Mini Farming:

For Beginners! – How To Build A Self Sustainable Backyard Mini Farm And Grow Your Own Organic Fruits & Vegetables

Table of Contents

Introduction

Benefits of Organic Gardening

Compost: What it is and Why to do it

Gathering Your Supplies

Planning Your Plot

Recording Your Activities

Converting Lawn to Garden

Watering

Weeding

Feeding

Protecting Plants

Harvesting

Conclusion

Introduction

There is no better way to assure your family has the healthiest food possible, and is also able to save a significant amount on food bills, other than by growing your own organic vegetables, fruits and herbs.

Not only does planting and harvesting your own produce provide nutritious, and safe foods to eat, it lowers your food costs and increases your satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.

Creating a mini farm for yourself or for your entire family goes past harvesting the highest quality foods at lesser expense. It is an exciting activity that even the youngest members of your family can be involved with.

From seed to harvest, watching each plant grow and bear sustenance is a delightful way to spend the warm weather months.

As you follow the steps outlined in the “Mini Farming” guide, you will learn that creating, tending and eventually harvesting your own organic produce is much simpler than what you may have thought it could be.

In fact, you will find suggestions in this book that will save you time as your mini farm grows into a delectable collection of edibles.

The best way to use this guide is to follow the directions in each chapter. There is no need for any type of background experience, and having a “green thumb” is not required either. All that you need is a small plot of land and access to sunshine and rain.

You will learn all about the importance of organic foods and what to do before you plant that first seed. You will also learn how to care for each plant you choose to grow, including how to make sure it produces the most abundant harvest.

Not only that though, you will know how to create your mini-garden in a way that will add beauty to your landscaping.

Within just a few short weeks, you could be sitting down to a meal that was created by your hands. You will have no doubt about how safe the food will be that you are serving to your loved ones, and you will love every delicious bite.

Let’s get started!

Benefits of Organic Gardening

As already mentioned, organic food is more nutritious and delicious than its pesticide filled counterparts. It is also less expensive to grow your own than to have to pay additional at the grocers. That is really just the tip of the iceberg.

Before looking at the other benefits of organic gardening, it must be mentioned that organic means that you refrain from using any type of chemicals on your garden.

That means no pesticides, growth hormones, fertilizers, or toxic artificial additives like flavoring, coloring, preservatives or anything else that is not 100% natural and made from the earth. That includes using organic seeds.

Knowing that organic is 100% natural, you can feel great about eating it and serving it to loved ones. These vegetables, fruits and herbs are significantly higher in nutrients and vitamins your body needs, and even more so when they are served fresh from your mini farm.

In contrast, non-organic produce, because of the pesticides and chemicals they are grown in are said to actually block important nutrients such as Vitamin D. Pesticides are thought to be a partial cause of the obesity epidemic and increases the risk of diseases, up to and including cancer.

When you gain the self-sufficiency of growing your own organic produce, you are actually helping to save the planet. To date, millions of tons of health damaging chemicals, such as pesticides have been used by farmers.

These health destroying chemicals are showing up in the water, in the air, and killing important species such as birds and bees.

Along with eating healthier foods, saving the planet, and increasing your vibrancy and immune system, tending to plants is a relaxing past time. Horticultural therapy is an actually type of therapy that is used to help people improve their physical and emotional health.

This is the best time to get started with your own mini farm. Whether you tend it by yourself or include your entire family, the excitement, pleasure, and calming pastime will bring you a great deal of benefits.

Compost: What it is and Why to do it

Compost is the single most important activity that you can do. This will give your plants the type of soil, protection and nutrition they need in order to grow healthy and offer abundant produce.

It is best to start composting before you even buy your first seed because you will start to use compost immediately and throughout the life of your mini farm. The way composting works is that the materials you add to the compost pile break down and bacteria forms. This bacteria continues to break down and create more bacteria.

The bacteria that is creating from composting will condition your soil making it rich in nutrients for the plants you choose to grow. It will help hold moisture in the soil where your plants need it most and also protect them from some types of disease.

To start composting you can buy a compost bin or create your own with wood and wire fencing. Whatever you choose, you will want a cover for it to lock heat in because that will help the bacteria thrive.

