Five Acres and Independence: A Practical Guide to the Selection and Management of the Small Farm

2015 Reprint of 1940 Edition Revised and Enlarged Edition. Full Facsimile of the original edition. Not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Everyone who has ever dreamed of getting back to the soil will benefit from Kains’ practical and straightforward discussions on what small-scale farming entails. Several generations have benefited from his practical advise and have come away with specific projects to begin or moved closer to the fulfillment of their dreams of independence on a small farm. The book will help you learn to evaluate land for both its total economic value and its specific agricultural possibilities. There are specific methods for calculating costs of permanent improvements – draining the land, improving soil, planting wind breaks, putting in septic tanks, cellars, irrigation systems, greenhouses, etc. – and methods for carrying out those improvements. There are suggestions for most crops as well as suggestions for deciding which is most suitable for particular land and overall objectives. There are suggestions for animals for the small-scale farmer – goats, chickens, bees – and means of working them into your overall farm design. And there are suggestions for keeping your small farm in top production condition, methods of continually increasing the value of your farm, methods of marketing your produce and of accurately investing in improvements – virtually everything a small-scale farmer needs to know to make his venture economically sound. This classic work has been reprint dozens of times and remains a tested resource in the establishment and management of small scale farming.