The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading: Step-by-Step Instructions for Raising Crops and Animals

for those of you interested in homesteading this book is a excellent way to get you properly informed and ready to go.

My nephew was very excited about this book and already planning projects for next year. Happy to see that prices and other things were up to date too

This is a wonderful guide to give you things to think about and how to really make sure you are keeping proper track of your expenses, goals and what may be the best way to go about it. This is a wonderful tool that isn't just limited to beginners and this isn't a book you will only use once. I reference this great read often, sometimes going back through. Each time I read the book I understand something better than I did before, so much information in this great guide!

This book is very informative and filled with lots of good information to know about homesteading. A must read if deciding to become a homesteader yourself.

This book really has all the info you need to get started, gives a lot of good information and ha tables for every section. Explains things well and is better than I expected. Very happy with my purchase

I have read this cover to cover and plan to read it again! I love the practical approach that this book takes to homesteading. Modern homesteading means adapting the “off grid” days of yore to producing what you can on your property, no matter the size. This book not only suggests some great ideas but it also reminds the reader to do a “feasibility check”. It reminds you that you need to know all aspects of raising goats before you take on the expense and responsibility of doing so. Highly, highly recommend. It’s an enjoyable read too!

This book is perfect for beginners and getting your feet what. It helps you plan and decide what’s feasible for you and your life. Worth every penny!

Excellent reference book for planting! Lots of good charts and information on how to succession plant and maximize crop yields. The information for animals like chickens, goats, and bees is definitely starter information. I wish they’d included some diagrams explaining how to actually build chicken coops, animal pens, bee hives etc, so if that’s what you’re looking for you may need to print some supplemental information.

Good informational book would recommend!!

I have no dislikes. Very interesting. It has everything you need to know about gardening and tells you in details. There are many other things that tells you how to have chickens, etc. I probably be reading more more about the book .

for those of you interested in homesteading this book is a excellent way to get you properly informed and ready to go.

My nephew was very excited about this book and already planning projects for next year. Happy to see that prices and other things were up to date too

This is a wonderful guide to give you things to think about and how to really make sure you are keeping proper track of your expenses, goals and what may be the best way to go about it. This is a wonderful tool that isn't just limited to beginners and this isn't a book you will only use once. I reference this great read often, sometimes going back through. Each time I read the book I understand something better than I did before, so much information in this great guide!

This book is very informative and filled with lots of good information to know about homesteading. A must read if deciding to become a homesteader yourself.

This book really has all the info you need to get started, gives a lot of good information and ha tables for every section. Explains things well and is better than I expected. Very happy with my purchase

I have read this cover to cover and plan to read it again! I love the practical approach that this book takes to homesteading. Modern homesteading means adapting the “off grid” days of yore to producing what you can on your property, no matter the size. This book not only suggests some great ideas but it also reminds the reader to do a “feasibility check”. It reminds you that you need to know all aspects of raising goats before you take on the expense and responsibility of doing so. Highly, highly recommend. It’s an enjoyable read too!

This book is perfect for beginners and getting your feet what. It helps you plan and decide what’s feasible for you and your life. Worth every penny!

Excellent reference book for planting! Lots of good charts and information on how to succession plant and maximize crop yields. The information for animals like chickens, goats, and bees is definitely starter information. I wish they’d included some diagrams explaining how to actually build chicken coops, animal pens, bee hives etc, so if that’s what you’re looking for you may need to print some supplemental information.

Good informational book would recommend!!

I have no dislikes. Very interesting. It has everything you need to know about gardening and tells you in details. There are many other things that tells you how to have chickens, etc. I probably be reading more more about the book .

A lot of very useful information. Covers cost and yield planning, contains germination temperatures and times, growing conditions and much more using a very organized format. The book would be useful as a reference for both, beginning and experienced gardeners. She even includes recipes at the end.

This book answered questions I didn’t even know I had about home steading. It’s well thought out and organized and easy to use. Even if you just want some excellent information about gardening this is a very helpful manual that’s not intimidating and jam packed with good ideas!

Great book! Full of good information if the worlds society collapses or if you just wanna grow a backyard garden like a normie.

