The Suburban Micro-Farm: Modern Solutions for Busy People

I found Amy's website more than a year ago and because we were learning from her permaculture experience so much, we decided to just buy the book. I was not new to permaculture but this is a very different way to garden. There is a lot to learn and can be discouraging among "conventional" gardening people. We've purchased many books on gardening and we always pull away some helpful knowledge. I think the readers need to take into consideration that no book can be a full resource on all topics. Her tenth acre farm was identical to what we were working with only we have a quarter acre and 6-7 story tall oak trees in our backyard with a slope and lots of water runoff. I have heard all the negatives and said them myself but. We are happy to use her knowledge in creating our gardens! Her book is encouraging, helpful and fun to read. Thanks Amy! :) As a side note, our book fell apart too and she made that right by sending us another, no big deal. This was not her fault but something in the printing or storage most likely. I always give the vendor a chance to make things right before I go and post a negative comment. We know how this affects business owners being the same! I love all my gardening books and use each of them for different reasons. That is my take away. Hope this helps!

I loved this book! I'm getting more and more into edible landscaping and this book was the perfect start. I recommend it to so many people. If you're just getting started in the garden, this book is for you.

All-around good resource for anyone looking to bring a permaculture approach to your home garden and landscape. You can find a lot of the information for free online, but having it all together in a convenient package is great -- especially if you're new to permaculture or even gardening and landscaping generally. My only criticism is that the binding on my copy is a tad shoddy. After only a day of reading I had loose pages. It could be the result of poor quality control in either the manufacturing process or in warehousing, but it's definitely something you would rather not see in a brand new book. Otherwise, it's a good guide for have on hand. The author also provides some references for further reading if you want to dive deeper.

I have about 2000 books about gardening, permaculture, food forrests, soil science, vegetables, fruits, all books from Royal Horticulture S., etc... This book is condensed to cca 300 pages, of course lot if missing, othervise it should be 3000 pages. Lot of practical experience, some theory, easy read and very understandable even for me not native english speaker. Writing style is excellent and fun to read, something about social contacts with neighbours, funny stories, this is one od the best books for beginners with wide overview on a subject, and if you need details you can go to next step or maybe author shall write a new book addition I hope, because like her style.

there are things i wish it covered, but no one book can cover it all. if you need a book to refer to for ideas, and information about permaculture, food landscaping, (food forest to a degree) on a smaller or more suburban environment i recommend this one first.after you get the big picture here you can buy books or hunt up videos on specifics like pruning

While I have quite a few books on my garden bookshelf, the one I reach for the most is "The Suburban Microfarm: Modern Solutions for Busy People" by Amy Stross. I was first drawn to this book because I also garden in the suburbs and was interested in learning how to grow more food for my family - without being totally overwhelmed and without a perfectly flat and sunny yard to grow vegetables in. The advice and information in the book is spot on! She dedicates an entire chapter to growing vegetables, which includes a section about planting the most popular vegetables. The information about each vegetable is short and to the point but covers all the information you need to know, such as being able to plant tomato seedlings as late as 10 weeks after the last frost. You also get access to bonus materials, such as the Seed Starting & Planting Worksheet, and they are really keeping me organized and on track in the vegetable garden!

The book is cheaply bound, pages falling out after a few weeks, but the content is worth it. Lots of great ideas, approaches she's friend, what worked and didn't ... solid, intelligent info that sounds like talking to a trusted gardener friend who values making gardening fun and fruitful rather than perfect or just too difficult for the average person w a job, family, other interests to manage.

This is the absolute BEST book for beginner and intermediate gardeners! It covers everything from soil health, composting, amendments and worm composting, how to grow dozens of different veggies and fruit (even the unusual ones), season extension, gardening planning and organizing your garden tasks, all while beautifying your yard and supporting native wildlife. Its easy to read and find the information I need when I go back to it. This copy was a gift for my sister, I wish I could buy everyone a copy!!! She also has a fantastic website with additional resources. Just get it!

Very well written book with lots of great information. I will be trying many of the ideas outlined in the book next season.

This is a really informative book written with experience and encouragement. Certainly has inspired me and there are some useful tools included through references to a really entertaining and useful website. Ok it is American and therefore some of it has to be adjusted for UK conditions, but it helps get you up the earning curve.

Un livre extrêmement complet et concret qui incorpore de manière abordable mais juste les principes de la permaculture et aborde tout ce dont j'avais besoin pour concevoir et organiser une production de fruits, légumes et champignons dans mon jardin : du choix des espèces à planter, à la définition des zones de culture en passant par la planification des cultures tout au long de l'année, des conseils de semis, de plantation (y compris sous châssis et tunnel) d'échelonnement des récoltes, de gestion de l'eau de pluie y compris les Swales et jardins de pluie, d'apports de compléments naturels et de plantes compagnes, la culture sur terrain en pente, la conservation des produits, la commercialisation des récoltes. Honnêtement, je ne sais pas ce qui n'est pas décrit ici, et toujours de manière claire, détaillée, illustrée, concrète. Je ne m'attendais pas à y trouver tant d'idées et de connaissances utiles et je suis enchantée de cette découverte. Je pense que si je ne devais garder qu'un ou deux livres de jardinage celui-ci serait le n° un sans difficulté.

I wish I had bought the paper version now, as the online layout doesn't do the illustrations justice, but all in all, I am very pleased with it!

This is a very basic book for beginners, I’m sure absolute beginners would find it useful. As a more experienced gardener trying to leverage even more from my small garden, I got nothing new from this book, disappointing!