Next, choose a place that is out of the way in your yard as a compost pile does not always offer the best of smells or beauty.

Start with a layer of organic soil and then layer about two to three inches of twigs, dry leaves and shredded newspaper. From that point, you can add many other ingredients to the pile to offer the highest level of nutrition for your plants.

Compost:

-        Table scraps except for meat and dairy products

-        Egg shells

-        Vegetable and fruit trimmings, such as skins or any other part of the plant you did not use in your cooking (Make sure it is organic)

-        Leaves, twigs and other yard waste except for weeds unless they have already gone to seed

-        Clean straw or hay

-        Pine needles

-        Coffee grounds

-        Tea leaves

-        Wood chips

-        Shredded newspaper

-        Seaweed or kelp

-        Cardboard that doesn't have a waxy coating

As you can imagine, composting will cut down significantly on the actual trash that you throw out. Make sure not to compost anything that is coated in chemicals that might corrupt the healthy soil.

For instance, a cardboard box that contained laundry detergent is probably not a good idea. A cereal box on the other hand would be an excellent choice.

As you add items to your compost pile, all you need to do it keep it moist without completely drowning it and then stir it up about once a week. Use the bottom of the compost pile that has rich black bacteria to mix in and around the soil for your mini farm and to use to mulch over and around your plants.

Gathering Your Supplies

Part of the planning stages of creating your mini-farm is to gather essential supplies. If you are on a budget, there is no need to go out and buy everything brand new.

Some community development offices have supplies such as tillers that you can borrow for a small deposit or even for free. Other items can easily be picked up at second hand stores or garage sales to save even more money.

You can also find items around your home that you can re-purpose. For instance, cutting milk cartons in half and poking a few holes on the bottom can work perfectly for growing starter plants.

Also, not all items on the following list are mandatory. For instance, it is up to you whether you plant in planters or directly into the ground. You may or may not choose to create raised gardening beds. With this in mind, make a note of the items you feel you do need and start to collect those.

Mini-Farm Materials:

-        Tiller

-        Composter and compost that you began making from the previous chapter

-        Mulch/compost spreader

-        Old clothes and shoes or boots that you don't mind getting dirty

-        Gardening gloves to protect your hands

-        Sunscreen

-        Kneeling pads that you can strap on or carry with you

-        A trowel

-        Cultivator

-        Garden rake

-        Spade

-        Flat shovel

-        Pitchfork or stirrup hoe

-        Pruning Shears

-        Utility Knife

-        Netting to protect young plants from birds and animals

-        Wheelbarrow

-        Watering can

-        Water hose with spray nozzle

-        Soaker hose

-        A bucket or gardening apron to transport tools

-        Railroad ties, landscaping bricks or other materials if you are going to create raised beds or want to outline your garden

-        Organic topsoil (optional)

-        Starter plants or seeds

-        Seedling planters

-        Small, medium and large outdoor planters if you are you going to use these for plants such as herbs

-        Space in your home or garage to keep equipment organized for easier use

Save purchasing plants and seeds until you have planned the best plants for your mini-farm. You will learn how to do this in an upcoming chapter.

Planning Your Plot

As you are gathering all your mini-farming supplies and continuing to tend to your compost pile, you can plan your plot. This is important because if you do not know how much room you are going to be working with, then you will not be able to plant properly or know how many or what types of plants you can grow.

The traditional plot for farming is a large square or rectangle space that you measure out, then figure at least 12 inches apart for each row for smaller plants such as beans and up to 24 inches apart for larger plants such as corn.

If you have hilly terrain in your yard, or want to plant around structural pieces such as the side of your garage, you might want to add raised beds that go up similar to staircases. Make sure you have room to tend to each raised bed and add as many as you like.

Making raised farming beds are very easy by just stacking railroad ties and lining the sides only with plastic if there is more than one railroad tie. You can also use landscaping bricks.

Once you have them set up, you fill each space with organic dirt and start planting.

Permaculture gardening is the perfect choice if you would like for your mini-farm to add beauty to your landscaping. It is also the best plot type if you have a small yard. For this type of gardening, you can outline different shapes, add borders, use some raised beds if you like and get very creative.