Great homesteading project planner. Dont count on this book for instructions on how to care for your homestead instead its like a guide to project planning your homestead. Great book and easy to follow. Highly recommend!!!

Still trying to read into a little bit more how much I can do that keeps me in the right side of the law being in town

Came fast and in great condition! I’m on chapter 2 and learning so much! Love this!

I was under the impression, from reviews and the description, that this book was going to be a wealth of information. It still could be useful for some, but it is very very basic and most of the book is devoted to sample schedules and calculating costs. Perhaps it’s best for those who have not yet read any books or have no hands on experience about this subject. Like I said, just not what I thought it would be.

I purchased this book in hopes i would learn how to properly grow food and tips and tricks. I live in Ca and this book was disappointing for what i was looking for. I was hoping for how much fertilizer for better yields and data to help me be more self efficient. Its okay but i feel it lacked in many ways. its in my library but not a go to.

This book is comprehensive and well organized. My only complaint would be that the prices listed for materials costs are insanely low- often off by about 50%. I was surprised to find the book was from 2020. Prices in our area have not been as low as the author's in at least a decade. South NJ so MCOL area, not HCOL. Otherwise an enjoyable and handy book so here's my 5 stars.

This is a nicely written book on beginner homesteading. It's an overview, not necessarily a DIY instruction manual. It opens the doors on hundreds of topics so you can cherry pick and research more information and plans on each segment. It covers a variety of topics, and does dives into topics you may not even realize you haven't thought about yet. It's got a great variety in the book, and doesn't dive too deep into any one subject to leave room for you to create your own plans and research further. But at the same time, it goes deep enough to get your interest and get the cogs turning to produce ideas and sustainable plans for the future. I love that it's set up for a true beginner and gives a tone for someone who would want to do this small scale or for a lifetime. Obviously, this isn't for everyone, but it truly sets up a space where you can find a niche and do your own small thing on your land. I especially love the check boxes, maps, and illustrations in the book. There's plenty of white space for making notes, and the action plans are nice to write on directly in the book. I'm certainly a hardcopy person, myself, and love being able to take notes and put tabs and sticky notes directly in my book. The book covers potential and ideal pricing, planning, and ways to make sure you don't get in over your head. It's a decent beginner book. It won't teach you how to be a business in your individual state, but it did set some ideas up. With a bit of research it would be easy to enough to see what each state requires to do agriculture, mini-farming, or homesteading. Something that stood out especially to me was the sections on septic, making sure you perk, checking for underground and above ground utility lines and rights, right of ways, property boundaries, and looking for the septic to map out the best plan for each unique space. Growing up on a mini farm, there are some solid ideas in here, especially with taking it week by week to get started and plotting out costs so a person or couple (or family) doesn't end up over their heads, overwhelmed and giving up. Or just flat out constantly behind on everything. Solid read. Would buy this again. Fun book overall. It gives room to find topics and niches in the book to dig deeper into later such as food preservation, seed saving, chickens, goats, etc for profit. All of which I can add more books to the library on. I'd snag this one up. It even includes recipes in the back of the book. It's modestly priced. Go into it with the mindset of using your backyard space, and stay for the potential of being full time. I definitely want to invest more in our property and less into our possessions this year.

This book encourages planning by offering several action plans, lists and charts. It encourages keeping track of expenses, assessing how useful each individual goal is for your individual homestead. It encourages research into your goals before jumping in, assessing how much time and expense is involved in each endeavor, and realism. The vegetable section is quite detailed and extensive, although I’ve certainly read books that give more info on specific fertilizers and things like that. I think the information given is detailed enough and appropriate to how long that chapter was. This book is densely packed with information considering how short each chapter had to be to fit it all in. The fruit and nut section of the book leans heavily on fruits and not so much on nuts, though the general information given appears to apply to both. They offer more information on all the various types of fruit trees. There is repetition in the planting chapters (orient to north, do an analysis of cost to expected yield, etc) but this is good for the folks who just go in to read individual chapters for what they need for individual projects. I wouldn’t call any of the chapters really extensive, but this book is more meant to be a primer that gives you enough information to determine if you are interested in each endeavor. It seems silly to cram all forms of poultry into 15 pages, but maybe that’s just because I’m a poultry person who has had chickens for years and read pretty extensively on them already. The chapter for meat and dairy animals is similarly made of broad strokes. It also talks about keeping bees (this chapter seems slightly more extensive). This book has good ideas about food preservation, extending your growing season, sales and legal considerations. The longest chapter is devoted to recipes featuring ingredients that a homestead can provide. Overall this book provides a good overview of various homestead endeavors and offers enough info to determine if more research into each particular prospect is something you want to do. It offers good planning advice as to how to calculate how much you must spend to start new projects

