Mission Endure 70: Book Review of The Self-Sufficient Backyard
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I recently purchased a copy of The Self-Sufficient Backyard: For the Independent Homesteader, by Ron and Johanna Melchiore, and publised by Global Brother. I was looking to find a few ways to make my suburban backyard more productive and help us to become more self-sufficient. We have always had a large garden, but we wanted to be able to provide more for ourselves without having to rely on others. We began reading the Self-Sufficient Backyard during the Covid-19 quarantine and it provided us with lots of ideas on how we might do small things that would have large impacts on our lives. These have come in very handy with the current supply chain delays and increased prices we are all experiencing.
Ron and Johanna Melchiore have lived off-grid for over 4 decades in northern Maine, northern Saskatchewan, and most recently in Nova Scotia. They know what they are writing about. Ron and Johanna aren’t too proud to share the many mistakes they have made along with their greatest accomplishments. The book is filled with lots of photos documenting what they describe in the narrative. And, they have a plan that they have used over and over. The book is full of photos and sketches (like the one showing their homestead layout plan on the front cover of the book in the above thumbnail) and even CAD drawings providing you with detailed plans and materials lists. It is very helpful to see where they have had successes and where they have disappointments as they have documented their journey.
The plan starts with site selection, road building, the quest for clean water, and producing their own power. Once the basic needs are met Ron and Johanna continue their plan by planting fruit trees and a large garden. They save their own seeds so they can continue growing year after year and they preserve what they grow, so there is always something to eat in the cupboard, even in he middle of a hard northern winter. They also discuss their method of making honey, raising chickens and their use of composting. They focus on being able to provide your own food all year long.
Most of the lessons they have learned apply to us whether we live 100 miles away from civilization as Ron and Johanna did, live on the edge of the suburbs as I do, or live in the urban core. There are always lessons we can learn to help us make good use of the resources that God gave us. After all, life began in a garden and God has given us the responsibility to be good stewards of the resources He has blessed us with.
I highly recommend this book, and I am happy to have it in my library. I refer to it often whenever I am planning a new project or updating an existing one.