If you choose a permaculture gardening plot, you will plant your vegetables and fruits quite differently than in the traditional rows. Instead you will plant them in and around plants that will increase their growing opportunities such a vegetable in with some wildflowers, berries and herbs.

Or, plant some plants in planters around your yard to mix in with the otherwise natural landscaping.

No matter which type of farming plot you choose, it is best to start small if you have never gardened before. Plan enough space to successfully grow two to four different types of produce. You can always add to that each year as you get used to doing this type of work.

Recording Your Activities

As you begin plotting the space for your mini-farm, this is the perfect time to create your personal mini-farming almanac.

Keeping a record of everything you are doing to grow your farm is important because it will allow you to keep track of what is working, what is not working and help determine whatever adjustments you need to make.

Along with using your almanac to figure out what you are going to plant where, you can also record the dates that you put each plant into the ground or begin your starter seed.

Looking back you can see if you should choose the same date or start a bit earlier or later in the year for better results.

You will also want to make notes about transplanting dates, where you bought your organic seeds and what they cost and if any of them included guarantees. Making notes of how each plant is growing, when it germinates, blooms and goes to seed will be helpful records to look back on.

It will be very helpful to keep track of the harvest of each plant including how much edible leaves, vegetables or fruit it produced. This will tell you if you need to plant more for next year, or cut back in order to have a smaller harvest.

Tracking and recording the weather is another essential part of your record keeping. That is because of what a direct impact the weather has on your harvest. For instance, if you had a drought, or if it was very rainy, that will determine how healthy each plant will be able to produce.

You can also keep track of what you are doing to treat the soil. Remember, since you are growing organic plants, you will never treat them with chemical pesticides or fertilizers. You will treat them with compost though and may use other natural treatment options.

Just about anything about your mini-farm can be added into your almanac including plants you hope to grow in the future, an inventory of your farming tools and anything else that seems relevant. Adding pictures will be a nice touch for your journal as well.

Converting Lawn to Garden

Before now, you have been working hard to prepare for the implementation of your mini-farm, and now it is time to break the soil.

Remember to add the date that you begin to convert your yard into a mini-farm into your farming journal because this will become a special day that you will want to celebrate.

Whether you are creating a traditional farming plot, adding raised beds, designing a permaculture garden, or a mix of all three, you will need to convert the appropriated space of your lawn to your gardening area.

This is the time to put on old clothes, sunscreen and keep your gloves handy.

The first thing you will want to do is use brightly colored non-toxic paint, chalk or some other method to outline the areas in your yard that will be used for your mini-farm. You can then proceed to build up raised beds, add border materials such as bricks or stones, or just start breaking up the soil.

Having a tiller, whether you rent, buy, or borrow from a friend will help make your work in breaking up your lawn and turning the soil much easier. If you do not have access to a tiller though, you can bypass this part of creating your garden.

Instead of breaking up the soil, you can choose to just add a layer of compost, a layer of cardboard and then more compost, for up to six inches of layered farming ground. Thoroughly soak this farming ground and allow to sit for a day before adding plants.

If you have broken up the soil in your yard, make sure to add compost and turn the soil well. Soaking the ground as you work will make your work easier, especially if you have otherwise sandy or dry earth in your yard.

If you have not been able to create enough compost on your own for this work, you can purchase organic compost or organic mulch to get started with. Eventually, you will be able to rely solely on your own compost heap if you are diligent about tending to it.

Choosing Plants

The soil is now ready and waiting for plants to start growing in it! Choosing your plants might seem a bit confusing, but the rule of thumb is to start small, such as with just two to four types of plants.

You can then slowly add to your garden as you get used to the entire growing and harvesting process.

The best plants for you will of course be whatever you find the most delicious, and also what will grow best in your climate. All different types of peppers will do well in any climate.

Other choices include spinach, corn, tomatoes, beans, and a variety of berry types such as strawberries. You will also want to pick some herbs including basil, thyme, lavender, sage or mint.

When you have picked out the two to four plants you will be starting with, the next choice is to either start each plant from seed, or buy young plants that are ready to plant into the soil. Remember to make organic seed and plant choices.