Have you thought about turning that extra space in your backyard into something useful? Starting a garden and raising animals are an excellent way to make good use out of barren space and a book that is ready to help you achieve your self- sufficiency goals is Backyard Homesteading. With this guide, curious urban dwellers have the resources they need to answer basic questions and slowly convert their backyard space into a mini farm. The book starts off with preparation advice, showing how you can divide up your backyard space to accommodate the animals, crops, fruit trees, etc. There is a hardiness zone map that shows the maximum low temperature your part of the United States can expect to reach. You get checklists, calendars, and other helpful tools that are meant to assist you as you prepare for the changeover. This book is a combination reading and reference guide and I like the layout, with its charts, multi- colored headers, and other organizational aids. It makes it easy to read and it’s the type of book that you will find yourself returning to again and again as you look for advice on crops and animals. There are many facts in this book and while most are things I expected, there are a few surprises. One is the advice on estimating costs and thus feasibility of raising certain crops or animals. Raising goats, for example, might sound like an economical way to provide fresh milk for your family, but to make sure of this, you need to know the overall cost to purchase the goats, feed them, take care of vet bills, and more. This needs to be stacked up against the cost to purchase milk in the store. This guide lays it on the line and lets you see how much you can save and how much you would need to consume to make the investment feasible. And if you have excess food, you can always get involved with a local farmers market and sell your food to locals. Backyard homesteading isn’t easy. It takes time, commitment, physical labor, and financial outlay. Backyard Homesteading is a highly useful guide for those who want to become more self- sufficient by putting their empty backyard to practical use. It even has a recipe section in the back that includes food items you can make with your bounty of crops and meat. Give it a read and keep it by your side- you will find yourself coming back to this guide throughout your homestead journey.

I liked the information this book contained and how it was presented. It covered many beginning aspects of homesteading and how to make it work for you. While all the tips will not work for everyone, many will enjoy the information and benefit from having this book in their library. I would recommend it to gardeners as well!

Good writing style, to me. Easy to follow. Would be easy to understand for beginners. Pretty much tells you how to accomplish a homestead from point A to point Z, from set up, to daily chores, and how to keep it going. We personally ... have a 24 acre "ranch" ... so many of the things mentioned we already have implemented and with books like this, I look for what I can glean. To me life is always full of learning moments. There is a section on planting fruit trees ... the how to's. etc. Useful to me because we haven't had fruit trees here since the drought of 2013/2014. I am very much wanting to get fruit trees going again. I will take some of those thoughts and tidbits on how to plant. I also like the section on chickens and the best chickens for what you want to accomplish. Personally ... we have had chickens (and guineas, and ducks, and geese) here for well over a decade but I never really researched what might be the best chicken for this and that. I do know, our longest lasting chickens, predator wise, tend to be the bigger breeds. The beekeeping section ... I skipped. After being chased by Africanized bees here in Texas, I am not a bee person any longer. A small, small, section in the back of basic recipes. Overall ... a nice beginning book and "reference" manual. An easy read and easy to refer back to.

This Beginners Guide to Backyard Homesteading is a very cool book to help you create your own paradise. It is easily adjustable from a small plot to half an acre. You can raise “livestock” (they use chickens as an example), but should be realistic in your choice (not suitable for cows). I am using it to plan for food (fruits & veggies). The concepts are easy to understand, even for a relative novice such as myself. Using the charts and instructions in the book, you can plan week by week what you need to do based on your goals. Activities are easy to manage using this book. The idea of a homestead and using that term might seem overwhelming, but this book makes it easy to understand. We made the book a family project.

