There’s a lovely sense of enthusiasm about this guide, it’s ambitious but not unrealistic and it’s good on follow-through with plenty of advice on what to do with your crops. The charts and tables are an excellent aid as are the details on yield – not always easy to find. There’s a lot packed into these 350 pages providing a good read and an invaluable reference for the more ambitious grower.
The Essential Guide to Back Garden Self-Sufficiency Synopsis
Nothing tastes better than homegrown produce and there's nowhere better to grow it than your own back garden. Whether you're interested in a small patch of gourmet asparagus and strawberries, a few eggs to make your own omelettes or full-scale self-sufficiency, this guide contains the traditional, tried-and-tested skills that turn dreams into reality. Vegetable growing is made easy with clear, sensible advice on the basics and plenty of inventive tips. Find out the best ways to store and preserve the harvest, learn how to make apple juice, cheese, butter and even how to plant your own herbal remedy border. Practical advice on keeping chickens, bees, goats and pigs provides essential reading for anyone just starting out with livestock. Growing and making your own food is healthy, sustainable and rewarding, and can bring that satisfying buzz that you get from knowing that you're cutting your supermarket bill, reducing your carbon footprint and learning the practical skills of self-reliance.
Carleen Madigan is a keen gardener and was previously managing editor at Horticulture magazine. She learned many of the skills described in the book while living on an organic farm, and was inspired to write the book by reading a classic series of booklets on self-sufficiency published more than two decades ago. Recognizing the real and current value of these traditional skills, she has tested them and adapted them for a new generation of productive gardeners.
