Welcome to the Farm: How-to Wisdom from The Elliott Homestead

by Shaye Elliott

A fresh, new guide to the backyard lifestyle

The homesteading movement is continuing to grow, as more people are stepping up to have a hand in where their food comes from. Whether you want to dabble or immerse yourself completely in the do-it-yourself, back-to-basics lifestyle, Welcome to the Farm is a comprehensive, fully illustrated guide to growing the very best food right in your own backyard. Shaye Elliott takes readers on a journey that teaches them how to harvest baskets full of organic produce, milk a dairy cow (and make butter), plant a homestead orchard, can jams and jellies, and even raise chickens and bees. From her experience running The Elliott Homestead, Shaye provides all the how-to wisdom you need to know about:

The benefits of a home gardenThe basics of seed startingBuilding your own greenhouseWhat belongs in the winter gardenCanning, freezing, and dehydrating techniques and recipesThe pros and cons of caged vs. free-change chickensKeeping a dairy cow and what to do with all the milkRaising animals for meatMaking your own cider and wineAnd so much more!
Welcome to the Farm is aimed to serve homesteaders and urban-farmers alike, guiding them through the beginning stages of small-area farming and utilizing whatever amount of space they have available for optimal and delicious food production.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening, Cooking, Food, Cookbooks, Green

486 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2017

Reviews

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)
RATING: 4 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)

I don't live on a farm or plan to any time soon, but I have always been interested in farm life and gardening. Both of my parents are from farming families so maybe it's the blood...although, it seems I have missed the green thumb. Shaye Elliott did a really good job with this book. It is a bit of a journal and a how-to guide with great photographs. While I don't plan to raise animals I did find the gardening and harvesting quite interesting and useful. I would like to have a small garden so hopefully this will be a motivator.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully imaged autobiography of a successful farming venture filled with valuable instructions and advice. With recipes such as Vanilla-Infused Cherries, Homemade Egg Pasta and Pickled Eggs you will learn to make use of what you can produce from your farming efforts. Full Disclosure: I was allowed to read a copy of this book for free as a member of NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I was not influenced to give a positive review.

[Randal White · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written, easily understood tutorial on gardening and farming. Would be a great resource for anyone starting out, or thinking of, gardening.

[Emma Troyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful all-around guide that covers a lot of farming, gardening, and preserving basics. I found a couple recipes in here that I'll be using again. And of course, I always love Shaye.

[Anjanette Barr · Rating 5 out of 5]

The photography is gorgeous. And I love how she maintained her personality and personal flare in her writing. Thank you, editors for allowing her to keep less sit gems like, "I've never bonded with an animal the way that I have with our dairy cows. Naturally, as you're hunkered in under the animal's flank, all up in their business, you bond... You spend your mornings and evenings together, rain or shine. You spend time together even if you don't feel like it... Come hell or high water, it's you and your dairy animal. True luv 4ever."

This book is packed with useful information, including awesome recipes, but it was also genuinely enjoyable to read cover to cover.

[Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly detailed guide to basic homesteading, featuring gorgeous photography and rather unflinching commentary about the dirtier aspects of farm life.

[Felicity Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've followed Shaye on YouTube for over a year but am just now reading her books. I enjoyed this one because I could hear her saying the words as I read them. It was also interesting to go back in time - the book was published in 2017, which means it's about 6 years since it was written. I learned a bit more Elliott backstory. :)

If you don't know the author, that's fine. This is a great overview of the homesteader, grow / raise your own food lifestyle. The author is also a photographer, so the images are gorgeous. Plus, Shaye's not afraid to show a bit of personality in her writing, which is not true of all beginner "how to homestead" books I've read.

[Elaine - Small Farm Big Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how Shaye laid this book out with helpful information in small sections with lots of lists and easy to follow break downs. I love to read what other small farms/homesteads do. I always learn something new or have an epiphany. This will be my first year with a greenhouse so I was excited to read what Shaye does and where she orders her seeds. She has a great gardening section in the book along with lots of other homesteading information.

This book would be fantastic for someone thinking about homesteading or just starting out.