I'm fascinated with people who can self-sustain. While not officially preppers, I know a few people who could live off their land, if needed. Currently, I live in a tiny downtown townhouse with a postage-stamp lawn and no backyard. But it doesn't mean I don't have an interest in being able to live a more self-sustaining life one day, which brings me to The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading, Step-by-Step Instructions for Raising Crops and Animals, by Lisa Lombardo. In it, Lombardo guides her reader through the basics of setting up and maintaining your homestead, growing vegetables, and herbs, fruits, raising and feeding livestock and poultry, even how to go about beekeeping. Initially, the reader is asked to answer a few key questions. Responses determine what shape your homestead needs will take, necessary plans and projects. Things like growing conditions, budget, ability to perform manual labor, the amount of space you have, etc. Also, Lombardo provides some helpful insights. For example, six laying hens can produce an average of 1,200 eggs per year. Twenty-five meat chickens will yield approximately 125 pounds of meat. 2 hives can produce 80-120 pounds of honey. So, even if you are not looking to necessarily self-sustain, but are looking instead to create a homestead side-hustle selling eggs, meat, or honey (per the example mentioned above) at the local farmer's market, you could. There are a few farm-to-table, easy-to-make recipes included. While informative and interesting, the book lacks a few key things we, as beginners, might need like how-tos on making pens and dwellings for said bees or chickens.

I've been a fan of Lisa for a while now. She tells it like it is, no nonsense, but in a way that inspires you to want to improve your life. When she said she had written a book, I couldn't wait to read it! Then when her publisher offered to give me a copy in exchange for an honest review, I was honored! I've been homesteading for a while myself, and grew up with my parents doing it too, so I was really just reading it because I love Lisa's writing style. I had no idea how much I would LEARN! As I was reading, I kept telling my husband different things we needed to do. He finally told me to finish the book and then make a list 😁. Seriously, for seasoned homesteaders, or someone who is just getting started, if you have a tiny yard or several acres, there is a wealth of information in this book! Templates, calendars, charts, diagrams, all in there! Want chickens but don't know where to start? She's done all the research for you from breeds, area to set up, down to the cost of feed each day. Want to grow your own feed for your animals, she's going to show you how! Want to get the most produce out of small square footage? Want to preserve all that produce so it doesn't go to waste but you've never used a pressure cooker? Lisa's got your back! This book has everything you need, and even some you didn't even know you needed to learn! Plus its colorful and entertaining too! Get this book, you won't regret it!

I have a LOT of homestead books... probably 2 shelves of them. There is not one that compares to this one, it really is an amazing resource! It covers so many things, not only the things you would expect to find like chicken keeping, meat and dairy animals, beekeeping, but also things like how to make action plans and goals to keep track of it all as you get going with your homestead. There are checklists for everything separated by seasons and goal charts for all of the major topics included to help you get where you want to be with your homestead. One chapter in particular I found very helpful was the chapter on grains. Having livestock can be expensive and this book goes over which grains to plant for what, how much the yield is per square foot, feasibility, costs, and goals. I never felt like I could grow grains because I really had no idea where to start, but this book has given me the confidence to give it a try! There is just so much helpful information in this book. There is a chart showing the potential savings for common homegrown vegetables compared to buying retail. All these comparison charts are going to help me save money in knowing what things are worth putting my time into. Besides all the great info, Lisa's writing style is instructional yet friendly so you feel like you can do all the things :)

I received a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review. This is a thorough book on homesteading. With information on gardening, raising large livestock, and small animals there's information on how to plan and maintain your land. There's a helpful checklist on how to calculate costs, what to consider, and how to plan. There's a lot of information on cost calculation and savings and while it's helpful to have a range costs vary so much depending on where you are in the country it may not be helpful. There's a lot of general information, but not a lot of specific stuff. This book reminds people to check their planting zones, but doesn't have a map that shows planting zones. It seems like a good starting point that conveys how much work a homestead is.

