The Joy of Hobby Farming: Grow Food, Raise Animals, and Enjoy a Sustainable Life

by Michael Levatino, Audrey Levatino

Overview

When the farm is a lifestyle, not just a way to earn a living, that’s hobby farming. Most of us want to live a sustainable life in which we protect the land and keep it safe from development and overproduction. But we can take this a step further by learning how to grow and savor what we can produce ourselves—while still maintaining an alternative career to fund this passion. Michael and Audrey Levatino here share how to:

     • Grow your own food.
     • Raise chickens, horses, llamas, bees, and more.
     • Practice being (a little) off the grid.
     • Sell the bounty in your local community.
     • Balance a professional career with a rural lifestyle.

The Joy of Hobby Farming is a book that will excite armchair farmers and inspire any do-it-yourselfer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626367814
Publisher:	Skyhorse Publishing
Publication date:	04/01/2011
Series:	Joy of Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	246,810
File size:	52 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Michael Levatino works off the farm at a major publishing house. His twenty-three-acre farm, Ted’s Last Stand, is located outside of Gordonsville, Virginia.

Audrey Levatino has hobby farming for almost fifteen years, producing and selling flowers, vegetables, honey, eggs, and hand-made jewelry and crafts at several local farmer’s markets. She and her husband, Michael, tend their crops and animals on their twenty-three-acre farm, Ted’s Last Stand, located outside of Gordonsville, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Preface x

1 Place

1 Introduction 3

Why Hobby Farming?

Slowly Farming

2 The Search for a Farm 9

Renting or Leasing

Location

Realtors and Other Resources

How to Look

Finding the Silver Lining

Evaluating a Farm's Water Profile

Zoning, Property Rights, and Easements

Taxes

Insurance

3 Your Farm 19

Where to Get Information

Wells, Springs, and Cisterns

Septic System

Generators

Heating with Stoves

Farm Safety

Guns and Hunting

Farm Equipment and Tools

Fencing

Gates and Cattle Guards

Outbuildings and Barns

Firewood

Ponds

2 Growing Things

4 Where and How to Garden 65

Garden/Farm Journals and Record Keeping

Our Gardening Philosophy

Soil Tests

Garden Placement

Garden Layout

Bed Preparation

Compost

Cover Crops

Weed Control and Soil Building

Pest and Disease Control

5 The Food Garden 85

Popular Crops and Best Practices

Crop Rotation

Growing Berries

Growing Mushrooms

6 The Flower Garden 107

Growing Flowers for a Cutting Garden

Planning and Constructing the Cutting Garden

How to Choose the Right Blooms for Your Farm

Elements of a Cutting Garden

7 Extending Your Growing Season 123

Growing for the Selling Season

Cold Frames

Row Covers

Hoop Houses and Greenhouses

3 The Care of Living Creatures

8 General Animal Care Basics 131

Our Philosophy of Raising Animals

Animal Care Basics

Where to Find Animals

What Do All Animals Need?

Preparing for Animals

9 Small Creatures for the Hobby Farm 141

Chickens

Honeybees

Dogs and Cats

10 Large Grazing Animals 169

Handling Large Animals

Shelter

Food

First-Aid

Dealing with Death

Donkeys

Llamas and Alpacas

Longhorn and Grass-fed Beef Cattle

Horses

4 Running Your Farm as a Business

11 Bringing it All Together 201

Bartering and the Farm Community

The Importance of Hobby Farming Businesses

Starting a Farm Business

12 The Farmer's Market and Other Sales Opportunities 209

What Will You Sell?

Market Management

Fees, Payment, and Sales Taxes

Establishing Your Farm Brand

Setup and Location

Selling to Retail Markets and Restaurants

Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs)

Websites and Social Media

Afterword 224

Resources 231

Bibliography 233

Acknowledgements 237

Index 239

Editorial Reviews

The Joy of Hobby Farming will guide you toward self-sufficiency and restore your faith in your own two hands, if you’d just start digging.”

Ferenc Maté

As the title of the book suggests, this is not a guide for those who want to become full-time, year-round farmers. It’s for those who want the ground they live on to nourish their bodies as well as their spirit.

The Daily Progress

Friends, check out this dope lifestyle book authored by one of our BaduWorld family members! An easy manual to healthy living... please spread the word. peace and light.

Erykah Badu

Detailed but never excessively so, and richly illustrated with color photos, the Levatinos' book is a useful manual for would-be hobby farmers and a world of entertainment for readers with a passion for going green or simply with fond recollections of farm life.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

…in this book, they provide tips for everything from growing your own food to choosing the right blooms for your garden to running your farm as a business for additional revenue.

North Jersey Record

“The Joy of Hobby Farming will guide you toward self-sufficiency and restore your faith in your own two hands, if you’d just start digging.” (Ferenc Maté, author of A Vineyard in Tuscany and A Real Life)

“As the title of the book suggests, this is not a guide for those who want to become full-time, year-round farmers. It’s for those who want the ground they live on to nourish their bodies as well as their spirit.” (The Daily Progress)

“Detailed but never excessively so, and richly illustrated with color photos, the Levatinos' book is a useful manual for would-be hobby farmers and a world of entertainment for readers with a passion for going green or simply with fond recollections of farm life.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

“…in this book, they provide tips for everything from growing your own food to choosing the right blooms for your garden to running your farm as a business for additional revenue.” (North Jersey Record)

From the Publisher