Review
Mort Mather humorously shares the family mistakes as well as successes-and there is something to be learned from each. He warns beginners to start small to avoid frustration. Successes are important to the new homesteader, he points out, and, unfortunately, over-extending one's self tends to minimize them.
His explanation of the importance of various soil minerals and the interaction of earthworms and micro-organisms manages to bring soil fertility to life in a fascinating way few authors manage.
He takes the mystery out of soil testing and composting with easy-to-follow explanations of what has worked well for them, as well as a few variations. The reader isn't overloaded with information. The book leaves one with an eagerness to begin.
While most of the book is devoted to gardening, the book ends with short chapters on raising livestock. Barbara and Mort have raised chickens, pigs and a steer, and their butchering experience will reassure the novice.
The Mathers have raised pigs on their acreage for themselves, as well as others. They buy piglets and immediately sell them to interested families. The new pig owners pay for the feed and are free to take the pig any time they choose. However, most of them leave the entire management to the Mathers and pick up their fresh pork chops later.
The Mathers designed a wise and witty contract designating responsibilities of both the pigor (the one who raises pigs) and the pigee (the one for whom the pig is raised). The contract alone is worth the price of the book and should prove most helpful to Countrysiders considering similar joint ventures.
Perhaps the over-riding virtue of the book is the Mathers' obvious joy in what they are doing. They are neither purists nor proselytizers. Rather, they share useful information with those who choose a similar lifestyle. They also comment on the commitment in time and work that such a lifestyle requires. It is not, Mather says, the path to instant gratification many Americans have come to expect.
The book's closing paragraph provides insightful advice for those still in the thinking stages of self-sufficiency: "It is easy to hate chickens, hogs, gardening, bees, cows, and even country living in general. Just because the Mathers are having a ball on Bald Hill Road doesn't mean anyone else could stand our lifestyle, let alone enjoy it. But for the right people with the right outlook, there can be no more satisfying way to live. Outlook is not something a person is born with. It is acquired. Barbara spent a good part of her life stuffing Twinkies into her mouth. Now the thought gags her. I once felt that fame and fortune were the keys to success. Now I know that happiness is success, and if I felt there was any likelihood this book would change our lifestyle, I would not let it be published."
I believe him. -- Sue Pfrang, Countryside Magazine 1978
Gardening For Independence is the most practical book on the subject I've ever seen. You'll love it! -- Joy Cuhwell, KVMC Colorado City