Lisa's book is a wonderful overall view of homesteading. She gives you plenty to think about without overwhelming you with information. It's a great starting place for anyone interested in starting a homestead, dreaming about homesteading (even if you're still in an urban setting), and considering greater self-reliance. She's done a fabulous job of going over every homestead possibility for even small homesteads. There are charts and graphs, different ways to consider a variety of different aspects of homesteading, and just helping you get sighted in on what your main priorities are for your personal life. I love how practical it is for the lay-person while providing enough information to experienced homesteaders to help them make further decisions about areas to improve. For example....I do homestead. However, I don't keep bees! I also don't raise dairy animals. But the thing is...I want to raise bees! Even though raising dairy animals isn't in my frame of need right now, bees certainly are. I love how she's considered every aspect of potential backyard homesteading. If you're at all interested in a more sustainable life and you have a bit of land (large acreage not required), then this book is for you! Finally...she sets the tone for going beyond that first year. Homesteading can be overwhelming, and Lisa makes it seem doable for all of us.

When gifted this book, "The Beginner's Guide To Backyard Homesteading" by fellow homesteader, Lisa Lombardo for review, I didn't hesitate. After all, you can never have too many resources on hand, and this one didn't disappoint. This homesteading resource is a comprehensive, complete guide for anyone seeking to live a more self-sustainable lifestyle. Lisa leads you step-by-step in the process of developing a homestead, including all the tools, expectations, and plans one would need to consider for any and all things related to homesteading. Lisa's has the ability to educate the beginner homesteader in a way that is direct and to the point. She offers complete, knowledgeable information useful to anyone starting out. Lots of detailed plans, cost projections, checklists, and action plans are included for taking the basic steps needed to create your homestead, managing it, developing gardens (vegetable, herbal, fruit, and nut), maintaining livestock & poultry, and even beekeeping. Her bonus of 30 recipes at the end of the book was a gift in of itself. If you are looking toward a homesteading lifestyle, this is the book for you. Lisa offers easy to follow, actionable steps & tips that any beginner homesteader would welcome. My only disappointment was that this book was not available to me when I was starting out!

Who doesn't dream of being more sustainable and self-reliant on their own property? This book illustrates how you can utilize a small space, even a quarter of an acre, to attain more self sufficiency. However, it also does well to show the overall cost and time investment in these pursuits as well. Some things are a real commitment and you would have to weigh if it's worth what you would have to put in. This book covers briefly on zoning too, as not everyone can do all the things mentioned depending on local ordinances. And, it says to start slowly and build instead of jumping all in and probably end up overwhelmed. It goes over problems you may run into, and just gives a nice overview of what different things entail. Also has some recipes in the back that I look forward to trying. Being it's fall already, I am not putting any of these in motion right now, but I may really think it over and plan some to try next year. This book really emphasizes that planning is crucial to success.

I love books that pack a lot of info. What I hate is going back later and trying to find the exact info I need at that particular moment in all that text! That's probably the best thing about this book (besides the huge amount of well-organized knowledge and how-to) is all the charts, bullet points, and checklists included for each section. It has all the information you need to plan for homesteading AND it's organized enough to help you carry out your plans easily! This is a guide that will serve you well from inception well into your homesteading endeavors. I know Lisa's the REAL DEAL and you can trust her to give you useful and correct knowledge. She's been my friend for several years now and she is always there to help anyone who has a problem with almost anything homesteading related. Lisa and her family don't just write about homesteading, they live it. I was thrilled when she sent me a copy of her book to review, and I wasn't disappointed! If I had to start all over again and could choose only one book for a guide, it'd be this one!

Something I truly appreciate about this book is the actionable steps that Lisa encourages her readers to take. So many new homesteading books tell you all of the things that you could do, and to be quite frank, that can be overwhelming for someone. The "How to Manage Your Homestead" section is GOLD; I've yet to see another book cover it quite in such detail with the break down of materials, time, and more. I don't want to give it all away - but if you're a new homesteader, you really do need to read this. Lisa put quite a bit of research and effort into this book to save you time. From seasonal chores to estimated costs of investments, she covers it for you. The charts are helpful without being overwhelming with too much information - that happens often as well in other books. Not to mention, some of the recipes that she shares in her book are amazing - my husband made her carrot-zucchini double layer cake. Let me tell you, all of my kids wanted thirds. So good! If you're a new homesteader, you need this book - plain and simple!

