Mini-Farming

Urban homesteading, backyard farming, small-scale farming, urban farming, backyard homesteads -- getting the most out of your land.

Mini-Farming: Raising Good Food on Smaller Plots of Land

Mini-Farming: Raising Good Food on Smaller Plots of Land

No matter how small a plot of land you have, you can grow good food on it!

There is renewed interest in mini-farming, a return to the kitchen gardens and "urban farms" that were once common across America.

Whatever the reason -- a desire for inexpensive healthy food, wanting to "live green", connecting families to nature -- many people are turning to the library for information on how to:

  • grow high yields of vegetables on small plots
  • keep chickens & poultry
  • turn lawns into gardens
  • raise fruit & nut trees
  • keep bees
  • do "edible landscaping"
  • conserve water, catch rainwater, and use greywater
  • can and preserve the harvest

These old-timey "country skills" have all but disappeared from our urban areas. Fortunately, the library has a wide variety of resources available to help keep these skills alive and take them new places, from time-tested classics to brand-new works aimed at a new generation.

Every piece of land can be farmed. The works below and the links will help you get started.

Mini-Farming - Handbooks

Mini-Farming Handbooks

A word from your guide

There is great satisfaction in growing your own food. If you grow enough to preserve, it gives a feeling of security to see food put up for winter and a warm feeling knowing that you grew it yourself.

Even the smallest piece of land can be "homesteaded", a connection with the land in an urban setting.

Interesting & Useful

Guerrilla gardening refers to folks growing food crops in alleyways, empty lots, and otherwise unused spaces.

Many community gardens started as guerrilla gardens.

Articles on Mini-Farming

Articles
Available with your library card