GardenDesk

The Joy of Hobby Farming - A Book Review

I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy of The Joy of Hobby Farming, by Michael and Audrey Levatino, and have been reading it for about a month now. I didn't mean for it to take me that long, but this book is so full of facts and tips that I wasn't able to skim over any of it.
It's all good reading.

I guess I should start with describing what this book is all about. Hobby Farming as described by the Levatinos is enjoying the bounty of your land without making economic demands on it or on yourself. It is farming your land because you love it, regardless of how much money you make from it. This really resonates with me because I know so many full time farmers who use toxic chemicals to give them bigger crop yields. They agree with me that organic is better, but have such economic demands that they feel they have no choice.

The Levatinos put no such demands on themselves. Instead they believe in striving for natural, organic self-sustainability. They do make money from their farming efforts, but Michael Levtino also works a "regular job". I think that is why this book is so refreshing. The Levatinos show that it is possible to grow food, raise animals, and ENJOY a partially sustainable life.

The amount of "how-to" information in this book is amazing but not overwhelming. This book really makes me believe that I could be doing so much more than I already am to help the environment and be more self sustainable.

Since I don't know much about raising animals, I really liked how they teach basic animal care in an easy to understand way. They cover everything from possible animals to raise and where to find the animals you want to proper shelter, food and first-aid for those animals. They cover small animals like chickens and bees, as well as large ones like Donkeys, llamas, alpacas, and even horses. I currently don't have room for those large animals, but I think they heave me convinced that I should at least be raising bees.

As an avid gardener, my favorite section in The Joy of Hobby Farming is titled Growing Things. This book provides great tips on where and how to garden, best practices for popular crops, flower gardening and even how to extend your growing season with cold frames and hoop houses (always favorites of mine).

The back of the book covers running your farm as a business. They share things not readily available in most farming books. Things like how to establish a good brand for you farm, and tips about sales and taxes.

The Levatinos farm on 23 acres in Virginia. There are many things in this book that I could apply even with my 1/2 acre "farm". I have to admit however that this book almost had me thinking about looking for a larger place. If you are looking for a possible farm then this book is for you. Possibly the biggest strength of the book is the first section: The Search for a Farm. They cover everything you should be considering if looking for a farm; things like wells and springs, septic systems, heating options, farm safety, fencing and gates, outbuildings, ponds, firewood and much more.

Like I said before, The Joy of Hobby Farming is packed with tips and information about farming from people who are making it happen on their farm. The Joy of Hobby Farming will be going to my "top shelf" as I'm sure I will be referring to it again and again.

Gnomes Deluxe Collector's Edition - Book Review

When I was asked to review an advance copy of the Gnomes Deluxe Collector's Edition book, I almost said no because I typically only review gardening books. But then I thought about the Garden Gnome statue craze that I never really understood and decided to take a look at the book. Well now I do understand why gardeners are enamored with gnomes.

Gnomes Deluxe Collector's Edition, by Will Hugen and Rien Poortvilet is a new update of their 35-year-old classic Gnomes book.

I never got the opportunity to read the original book, but it was a New York Times bestseller and has sold over a million copies. I'm pretty sure that book was why people love gnomes and want to have statues of them in and around their gardens.

Now people like me who didn't see that first book can learn about gnomes with this new deluxe collector's edition. I love the way Huygen writes about gnomes in this book. I thought this would be a collection of fiction stories, but instead, I was treated to scientific observations of gnomes described from actual gnome encounters in Holland. It reads more like a zoology book but is still fun and light. This book is best described as a celebration of the wonderful creatures called gnomes.
In it, Huygen discusses and describes all areas of gnome culture: architecture, education, courtship, medicine, industry, and even relationships with other mythical creatures.

Rien Poortvliet joins in with beautiful illustrations of the gnomes and their environment. These full color pictures really enhance Huygen's descriptions. I'm sure these beautiful illustrations had a lot to do with the original book's enormous success.

Part of what makes this book a Collector's Edition is that included in the back cover pocket is eight frameable prints of illustrations from the book.

One of them is even the recognizable illustration from the cover of the first Gnomes book.

After reading this book I now understand other gardener's fascination with gnomes. I'm still not sure if you will find gnome statues in my garden, but you can bet when I'm outside, I'll be more on the lookout for any movement in the underbrush. According to the gnome population by geographic location map in the book, there are a few gnomes in North America. Maybe, just maybe some will take a liking to our garden and move in nearby.

I really enjoyed Gnomes Deluxe Collector's Edition and would recommend it as well. Published by Abrams books, it is a fun read and a pretty interesting coffee table book.

After reading this book Huygen says you will be ready to "seek contact with gnome-life anywhere on the globe. Knock at any door, and sooner or later it will be opened for you, assuming you keep the door of your heart open. Good luck, don't become disheartened, and never give up!"

Sounds like good advice for seeking gnomes, gardening, or even for life itself.

Keep Growing!

-Marc