Hobby Farming for Dummies

by Theresa A. Husarik

Do you long for the country life? "Hobby Farming For Dummies" is a practical guide that will show you how to handle all the basics of small-scale farming, from growing healthy crops to raising livestock and managing your property. You'll see how to decide what to farm, provide shelter and utilities, select plants, and protect your investment. It's all you need to dig in and start growing.

You'll get a real idea of what it really means to jump from your current lifestyle to a life farming in the countryside. You'll get the information you need to decide if the farming lifestyle is right for you and your personality. You'll learn everything you need to know about property and how to access a power supply. You'll get practical advice on which animals would work best for your farm and you'll learn how to acquire them and what you need to know about caring for them properly. You'll get help with all of the major decisions like whether you're better off with subsistence farming or a more ambitious project.

Find out how to:
* Make from change to a farm lifestyle
* Get along with your neighbors
* Find and buy rural properties
* Select and maintain equipment
* Raise and care for animals
* Use and preserve food items
* Avoid common farming pitfalls
* Choose plans for your farm

Complete with lists of the ten unique opportunities for fun and the top ten misconceptions about farm living, "Hobby Farming" "For Dummies" will help you discover how you can live the simple life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening, Reference, Audiobook, Agriculture

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 11, 2008

Reviews

[Shelley Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Of the few more specific details listed i recognized unsafe/outdated by.... well even the 1960’s pamphlets on rabbit keeping warn about the flooring/wire rabbits rest on while this book suggests something that
1) rabbits can chew through/raccoons can rip to access bunnies
2) an unsafe/cheapest option that will guarantee problems later on/ having to re-do correctly later.
So perhaps I should appreciate lack of deep detail on other topics/take his ‘knowledge’ as not reliable on its own.... and when your reading a book ‘for dummies’ I shouldn’t need to fact check it😡.

First 1/2 is good to hear before you even start looking at places/land/considering anything else.

The rest is light info on a ton of topics, however not in depth on most.... but that’s better then in-depth incorrect information I guess.

If published as a light reader before considering moving to country or getting livestock that would be different and perhaps be 3/5 but as what its marketed as.... disappointing.

[Leigh-ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little overview/introduction to hobby farming. Covers everything from choosing a property, the ins and outs of septic systems, wells, the possibility of needing liquid propane and an emergency generator, etc.. There's also a small section on raising crops and different types of animals, again, with pros and cons of each. The book features a good discussion about alternative energy sources that would allow you home to go "off grid" (for example, solar energy, wind power, hydroelectricity, geothermal). It ends with suggestions on ways to make a profit from your farm, including ideas for crafts (making your own soap from herbs you grow, making candles from beeswax if you decide to keep a beehive, etc.)

Every topic is pretty sparsely covered because there just isn't room for a deep discussion. However, it taught me things I didn't know about maintaining a septic system and a well, and it gave me ideas for alternative energy possibilities. It also let me know that I'd really need to buy a backup generator for our new home, because if the power goes out, we won't have electricity to power our well, hence, no water. I don't think it's a book I'll need to own, but I recommend it for anyone considering hobby farming or even just moving to a more rural area.

[Jessica Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good introduction to farming, and written from a city person's point of view.

[Hawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since entering graduate school, I have seriously considered my dream of living on a farm. I really did not know anything about farming before, and this book was a fantastic resource for me to:

(1) Recognize how much work it is
(2) Narrow down what about the farm I actually want
(3) Test out some things while living in a city to see if the farm life is really for me.

I thought it was a great book to give a large overview of all the facets of moving to hobby farming. It is definitely from people's perspective moving from city/suburban life to the country and is framed from that perspective. It is also written, so you don't need to read it linearly. Instead, you can choose the chapters you want to read (I have no interest in ever having cattle or horses so I just skipped those sections).

I enjoyed the book and now have a lot more on my reading list, thanks to Theresa's Recommended Reading and Suggestions.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, and a fun read. I especially enjoyed reading the author's personal stories. The references to other useful books and websites are also very helpful.

[Stan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a bad book. Good starter for the amateur hobbyist.

[Parker Samelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful information. I probably would have liked a bit more detail.

[Daniel Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find this too helpful. I got this with an interest in reading about meat goats, but didn't see too much on it. Of course, the purpose of the book was designed for more of an "overall" purpose, but I thought it was pretty slack.

[Rachael]

I learned by looking through this book that even though i consider my garden a hobby that doesn't mean that i have a hobby farm LOL, its the little things i like learning :) :) :)

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very useful tips on every thing you can think of