The Mini Farming Guide to Composting: Self-Sufficiency from Your Kitchen to Your Backyard

by Brett L. Markham

Maximize your vegetable output! Increase your self-sufficiency! And be kind to the ecosystem! Brett L Markham, author of Mimi Self Suffering on 1/4 Acre, is here to help you get started in his new handbook that covers everything you need to know about composting. Whether it's your mini farm or flower garden that need nourishment, Markham explains how to compost just about anything you can grow - and reminds us that developing your own composting practices not only can be fun but also saves money and encourages self-sufficiency. Learn to make a backyard compost structure with Brett's easy-to-follow directions and learn the science behind how your food scraps become food for plants. In the Mini Farming Guide to Composting you'll find easy instructions that make composting simple.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Reference, Green

233 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 23, 2012

About the author

Brett L. Markham is an engineer, third-generation farmer, and polymath. Using the methods explained in his book, he runs a profitable, Certified Naturally Grown mini farm on less than half an acre. Brett works full time as an engineer for a broadband ISP and farms in his spare time. He lives in New Ipswich, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great, thorough information sprinkled with chemistry, math (ugh) and humor. Somehow, through all the reading, watching, and following I've done of various homesteaders and small-scale farmers, this book has finally given me a solid understanding of composting. I have taken notes (this was a library book), and developed a composting plan that should work for us. There is no shortage of guidance on practical application of these principles on a household scale. Bonus: Now I know why my first two attempts at composting and first attempt at vermiculture failed.

[Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful guide to composting. Covers the science of composting as well as some hands on techniques. This book is enough to get to pretty far down the road to composting. In fact, some of the chapters are way, way down the composting road.

Covers both aerobic and anaerobic composting comparing the costs and benefits of both.

Overall, a valuable resource if you don’t want a dumbed down guide. True, the science is sometimes just big words, but this is a good place to start learning about doing your own composting.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though he never really explains a composting process to my liking there was still more information than any other composting book I have read. There are enough facts and bits spread througout to make it's reading worthwhile. Plus he has citations for facts he quotes. I now have a better understanding of composting so it is a very useful book.

[Jerry Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book on every type and aspect of composting. He even has a chapter on composting human waste in emergency situations. At times he gets a little technical for the average gardener but at other times he simplifies it for the reader. Even though I have done some composting and read other things on the subject I learned a lot of useful information from this book.

[Suzanne Kramb · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much information...I think my brain is about to explode. Brett Markham compiled a wonderful resource for everyone wanting to learn more about composting. I definitely feel like some of it went in one ear and out the other (I'm not very good when it comes to math and chemistry) but I definitely found this book helpful and definitely one I'll come back to time and time again.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A succinct overview of the different types of composting and how you can apply them to your household. Some of the information was a little too advanced for me (like measuring the amount of nutrients in the soil) but perhaps this would be useful for someone else!

The digital formatting of this book was a bit wonky and some words were cut in strange ways.

[Caroline Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way more info than what you need to know to compost, but still not very long and an interesting read. I was just going to read the sections I thought I needed, but ended up reading the whole thing because it was interesting (though I know I will never use the majority of his techniques because I’m a lazy composter).

[Rachel Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 cause I haven’t tried his methods yet, but I love the author’s concise and simple explanation and methods for such a complex subject. It’s thorough, covers all areas, and yet has concise explanations and instructions that are easy to understand and put into practice. I plan to make my bins asap!

[Haines Eason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though a little heavy on the application of formulae, this book is exceedingly informative and offers outsized benefit to gardeners of all skill levels. Highly recommended. The press, however, needs to hire a copyeditor 😐

[Country Goose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Impressive

Research is cited, and there is a lot of valuable information within these pages. It's formatted well, and would be worth buying a paperback copy for quick access (I own too many books to have a suitable research section).

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything you want to know about composting and some things you probably don’t want to know. Discusses aerobic, anaerobic, and vermicomposting methods. Explains science and goals in a low-key way and gives real-life examples of the author’s experiences and preferences.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty deep dive into composting and the science behind it. An excellent resource for the active composter.

[Blue Kaufman · Rating 3 out of 5]

More formulas and science than expected, but interesting nonetheless.

[Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good overview of composting. Would like to finish this. (Library copy, due, pg77)

[Kim Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much info in here that I decided to buy a copy for my bookshelf. I know I will want this as a reference.

[Rebecca Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, but very technical. Written by an engineer - for engineer brains. I really appreciated the brown to green ratio and what level different items were.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great reference guide. It is very detailed, and thoroughly explains several composting concepts. I will definitely use this handbook to fix my lawn.

[Cheryl Gatling]

This is no Introduction to Composting. This is Composting, the Graduate Level Course. Markham begins by reassuring the nervous that you can hardly mess up compost. Everything decays anyway, so you're going to end up with compost whether you do it "right" or not. He then goes on to give you more options for how to do it than any other compost book I have read. There is composting aerobically and anaerobically. There is composting indoors during the winter. There is making your own biochar. There is composting human waste. (You might not even want to, but you should have a plan in place, he says, in case the plumbing ever goes out in a national disaster.)

Along the way there is much more chemistry and biology than any other composting book I have read. I trusted that this science was correct, although I didn't absorb all of it. There was one mistake that rankled, though. Markham writes, not once, but repeatedly, that "anthrax, botulism and tetanus form spoors." Uh, no. They form spores. Spoor is the traces an animal leaves behind, that you follow when you are tracking. I didn't know whether to lay this spelling error at the feet of Markham or his editor, but it should have been caught.

I enjoyed Markham's chatty tone, his realistic assessment of things (you might have a bad back and be unable to turn your compost, you're going to have some fruit flies in your worm bin no matter what you do), and his very specific instructions, often including photos.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super-detailed and super-helpful. Even though I don't plan to use all the composting methods, I know what they are and feel like I have a good handle on composting in general.

One actual complaint: This book isn't the same dimensions as the original Mini Farming book...so they don't look neat and tidy on the book shelf together. Sigh.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is an excellent breakdown of the importance of macro and micro nutrients towards the beginning of this book. Most of the rest of the book is pretty common knowledge, but Brett cites his sources and is sure to address contamination issues. The book also gives a variety of advice for adding nutrition to your soil without trying to sell anything.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reassuring that anaerobic composting will provide the same end results as aerobic, since not everyone is proficient at achieving the latter. The author also discusses other areas of composting - worms and human waste. This is a pretty informative book on various composting topics.

[Jen Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

very helpful. I learned I don't have to build an elaborate wood structure or buy one of those turning ones and so much more. I will be starting my compost in earnest tomorrow.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to read this again. Great information and the science is so fascinating!