CREATING YOUR BACKYARD FARM: HOW TO GROW FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, AND RAISE CHICKENS AND BEES. By Nicki Trench.

# (2010) later reprint. Large square 8vo (196 x 241mm). Pp192. Colour photographs and illustrations throughout. Pictorial paper-covered boards.

# This is a useful general manual for the small smallholder. The emphasis is on the kitchen garden, maybe with the odd animal, without attempting large-scale production. This is the American edition of Nicki Trench's Creating Your Garden Farm. "Did you know? With an area only the size of one tennis court (approximately 1/6 acre), you can grow and rear the following in one year: 2,750 lbs potatoes; 330 lbs sweetcorn; 1,000 lbs strawberries; 1,750 lbs onions; 1,650 lbs salad leaves; 4 hens producing 800 eggs." Chapters include: Planning your kitchen garden; Soil; Composting; Wormeries; Growing in raised beds; Equipment; Growing under cover; Sowing and planting; Growing in containers; Watering; Pests and diseases; Root vegetables; Brassicas; Legumes; Onion family; Pumpkins and squashes; Leaves; Stem and perennial vegetables; Growing fruit; Growing herbs; Wild food; Storing produce; Hen keeping; Beekeeping; Keeping goats; Keeping pigs. A useful book with realistic ambitions.