Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage In Partnership with the Earth [Paperback]

Barbara Berst Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004

There is a quiet revolution happening in our time: the emergence of microfarms on tiny acreages that achieve astounding yields of organic produce and provide a better-tasting alternative to the products of big agri-business. Micro eco-farmers across the nation are profiting from small acreages to small-town backyards. Their livelihoods restore the planet while creating an abundance of healthy products produced in very small spaces. Micro Eco-Farming details how the new micro eco-farmers succeed on mini-farms of from one to five acres, how they start with nothing, what traits they share, and what secrets they know. In addition to presenting close-ups of those who are actually earning a full-time income for at least one adult, Micro Eco-Farming also provides a treasury of what you can grow, what farming methods you can use, and how the farmers reach their markets in surprisingly creative, new ways. The book outlines the emerging new sustainable production methods and distills the methods that have increased production on small ground from double to up to 40 times that of conventional growing. Hundreds of real-life examples are presented with ideas, resources and methods for all who aspire to create their own micro eco-farm: from backyard gourmet restaurant gardens, homegrown organic spa products, u-gather nut groves, front-yard cut-flower stands, heritage rose farms, children's and holiday farms, urban greenhouses, farm and cottage industry partnerships, herbs and flowers for healing, connoisseur apple orchards, ethnic personal chef gardens, old-fashioned farm festivals, native and wild edible farms, to mail-order farm crafts and more. Finally, although the new micro eco-farmers usually achieve their dreams of economic independence, there is also the understanding as well that success includes something greater than financial profits. Micro Eco-Farming invites you share the eco-farmers' dream of prosperity and fullfillment, in partnership with the earth, and it gives you the inspiration and practical tools to live the dream.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: New World Publishing (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963281437
• ISBN-13: 978-0963281432
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Sustainable Agriculture

More About the Author

Barbara Adams hosts the Center for the Micro Eco-Farming Movement (www.MicroEcoFarming.com) for those planning, creating or operating micro eco-farms from urban rooftops to small town backyards to small rural acreages of 1 to 20 or so. Growing up in a family rooted in generations of farming, ranching, and horticulture, she has managed a number of micro eco-farm projects, and is currently restoring Island Meadow Farm in Washington State with her husband. She has traveled to South Africa, Europe, Mexico and across North America to study the micro eco-farming movement and hear the real voices of those who are succeeding. Her readers include generational farmers reinventing their home businesses, USA and Canadian university students entering the field, Permaculturists restoring sustainable agriculture in South Africa, USA families, couples and singles looking for nature-based backyard home businesses, citizens involved in creating children's school and community mini-farms, Europeans involved in the local food revival, North American planning committee members uplifting their regional economy to include new micro eco-farms, university researchers, and quite often, home gardeners and modern homesteaders exploring the changes and discoveries of this new century that allow very small acreage and even backyard gardens to earn income again.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creatively Farming With Small Plots, September 23, 2004

By 

Lois G. Lenz (Norman, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage In Partnership with the Earth (Paperback)

This is a creative work of art, as well as a practical explanation of various methods of eco-farming. Barbara Berst
Adams has a glorious ability to live close to the earth while
being highly articulate and spiritual. It reminds me of my childhood during the depression when we would have starved had it not been for our gardens, chickens and cows! At least we knew what real food tasted like, and when it was recommended that we not eat eggs, I never stopped eating eggs. This book is not only timely, practical and educational. It is delightfully written with the heart of a poet! You will encounter many varieties of eco-farms with interesting and successful concepts in producing and marketing on surprisingly small acreages. I loved this book!

Lois Gates Lenz
Norman, Oklahoma

72 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make your dream come true, October 25, 2006

By 

J. DeCourtney "author Recapture Yr Health" (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage In Partnership with the Earth (Paperback)

It has been my long-time dream to have a house in a rural place with a few acres and a cash crop. With this dream in mind, I read
"Micro Eco-Farming" by Barbara Berst Adams. It is a wonderful book. Besides great suggestions for types of small farm or backyard businesses that lend themself to success, the many real examples bring the possibilities to life. But, there is much more. The book describes how to go about setting up a small eco-business, why and how each one works, and how the benefits of such an endeavour go far beyond just cash. Of special interest to me is practical ways to make the most of a very small gardening plot or space. I don't have land yet (I'm still in a condo in a small city), but there was one tip that I used immediately. It was using trace minerals to help plants flourish, with sometimes dramatic results. I use trace minerals for my personal health, but never thought about my houseplants needing the same. This makes total sense, and I have just started adding trace minerals to their water! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Barbara's delightful book and can hardly wait until I get my
own small plot of land to make use of the wisdom she conveys through her own experience and that of others. I could almost taste the strawberries, smell the hay, and hear the sounds of the birds as I read her book. Ahhh.

71 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended reading ...I was not disappointed!, August 22, 2006

By 

A. Sumner Cuhn (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage In Partnership with the Earth (Paperback)

It made sense to me that I first saw this book recommended by the National Gardening Association. After all, some of the farms described in it successfully operate from backyard gardens and even urban lots. Later I saw that Rodale's New Farm magazine recommended it with the following quote:

"The author continually returns to the concept of the "whole farm," where each part integrates with the whole in a mutually beneficial relationship--from the animals, to the insects, to the soil, to the plants, to the farmer and his or her family, expanding outward to the local community and region. She offers an abundance of examples of how farmers have come up with one-of-a-kind products--from specialty wool to simply the experience of interacting with animals--or turned a problem into an advantage--such as the couple who sold homemade salsa "kits" like hotcakes right smack in the middle of a tomato glut."

I'm glad I now own a copy of this book. I was impressed to find out that the Trends Institute had correctly predicted a nationwide (if not worldwide) return to farms like these, or that a new world was opening up again for local farms. I liked learning what makes these new micro eco-farms very different from pre-industrial farms, as well as in what ways they are similar. I never expected it to be a step-by-step rehash of ag-extension grape-trellising or fence-making how-tos which are available free or low-cost to anyone, nor the details of just one person's farm that worked for that person in his or her location. It is non-technical and describes many microfarm examples, explains the concept of how they grow and expand continually (without getting physically larger). Most farms described are from backyard size to five acres, with some up to 15 acres or so, and even one larger farm that added a microfarm element that seemed to outdo its larger counterpart in business!