Many of my friends have taken up backyard homesteading. I admit, I'm not that earthy, but I got this book to learn more about the process. This book is designed for people just starting out with homesteading. It provides a basic overview of preparing your yard; setting doable goals and determining what materials you'll need; planning a garden; raising poultry, dairy, and meat animals; and taking care of bees. It also includes a few recipes that you can make with the fruits of your labor. If you want to get in-depth with homesteading, you'll definitely want to research more, but this book provides a solid foundation.

This is not the kind of book you read once and forget in your collection. With the amount of information detailed in this book, I see it as a long lived, dog-eared, highlighted reference book that I will go back to time and time again. Lisa has written a well-organized, informative, and interesting resource. This book is full of charts and lists meant to provoke project evaluation and promote a fruitful endeavor. She details many aspects of planning, managing, and working a homestead that many may have otherwise overlooked. I found Chapter 2: How to Manage Your Homestead and Chapter 4: Fruits and Nuts, particularly noteworthy. The idea of growing nut trees is something I have bounced around in my head since the purchase of my property. Through this section, Lisa helped me to focus my thoughts and to ask the questions about the feasibility of this project. The final chapter and appendix of recipes left me encouraged and full of ideas. By drawing on her years of experience, Lisa guides the reader from the very beginning of homesteading. “The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading” is certainly a book worth having.

Seriously folks, I have been reading Lisa's posts for at least 8 years, long before we bought a homestead of our own. We had been part-time homesteaders in the suburbs and learning as we went along. If you don't have time to learn as you go and want to skip the hard lessons (and frustration) - get this book! She shows you step by step how to achieve your goal of self sufficiency in your very own backyard. It can be done and she is living proof. Take it from someone who has been doing this a long time, she's done the research for you, set out a plan and now you just have to read and follow. Wish this had been a resource for us when we first got started! As a homesteader myself, I found so much information that I could use. Even if you are already on your homesteading journey this is a wonderful resource. Check it out!

I am a budding homesteader and am eager to read up on any literature on the topic. This book serves as a good introduction to backyard homesteading. The author starts in chapter one by outlining steps for preparing a backyard homestead. I like that the planning stage is given proper credence. Chapter two discusses how to manage a backyard homestead including planning, setting goals, as well as making lists and action plans. Chapter three focuses on vegetable and herb gardens, chapter four fruits and nuts, chapter five grains and livestock feed, chapter six raising poultry, chapter seven raising dairy and meat animals, chapter eight beekeeping. Chapter nine deals with preserving your yield and possible business opportunities. The appendix contains recipes. This book is a well organized beginner's guide that is brief but informative. It is a great reference and wonderful for anyone looking to gain knowledge on the topic of self sustainability.

Lots of useful information. Easy to find topics that cover a wide range. Good book overall

This Beginners guide to backyard homesteading is a complete guide. It is very thorough and detailed in the topics covered. I love how simple and easy it is to read and yet it provides so much information. The section on fruits and nuts was one of my favorites, as well as the beekeeping for beginners section. The sections on raising animals are quite interesting too, it seems that animals are more simple to take care of than many of us think. I also really enjoyed the section of growing beyond the first season where Lisa talks about extending and preserving your harvest through drying, freezing, canning, fermenting, dehydrating, and storage in root cellars. Finally, I enjoyed looking at the different recipes at the end of the book that are organized by types of food such as vegetables, grains, animal products, and even honey and beeswax recipes.

There are a lot of backyard homesteading books out there these days. What makes this one different and worthwhile? Lombardo's book is an excellent resource for total beginners...or for those who have some experience, but want to be more organized. There are tons of checklists and forms to help learn if what you want to do is feasible, figure out costs, and just generally create a PRACTICAL homestead.

I received a copy of this book directly from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. The Beginner's Guide To Backyard Homesteading by Lisa Lombardo is an invaluable book to have in your library if you are new to homesteading and want to know how to start. The pages are filled with useful information on an array of topics, from setting up a garden for your growing zone to livestock space requirements. It covers all the bases and gives you a good foundation of information to get started with. The book was easy to read and follow, and organized to make finding certain topics easy to do. There are useful checklists to help with planning and visual examples for setting up. I'm thoroughly pleased with what I found inside this book, and I'd easily suggest it to anyone looking to getting into backyard homesteading, whatever the scale may be.

