insects to end it's suffering. This theme is repeated numerous times. I guess it is the story of the 'good' bad insect. You see, those worms and beetles are not just eating any plant, they are consuming the suffering plant. I'm not going to argue that nature has a way of maintaining balance, but I had to laugh. I guess those squirrels that entirely consumed 3 trees of gorgeous, plump, red organic peaches were simply answering the peach trees cries of distress! I should have known!

If you want to grow your own food, more power to you. Don't be surprised if Mother Nature throws you a few curve balls along the way, though. Don't count on coyotes to protect your chickens, nor thistles to conveniently disappear.

Finally, Ms. Adams never mentions the local banker or tax man, which seems odd. I've never met a farmer that doesn't have something to say about these friendly folks.

5 out of 5 stars

Educational and Inspiring March 8, 2007
39 out of 39 found this review helpful

If you've ever dreamed of having a small, productive farm but didn't know where to begin or how to creatively make money and have fun at the same time, this book is The Source for you. Barbara Berst Adams' "Micro Eco-Farming" is loaded with great ideas, sensible how-to information and strategies for starting, maintaining and expanding an environmentally friendly mini farm. The breadth of her knowledge is impressive. She obviously understands every aspect of small-scale farming from raising livestock and poultry to growing specialty herbs, flowers and vegetables. This is a practical handbook and a solid reference you will always want to keep on hand. It has earned a permanent place in my library.

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