If you are starting your plants from seeds, you will want to start them inside in small planters until they are at least several inches tall. This way the young seedlings will stay protected against storms and have a better chance to survive and thrive.

As mentioned earlier, you can make your own seedling planters out of milk and juice cartons.

If you prefer, you can also buy seedling planters that you can plant directly into your mini-farm without removing the plant if you choose. Whatever you decide upon for your seedling planters, follow the directions on each seed packet to get started.

You will also want to follow directions on each plant you get in regard to how far apart to plant them.

From that point, you can decide how to place each plant into your prepared soil in order to reach the best results, such as planting taller growing plants in the back and small plants and herbs closer
to the front.

Watering

Everyone knows that plants need water, but many new mini-farmer harvesters are not sure how often and how much water their plants really need. If you do not give your plants enough water, they may wilt and die. Yet, if you give them too much, they can become water logged and drown.

The best rule of thumb is to keep seedlings moist at all times, but not overly moist. As plants grow, it will become more important to keep the deeper inches of soil moist. The easiest way to figure this out is to test the soil with your fingers.

For seedlings, the top three inches of soil should stay moist, but not soaked. For plants that are more mature, the top two to three inches of soil should feel drier, with four to six inches deep into the soil feeling moist.

During warm, and especially in hot weather, it is better to water in the morning so plants can get enough moisture before the sun dries up the soil. Whether you need to do this daily or not will depend on how hot and dry your climate is. Again, testing the soil will be able to tell you if it is time to water or not.

How you water is up to you. Using soaker hoses makes it as easy as turning your water spigot on and off in order to make sure plants get the water they need to survive. There are timing devices you can purchase that will turn the water on and off for you if you are on vacation or too busy to do this yourself.

You can also use a watering can or hose with a sprayer attachment to water plants that are in pots or otherwise cannot be reached by a soaker hose.

Weeding

Weeds can become the nightmare of any mini-farmer if they get out of hand. Because you want your plants to grow up organically to offer the best flavor and nutrients, weed killers are not an option.

Fortunately you do not have to spend your entire weekends weeding your mini-farm if you simply take the time to create a weed-free garden in the first place.

Before you plant your first vegetable, fruit or herb, make sure that you do not over till the planting area if you are breaking up the ground. Most weeds will never grow unless the seed is in the first couple of inches of soil and the less you till, the least amount of seeds you will bring to the surface.

As you are placing your plants for harvest, only dig what you need to make enough room for the plant. Then, replace whatever area you dug with the plant and mulch as quickly as possible. This will inhibit seeds from taking over that particular spot.

Make sure you do not leave bare soil in the rows and around each plant in your mini-farming area. Using straw or shredded leaf mulch abundantly will keep weeds from growing in the first place.

For the weeds that do show up, despite your best efforts, pull them up from the root as soon as you notice them. It will help if you do this directly after watering because it is easier to remove plants from moist soil versus dried soil.

Finally, and especially if you are permaculture farming, you can allow some weeds to grow. There are many “weeds” such as wildflowers that will not harm your harvest and will instead add beauty. At the same time, vine like weeds that will overtake the soil and kill your harvest should always be removed.

Feeding

Like any other life form, plants need to eat and what you feed them will make all the difference between a ho-hum harvests to bountiful goodness. To make sure your plants are getting the nutrients they need, cultivating nutrient rich soil is a must. Composting plays a crucial part in this.

While there are organic fertilizers you can purchase to nourish your mini-farm, when you are using the best compost and mulch, you probably do not need to add anything else.

It does help if you are strategic with the types of ingredients you add to both your compost and mulch. Coffee grounds, seaweed, nettles, and comfrey are all known to add a significant boost to nutritional value in compost.

The richer the soil you are working with, the less you have to worry about if your plants are getting enough to eat or not. With that in mind, work to develop the highest quality soil instead of worrying about spraying plants with liquid fertilizers.

Typically, and especially if you are working with sandy or otherwise “dead” soil, you will want to take more time to add compost and even introduce earthworms into your garden because they will do a great deal in helping to build up a high quality buffet for your plants.

Making sure your plants get enough to eat is an important reason to keep your compost pile growing and filled with leftover food scraps and plant clippings. Remember to keep it moist and turn it often.

