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I am a beginner in farming. I would like to learn on self sustainable and self reliant farming.

Any advice on best way to start, sites or books that I can look into. I am hoping to learn basic farming from small garden to small live stock.

wax eagle
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otaku
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    Try over at the Sustainable Living SE: http://sustainability.stackexchange.com/ – Meep Feb 06 '14 at 17:19
  • Cross-posted (and closed) on [sustainability.se]: http://sustainability.stackexchange.com/q/2512 – Niall C. Feb 07 '14 at 02:09
  • Anything by Elliot Coleman is great if you're thinking of farming. – hortstu Feb 14 '14 at 04:52
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    This question appears to be off-topic because it is about agriculture, not gardening & landscaping as defined in the [Help Center](http://gardening.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic). – J. Musser Nov 10 '14 at 23:43

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You say you are a beginner at farming - do you have any experience gardening? I really like John Jeavons for sustainability (try How to Grow More Vegetables if you have some experience gardening already or The Sustainable Vegetable Garden if you do not). Jeavons advocates a vegetarian diet, though, so won't help you with small live stock questions at all.

If you are in a temperate climate, Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden would be a great book to read before you start planning out your land. He is a permaculturist, and has great ideas for setting up sustainable systems in your garden and your home.

michelle
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  • No experience in gardening. – otaku Feb 06 '14 at 20:55
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    Then definitely skip "How to Grow More Vegetables" for now. I think it would be too technical and a bit overwhelming. "The Sustainable Vegetable Garden" would be a better place to start. My other advice is to start small. 10 square meters of well-tended garden will outperform 3 times the land tended by an overwhelmed gardener. Lastly, one thing sustainable gardeners and farmers stress is that you need to tend the soil, not the plants. If you are paying attention to building the soil and keeping it healthy, your plants will do well. – michelle Feb 17 '14 at 14:53