[Rosy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will start by saying that I have no interest in actually homesteading myself, as I’m way too old to start, but I enjoy reading about it. I thought this was a very good book, very practical, yet beautiful. I skipped some of the more brutal content, but if you were really homesteading, you would need to know. (I did grow up on what would now be called a hobby farm, but we sent our cows and pigs to market, and my parents never made us eat our own animals) I did enjoy this book quite a bit, even though I won’t actually use anything from it in real life.

[Maggie Panning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of good tidbits of information to give you sort of a basic idea of how to do many things around the homestead from the kitchen to the garden and barnyard but for many of the things you will need additional resources as well. This is a good book to read if you are considering homesteading or perhaps just adding a new piece to your existing homestead. You'll have a little bit more information from which you can then ask yourself, "Is this for me?".

[Jūlija Tregubova · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best homesteading books I’ve ever read! Surely, this book would be the second one after my Bible which I would save in the case of fire:) I would say that this book is wonderful instruction how to start food supply for your family. Thank you so much, Shaye Elliott, for minutes and hours spent in so useful and very fun way!:)

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This book is beautiful and readable, which is saying a lot after I spent several trips to the library perusing numerous farming and homestead books. That said, some parts of the book are detailed and helpful, and other parts are more vague. Obviously no book can cover EVERYTHING, but this is a good starting point for dreamers.

[Kelsey Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this intro to farm life and gardening. So far, I have only been able to put into practice the gardening and compost pile tips, but I am looking forward to eventually moving on to chickens and cows.

[Kim McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t live on a farm but do participate in some homesteading activities such as gardening, and raising chickens and bees. I don’t want other animals yet but still found the dairy and livestock chapters interesting in case that happens for us in the future. Great resource for small farmers.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great homesteading book for beginning farmers! Has a lot of good information in it, sweet stories, and a few recipes.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for beginning homesteaders or dreamers. Well established homesteaders may not find any new information. Lots of photos and written in an easily accessible, casual way.

[jessica wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're thinking of homesteading, growing, rsising meat, owning chickens, etc..this is an honest, matter-of-fact and lovely perspective.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent ideas and inspirations on getting back to land - I don't know that it is a simpler life, but it seems to be fulfilling for the Elliott Family!

[Amanda Gauthier-Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, inspiring and full of practical info for the newbie homesteader

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource. The author really knows her stuff.

[Bethany Melton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking to homestead or even start the process of gardening or chickens this is such a great book!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lets say you were raised in the country and you've spent most of your adult life in the city BUT.... you remember how happy you were as a child, in the country, with all the other farmers around you, and their cows that got loose and came over to peek in your living room windows, and their chickens that got loose and let you hold them and rock them like babydolls, and their rambunctious geese that ate your cat food and pooped all over your front porch, and how much you loved all of that and laugh and smile today as the memories return ~ that was me, is me, and I'm realizing that I need my own farm. I still live in the middle of town BUT this book helped me see the practical side of having just a few acres and making this homesteading gig work!
Shaye Elliott is down to earth, practical, and very detail oriented. Her pictures are totally drool-worthy. Her wide-ranging knowledge and experience really impressed me. There's a TON of info in here like seasonal gardening, seed starting, composting, harvesting, preservation of the harvest, orchards, chickens and what to do with all the eggs, cows, goats, sheep, and what to do with all the milk, meat animals from raising to butchering to preserving, beekeeping, recipes, and stories from other Homesteaders around the United States. I was ridiculously impressed! She also has a website and other books that I'm exploring.

[Nicole Mcamish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dont know if it's the times we are living through or a long time desire that I've been squashing but this book gave my soul a deep awakening. Now to figure out how to move forward.......

[Krystal Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this entire book. I love learning, seeing, and dreaming about farms. This will keep on my shelf for a while.

[Bobbi Galvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written, easy to understand tutorial on gardening and farming. It would be a great resource for anyone starting a garden or a small farm.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me wish I lived on a farm

[Brandi Lemieux · Rating 5 out of 5]

May need to own this one.

[Shark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good! Will be looking back at this book as a resource when I begin my own preserving. Dangerously making me want to expand the garden even more.

[Sentimentsbydenise · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wealth of information for the homesteading lifestyle. It’s not where I’m at in my journey of life, but it was enjoyable to read about.

[Jamie Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the books that inspired me and my family to start homesteading!