Rate this book

Quarter-Acre Farm: How I Kept The Patio, Lost The Lawn, And Fed My Family For A Year (2011)

by Spring Warren(Favorite Author)

3.74 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1283073382 (ISBN13: 9781283073387)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Seal Press (CA)

review 1: This was refreshing. I am getting rid of my lawn, too, and keeping my patio (at least, part of it). Warren's method is not my brand of "permaculture" because she relies very much on a few annuals from a few families [taxonomic families, not human families]. I am gung-ho for perennial polyculture. But much of what she's doing I love: she's learning a lot and making mistakes and writing them down being gracious toward herself and the Earth. She wrote about it in a very funny, relaxing way. I have been reading permaculture gardening books for two months now and it was great to read one that is structured in the comforting counterpane of a narrative.I am totally impressed that she ate the snails out of her garden. She did state a goal of growing 75% [by weight] of her own food... more, and I might be reaching the end of my tolerance for "I did this weird thing for a year" hoopla, because if you're going to make the claim I want to see how it all added up, and that doesn't seem to be a requirement these books are meeting anymore. Did she make it? Was she even close? What did she actually grow (besides tomatoes and potatoes, zucchini and chard) and how much did she actually buy? Show me two months of weights and measures! DATA. I AM HUNGRY FOR DATA. I envy her her lemon and fig friendly climate. OH to be a Californian.... At least my climate is the best for berries!
review 2: I love the author's sense of humor while she is discussing converting her yard into a "farm". There wasn't a lot of nitty gritty how-to details, but it was informative in a strange sort of way. How to and how NOT to collect and store enough snails for a dinner party, how not to hang watermelon on a trellis, how she failed and was a success at watering without waste, etc. I liked it. This was one of the better books on growing food for self-sufficiency. less

Download links for: Quarter-Acre Farm: How I Kept the Patio, Lost the Lawn, and Fed My Family for a Year

Advertising