Great bird’s eye overview for anyone who’s getting started or wants to branch out into new homesteading possibilities, even in the city. Don’t expect a deep dive into anything, but this book will get you started and help you figure out where you need to put in some more research. It has tons of tables and estimates to help you plan for finances, time, space, and other considerations. It’s amazing how much you can do even in a typical suburban backyard! I have to wonder how many of the estimates were just pulled out of the air or based only on personal experience, but at least there’s something here to get you started, much more than I’ve seen in any other book. I received a free digital review copy from the publisher and already recommended it to a friend who’s been plunging into homesteading this past year and wants to learn and do more.

I am one of those people who feels the need to gather every bit of information I can regarding a subject before I will even entertain the idea of taking on a project. If you are like me, and you are even slightly interested in the possibility of adding a self sufficient element to your lifestyle, then this may be the only book you need. Not only is it filled with charts, diagrams and planning tools, but most importantly it is chocked full of information one could only know from years of experience living the life. Broken down by major topics, you can easily find and reference the sections that you find useful. Lots of information, but not overwhelming, this is a great addition to my "maybe someday" dream and a handy everyday reference as well.

I jumped at the chance to read this book for review! I began my own homestead adventure a few years ago, and learned more often than not, the hard way or the wrong way first. Lisa's book would have upped the success rate considerably! This wonderful book is full of facts that will take a lot of the guess work out of the equation. The author has done the trial and error for us. The costs are broken down for every aspect of homesteading, along with hints and tips that we don't have to learn the hard way! I personally will be referring to this book over and over for years to come as I add goats and bees to my homestead and expand my gardens! Thank you Lisa for writing a truly complete guide for those of us that wish to become more self sufficient! Joanne Keith

I've been trying to get my own homestead up and running for five years so I know a bit already, but I can also say that this book is phenomenal. You'll need to look up specifics for your climate but this book covers all the bases in a general way to get you thinking about the right things and set you up for success in growing your own food. I would love more diagrams and this book has a lot of sample checklists and the like which are kind of pointless, but the descriptions of the soil, the lists of foods (and their pests), and the growing techniques (eg rotating crops) are invaluable. This is basically a well-organized scrapbook of all the advice you'll get starting your homestead. It's great to have it in one place.

Packed full of tons of great info that is organized into sections for easy reference. It explains things in a really clear and understandable way for the beginning gardener/homesteader, but it also includes info for anyone at any stage of homesteading. I bought it to have on hand with our survival pack of seeds just in case we ever need to do some serious “grow your own food for survival” type of gardening. However, I’m pretty sure I’ll be using it as a guide for some projects we are planning (planting some fruit trees & some raised beds) because it’s packed with useful information to get started, as well as some long-term planning ideas we hadn’t even considered. I’m VERY impressed and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in being more self-reliant in ANY environment.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book at no charge to me for an honest review. With many books on homesteading in my personal library, I find The Beginner’s Guide to Backyard Homesteading one of the best books I have seen. It is filled with detailed information that helps any beginner get started, but takes it to a deeper level that any established homesteader will love. The information includes things such as feasibility studies, cost analysis, diversity, planning and management, just to name a few. I found the section on beekeeping, with a section on viability, yields, and plant chart especially helpful. The recipes, to me, are just icing on an especially delicious cake. I highly recommend this book for new and seasoned homesteaders alike!

Backyard Homesteading covers all the basics for starting a homestead in an easy to read and understandable format. Whether you are starting your homesteading journey on a city lot or a sizeable acreage, this book will help you get off on the right foot by covering all the basics you need to think about, some of which might easily be overlooked if you weren’t in the know. The checklists that cover costs, and time associated with each task, and the schedules on when tasks need to be completed each year, make this book worth buying even for the seasoned homesteader! Added bonuses include a chapter on Beekeeping, information on Food Preservation as well as tips for running a business on your homestead and even recipes! A definite must read for every homesteader!

