The Tiny But Mighty Farm

Description

In The Tiny But Mighty Farm, author Jill Ragan of YouTube’s Whispering Willow Farm teaches you how to turn a typical suburban backyard into a productive mini farm.

Backyard mini farming is about regular people who live in regular houses turning all or part of their property into a productive, high-yielding mini farm. Unlike gardening, mini farming takes a very deliberate approach, with the main goal being to grow as much food as you can with as little land and as few resources as possible. Everything is done with planning and purpose, rather than as a hobby. Whether your property is one-tenth of an acre, one full acre, or somewhere in between, there are so many opportunities to grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs in creative and high-yielding ways.

If concerns about food security and the rising cost of food have you feeling uneasy, or if you just want to play a bigger role in feeding your family and your community, starting a backyard mini farm is the answer. With Jill as your friendly and encouraging guide, you’ll learn how to grow food for your family and, if you want, sell part of your harvest for a profit. From discovering what kind of mini farmer you want to be to selecting the best high-yielding varieties and planning out and preparing your growing spaces, it’s all covered in these pages.
 
With Jill’s help you’ll learn:
 

• The best tools for running a successful mini farm (hint: a tractor isn’t on the list!)
• Advice on whether to grow in the ground, in raised beds, or indoors
• How soil health impacts the longevity of your backyard farm
• Whether heirlooms or hybrids bring bigger yields
• Ways to use structures like high tunnels and greenhouses to improve production
• The many satisfactions of growing food for others and how much money you can expect to earn

In the process of cultivating food, you’ll also be cultivating yourself, your family, and your community in the most beautiful and inspiring ways. With help from The Tiny But Mighty Farm, food self-sufficiency and seasonal, organic eating is an achievable goal. Big yields from a typical backyard is what a well-designed, functional mini farm is all about.

Jill Ragan is a small farmer and online educator, balancing life as a wife and mother of three beautiful girls. Her journey into growing food began when she saw a largely unmet need in our society; with broken food systems, unfortunate waste, and an overall lack of connection to our Earth. She started growing food for her family instead of sourcing it from the grocery store, reducing waste as much as possible, and learning how to compost. Shortly thereafter, Jill began teaching others how important it is to do the same for themselves. She started documenting the simple changes she was implementing to contribute to the health of our planet and has since grown an extensive following on YouTube’s Whispering Willow Farm channel.

Jill now grows food full time on a much larger scale on her family’s tiny but mighty home farm. She teaches others daily and takes advantage of any opportunity to demonstrate how even the smallest environmental action can make a significant impact. With passion and personality, Jill is committed to sharing her hard-earned knowledge with anyone and everyone she can.

Introduction: The Tiny Farm Journey
CHAPTER 1 Small-Farm Values
CHAPTER 2 What Kind of Farmer and Gardener Do You Want To Be?
CHAPTER 3 Grow With Purpose
CHAPTER 4 Soil: The Health & Longevity of Your Farm
CHAPTER 5 In-Ground, Raised Beds & Indoor Growing: Which is Right for You?
CHAPTER 6 Growing From Seed
CHAPTER 7 Tools & Efficient Systems to Grow On
CHAPTER 8 How Structures, High Tunnels & Greenhouses Help
CHAPTER 9 Growing for Community: Turning Your Tiny Farm into a Business
Conclusion: Keep Dreamin’
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Notes
Index
 "The Tiny but Mighty Farm is a practical and inspiring guide for anyone desiring to make the most of their property. With beautiful images and even more beautiful words, this book will surely be a reference used by small farmers for years. Jill did an incredible job sowing her passions into her readers’ hearts. "—Jessica Sowards, Roots and Refuge Farm, author of The First-Time Homesteader“The Tiny But Mighty Farm is an important guide post on deciding how homesteading, gardening, and your unique motivations can and will intersect with your current lifestyle, obligations, and values. It’s one thing to dream of living off the land and an entirely different reality upon commitment. Jill opens her heart and home to guide you through the ups, downs, lessons learned, hardships overcome, successes examined and repeated. Photos and illustrations help you envision what can be possible in your farm journey. When you feel yourself called to a more purpose-driven life, The Tiny but Mighty Farm will be your guidebook for uncertainty and encouragement.”—Nick Burton, Bootstrap Farmer“The Tiny But Mighty Farm is an informative and most encouraging guide for any person interested in beginning their food cultivation journey. Jill is a knowledgeable teacher who shares gardening and farming set up options, tools, planting schedules, and insights into soil health. With this book, and the author’s gentle support, I can think of no better time for new growers to get started.”—Angela Ferraro-Fanning of Axe & Root Homestead, author of The Sustainable Homestead“The Tiny but Mighty Farm is a wonderful roadmap for gardeners and farmers of all types. Whether you are a hobby farmer, homesteader, or aspiring market gardener, Jill’s book is sure to inspire you to dream big. It will also equip you with the essential information needed to achieve those dreams. Small scale, sustainable farms are the answer to our broken food system, and this book shows you just how impactful they can be!” —Kim Doughty-McCannon, Bell Urban Farm "I wish I would have had this book as a reference when I started flower farming 22 years ago. The principles of planning and implementing your dreams found in The Tiny but Mighty Farm are applicable to anything you want to cultivate as a small farm enterprise. Jill's passion for educating others about sustainable growing really shows in a writing style that is easy to understand and truly heartfelt.”—Steve Kaufer, Sunflower Steve Seed Co."The Tiny but Mighty Farm is a must read for anyone wanting to garden and be more self-sufficient. It is packed full of helpful tips, garden knowledge, and ways to cultivate a life well lived. There are also so many beautiful images and helpful charts to inspire your gardening journey. This book will be used in my home for many years to come" —Annette Thurmon, host of the Azure Farm podcast“The Tiny but Mighty Farm will inspire you to dig deep, reflect, and create a life you are proud of. This is not just a book about growing food. You will gain an immense amount of knowledge, whether you are a first-time gardener or a long-time grower. It is also a book that is going to show you how to connect with your land and your community. I read it from front to back and felt moved the entire time.”—Mandi Pickering, Wild Oak Farms“The Tiny but Mighty Farm has a beautiful, empowering way of inspiring us to not only learn more about gardening but to also evaluate our own aspirations and values. Jill encourages us to dream bigger while also giving us all of the tools and details to actually achieve our goals through everything she has learned. I know that this book will also inspire others as it has me – as a wife, mom, daughter, and farmer. I’ll definitely be sharing this book!”—Lindsey Gilbert, owner of Willow Tree Flower Market

Additional information

Dimensions	0.65 × 8 × 10 in
Imprint	Cool Springs Press
Format	General Trade
ISBN-13	09780760376454
ISBN-10	076037645X
Author	Jill Ragan
Audience	General / adult
BISAC	GAR025000, TEC003090
Subjects	maximize, high yield, soil health, sustainable agriculture, small farm, how to grow, food growing, raised bed, cultivating, market, productive, suburban, green living, small scale, bonding, americana, seasonal eating, permaculture, self sufficiency, edible landscaping, greenhouse, community supported agriculture, women farmers, family values, high tunnel, easy farming, community based, sustainable lifestyle, heirloom, csa, community food systems, organic food production, small area, on one acre or less, whispering willow farm, mini farming guide, TEC003090, beginners, seasonal, compost, gardening, mother's day gift, hobby, plants, vegetables, fruits, low cost, security, Herbs, mom, activity, soil, homesteading, GAR025000, traditional skills, organic, micro, backyard, homestead, eco friendly, plan, save money, farmers market, urban, book, handbook, small business, earth day, kitchen, planting, preservation, spring, for beginners