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I bought this book a little before new years and it has been a wealth of info. Already I have dug trenches, built cages, fences, bought rabbits, and cleared land. This man explains things so simply and clearly, if you don't understand you should probably stop huffing paint. I heartily recommend.
This book is an excellent one for dreaming. While there are a couple of pages with ideas for the urban garden, this book is really for those who have (or dream of having) real acreage. Those of us without the means to buy that much property can only drool.The gardening section of the book provides solid, organic gardening advice, with good information about keeping the soil working and healthy with crop rotation, growing grains, the basics of extending the season by "growing under cover," how to grow a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, and fruits, and building and using a greenhouse. And while John Seymour was able to live a pretty self-sufficient life on a farm, I know it's unlikely I'll ever do so. You'll also find information on obtaining power from water, the sun, and the wind; how to clear and irrigate land; a bit about obtaining food from the wild; building and using a dairy; making butter, cream, and cheese; building a store room; making bread, wine and beer; some bare bone information about crafts like basket making and spinning; and some rather incomplete information (along with some unsafe, outdated details) on canning. Nevertheless, reading about all Seymour learned and how he suggests others follow in his footsteps is inspiring.Seymour is quick to note that self-sufficiency isn't about going back in time and living what is probably an idealized version of the old homesteading days. The volume looks like a coffee table book; it's large and filled with color pictures. Seymour explains what he'd do with one acre, five acres, and more.
But he does realize the more self sufficient we are, the more free we are. And so his book explains how to raise and grow food, produce your own energy, and build a variety of things (from compost toilets to brick walls). The next largest section focuses on raising cows, goats, pigs, sheep, poultry, and bees. The author also offers some practical ideas on how to gradually become more self-sufficient.I enjoyed this book immensely.Kristina SeleshankoProverbs Thirty One Woman
Explains how each farm animal is a valuable contributor to the whole 'stead and works symbiotically with the others. You won't need any other book to be self sufficient. Food storage techniques, some recipes, animal husbandry, wool carding, using a distaff, tools, gardening, etc. John Seymour is extremely knowledgeable, mainly from good old fashioned hands on experience. Very common sense, not too wordy, great illustrations. I've bought it as a gift for others. Indespensable and a very pleasant read.
Yes, it has lots of information but the way it is written is hard to read. I was disapointed with the book. Didn't like the tone of how the book was written. I use it for a reference once in a while other wise it sits on my self. :(
The crop rotation plans, the plant guides, and the animal husbandry chapters are all applicable to life in the States. This is a great book for those looking for an overview of self-sufficient living. While the author's perspective is that of Great Britain, the concepts are the same. It's not an in-depth guide, but it covers a great many topics and is a worthwhile purchase. Even if you never get away from it all and do it yourself the book can help you fix up your back garden into a highly productive little parcel.
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