Excellent comprehensive beginners guide for what to expect and how to begin a homestead. This would’ve been great to have when I started mine. This is definitely a first read which will then lead you down the path of finding numerous companion books to center the focus of your interests on your homestead. Lisa does an amazing job being the most realist with initial and long term costs, so depending on your income, it may be something that takes longer than you planned but don’t let that deter you. Again, great guide for beginners to start their own homesteads. It’s even got information for the veteran homesteaders. Definitely worth checking out.

This book is the ultimate combination of solid, tried-and-true methods and an organized, attractive format that facilitates your homesteading journey with ease. Through the use of the brilliant HPAP (Homestead Project Action Plan) template, the checklists and charts will help you realistically evaluate your goals, identify what's needed and help you create a sustainable plan, whether you are raising animals or growing food. Lisa takes you through every step in detail and lists some of the common challenges and how to resolve them. When harvest time arrives, Lisa provides the various methods of preservation and shares some of her favorite recipes. Lisa is the real deal. Decades of practice have gone into this book. It will quickly become your go-to resource whether you are a novice or seasoned homesteader.

This book is awesome! I already have a rather large garden and chickens for eggs but I was really wanting to ramp things up and make the most of our two acres. This book gives you so many tangible realistic steps to get the homestead you've always dreamed of! I really like that it shows you exactly how many plants (and animals) you need to feed your family, gives you a basic understanding of canning, and raising bees. I've already recommended this book to several friends who are interested in expanding their gardens and "homesteads" too. This book is so well thought out and gives you such tangible ideas it makes it seem easier than ever to finally get the "homestead" we've always wanted.

I received this book as an ARC reader and loved it so much, I bought it. I have been the farmer’s daughter, the farmer and now the homesteader, and I have read numerous books and blogs on the subject, but this is the book everyone should have. It’s laid out and formatted extremely well and gives answers (and plans) to questions you didn’t even know you had. I love the templates and formulas for space and costs as well. If you’re at the point where you’re ready to turn your dream into a plan, definitely start with this book! If you’ve already started your homestead dream, but maybe things aren’t going as well as you’d like, or you’d like to do better, this is your book!

Lisa's guide is so straightforward, simple, and easy to follow. It really feels geared towards the total beginner who doesn't know where to start and wants to take charge of their food supply! It's also so organized so you can get a real sense of the time commitments you're making when you build your garden and get chickens. Even as a more experienced gardener, I appreciated how simple her framework is for just being organized. You can grow so much more food if you think ahead and this book makes that whole process easy. Truly, if you're starting from the beginning, this is THE book you need to know exactly what to do right now.

Nice starter book on some basics of how to go about doing this. I have always dreamed of living off the land and even though currently could not do this, would like to learn more about it. It gives some ideas and advice on how to have a garden you could live off, beekeeping, animals for dairy and meat and a nice selection of recipes.

Whether you are just beginning to live the homesteading lifestyle or have been raising your own vegetables and animals for years, this book will be a wonderful addition to your library. The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading is well laid out with informative charts and check lists. As the book says - step by step instructions for raising crops and animals. Covers everything from vegetables and herbs to bees and everything in between! Lots of valuable information packed in to the 190 pages.

This book would have saved me a lot of trouble if I had read it before starting my homestead. It's easy to read format and number break downs allow you to find what works for your homestead now, and what things should wait. I'll definitely be using the included check lists for our homestead expansion plan. Everything from gardens to bees is mentioned. I can't wait to try the tasty recipes soon, especially the Butternut-ginger custard!

my parents have recently moved out onto our 12 acres of homestead land and have begun gardening/chicken keeping. this reassured many details they were questioning and helped them decide next steps in trying to make their property self-sustaining. great wealth of knowledge and plenty of information to get them where they want to go, off the grid!

I have never seen a more comprehensive book on Homesteading! From the first scoop of dirt, to planting, to maintaining your garden and animals, and finally to your family's table, this book has it ALL! It could be called the encyclopedia of Homestead Living. This book answers any questions you may have about self-reliance without intimidation. My hat is off to Lisa and all her hard work that she put into this book. A must for your Homesteading library!

Lisa did a fantastic job with this thorough and easy to follow book. I own many homesteading books and this one I definitely recommend as a first for beginners. A great gift idea, too! She breaks down all the particulars of homesteading in step-by-step instructions. You have all the info you need to get started, thanks to Lisa!