Protecting Plants

There are three things that you need to protect your plants from and those are extreme weather, consumers and disease. Even the most careful farmer has become a victim to extreme weather, whether it is a deep freeze when the weather was supposed to have been much warmer, high winds or driving rain, sleet or hail.

As far as consumers, other animals, birds and insects can become consumers that will eat your best crops before you have the opportunity to harvest if you are not careful. Some insects will make your plants a breeding ground and will not only eat the plants, but completely destroy them.

Bacteria, viruses and fungi are the top disease causing problems to watch out for. You can help to avoid those by trimming plants and making sure they are well fertilized, get enough sunlight and do not get water logged. In this way, the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” is also applicable to your crops.

Making sure you do not plant your seedlings outside too early will go a long way in protecting your harvest. Plants that are at least three to four inches tall will stand a much better chance in regard to surviving through different weather conditions.

Covering your plants in netting or biodegradable burlap is another way to naturally protect them. This type of cover will allow plants to get plenty of sunlight while also making sure that extreme weather, animals or birds do not interrupt the growing season and steal your harvest before you get to enjoy it.

There are organic sprays and treatments you can purchase if you notice that your plants are being overcome with disease or insects. These can be found locally or online. You may also add insects such as praying mantis or lady bugs to your garden. These insects will leave your plants alone and eat harmful insects.

Harvesting

With careful planning and care, you will soon have an abundant harvest of whatever you chose to plant in your mini-farm. The way you harvest each plant will be an important part of keeping your farm healthy and abundant.

Carefully read the directions of each plant you buy in order to determine the best ways to harvest. For instance, if you are growing Brussel sprouts, you will harvest from the bottom up for the best results, and with carrots, you will harvest when you can see the top of the carrot is about three-quarters of an inch in diameter.

If you find that you have harvested more than you will be able to eat, then that is a great problem to have. You can freeze vegetables and fruits to eat through the winter, or can or jar them and store them in your pantry. Most produce should be blanched before freezing.

Blanching is a process where you trim the produce and boil it for about two minutes. From that point, you can drain it, allow it to cool and then store in freezer safe containers.

Fresh herbs can be dried by hanging them upside–down in your pantry, or set in the oven at a low temperature for 8 to 10 hours.  Along the lines of drying, you can also dehydrate your produce to have on hand for an indeterminate amount of time.

After your first year of farming, you will be better able to adjust the amount of your harvest to best suit your needs by either planting more or less of the desired vegetable, fruit or herb. 

Conclusion

There is simply no greater feeling than being able to serve the most delicious and healthy produce to those you love, especially when it comes straight out of your own back yard.

When you are enjoying the fruits of your labor, you will understand how fulfilling and rewarding all your hard work and effort can be.

With the right planning, you will eventually get to the point where almost all of your produce needs are covered by your garden. When that happens, not only will the health of your family be greatly improved, but your food budget will be improved as well.

Here is a quick list to help you stay on track:

-        Start your compost pile right away. Add to it, keep it moist and turn it or stir it up weekly.

-        As your compost grows, gather your supplies. Borrow from friends, buy secondhand, or rent them in order to save money.

-        While gathering your supplies, plan your planting area and choose whether to use a traditional layout, raised beds, or permaculture garden.

-        Remember to keep track of all of your mini-farming activities in a notebook or online journal. This will come in handy to help make adjustments and improvements each for each new planting season.

-        Convert your lawn to your mini-farming area by blocking off the space you planned and preparing the soil, building borders and/or raised garden beds.

-        Choose the plants that will go in the space you cultivated. Remember to start small with just two to four plants for the first year.

-        Keep your mini-farm watered, but do not allow it to become too soaked.

-        Keeping your plants weed free will help them flourish. You can make this work easier by making sure your planting area is well mulched and avoid over tilling the ground.

-        Rich compost and mulching should be enough to keep your plants fed, or buy an organic fertilizer if you need to boost your efforts.

-        Protect plants from weather, consumers and disease by using netting, burlap and organic treatments or adding helpful insects.

-        Enjoy your harvest.

Best of luck to you and Happy Planting!