This book is packed with information that is encouraging and inspiring for gardeners, especially at the beginning of the process. There are so many decisions to make, it can be overwhelming. The author walks the reader through the pros and cons of various styles, and shares what has brought them success in their farming journey. Our purpose and motivation for gardening and farming is important, and will determine the choices we make and prevent burnout. I read the book from beginning to end, but it is definitely one that I will go back to and use as a reference as I establish my own mini-farm for our family.

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

This was such a lovely book. I loved all the tips and tricks Jill gives us to start farming, even if it is in your own back yard. This is a must read for any first-timer as the knowledge she shares is invaluable. I would highly recommend The Tiny but Mighty Farm.

I really enjoyed this book. It is filled with beautiful images that make it a pleasure to read. It is filled with valuable information, especially for someone new to growing gardens. She gives great tips on being organized, planning your garden and succession planting. What a great resource!

Mini backyard farming. Little land to grow fruit, vegetables, and herbs. Raised beds or indoor planting, how to grow your own functional mini farm at home.

The cover and summary made me think this book would be more of a memoir but this book is not that. Jill explains how to set up your own small farm. I appreciated the many tips and tricks shared throughout the book but would have benefitted from more personal stories.

An inspiring yet realistic look at home food growing, Ragan shares her experiences but also asks the reader to reflect on specific questions and ideas around the "home farm" dream. She also shares some good ideas, and the photos of her home farm are delightful.

I’ve been following Jill on YouTube for awhile now and I’ve loved her content. This book was beautiful and I was inspired reading it. I ended up buying the paperback version because it needs to be in my shelf as a beautiful reference book.

Nonfiction | Adult
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I’ve paired this gardening guide with Vegetable Garden Soil Science Made Easy. By comparison, this is an overview guide that will get most new gardeners started, and set a high bar for dreamers. Ragan is a young entrepreneur, a market gardener who has turned her interest in growing food for the family into a successful farm and online business. In this fairly slim volume (200 pages) loaded with gorgeous photos of greenery, food, and what appears to be a happy cadre of helpful children, she guides you through the process of developing a garden that maximizes food production whatever your space, feeding your family while nourishing your soul, and perhaps even making some money. The book is most useful for those starting their first food garden, but more experienced growers will find some helpful tips, and she offers thoughtful advice for those thinking of taking it up a notch, business-wise. The book is organized into seven chapters – Small-Farm Values; What Kind of Farmer and Gardener Do You Want to Be?; Grow With Purpose; Soil: The Health & Longevity of Your Farm; In-Ground, Raised Beds & Indoor Growing: Which Is Right for You?; Growing from Seed; Tools & Efficient Systems to Grow On; How Structures, High Tunnels and Greenhouses Help; and finally, Growing for Community: Turning your Tiny Farm Into a Business. The first two chapters set the stage and explain Ragan’s background and philosophy (a bit Martha Stewart-y, in my opinion); the real meat of the book starts in Chapter 3, where she explains the role of developing a plan so you can achieve your goals and maximize the space you have for a garden, whether that’s your urban lot or a small acreage. I really like her explanations of the purpose and value of everything from crop plans to succession planning, and the importance of understanding soil quality and how to amend it. There is a lot of step by step guidance and advice that will get most new gardeners and farmers started, and helpful them avoid costly mistakes She emphasizes the value of being organized and offers real-life examples of planting records, watering schedules, and more. Ragan devotes a good amount of space offering comparisons of different approaches – tunnels versus greenhouses, as one example – emphasizing there is no wrong choice, but there is likely a best one for each situation. The final chapter offers excellent advice in moving into the sale of your produce, and there is a nice concluding feature of several types of market gardeners. The index is quite good, I’m happy to say, and there is also a section for making your own notes. Overall, I think the book has a lot of value for new gardeners; wanna-be farmers will find it inspiring but it won’t meet their full information needs. My thanks to Cool Springs Press for the digital copy provided temporarily through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this title: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61030574

Great! The pictures are amazing, the tips and tricks are useful and you leave the book feeling more confident in your green thumb abilities. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

I have to admit that I misunderstood what this book was about. Based on the cover and title I thought it was more of a memoir style, and would contain stories about the author’s experiences on her farm. However, this is really a how-to on setting up your own small farm (not really applicable to a home garden).

So much more than I expected
5 stars

As someone who has always aspired to have a beautiful garden and to be able to grow my own crops, this book sounded like something I would really enjoy. While I understand that the author is on YouTube with her farm, I had no knowledge of her until I read this book.

The book is split into 9 chapters, not including the introduction, conclusion, index etc. These are:

Small-Farm Values
What Kind of Farmer and Gardener Do You Want to Be?
Grow With Purpose
Soil: The Health & Longevity of Your Farm
In-Ground, Raised Beds & Indoor Growing: Which is Right for You?
Growing From Seed
Tools & Efficient Systems to Grow On
How Structures, High Tunnels & Greenhouses Help
Growing for Community: Turning Your Tiny Farm into a Business

In the introduction, the author starts by saying ‘hi friend’ - and this is exactly what I felt like while reading this book. Ms Ragan’s writing style was friendly, accessible and very easy to read. Along with that, the book is laid out in a way that you never feel like you’re reading - or about to read - huge chunks of text at a time. There are boxes with text, different colours and different sizes used to break up the text. There are also the most beautiful photos and illustrations dotted throughout the book which are a delight to look at as well as giving you motivation.

I got exactly what I expected with this book. It explained the basics behind setting up, starting and succeeding in backyard gardening and personal farming. There are plenty of tips, tricks, what tools to use, what should work for you and how to decide. There are also some really handy charts, spreadsheets and primers to replicate and use for your own operation. Unsurprisingly, there’s a big focus on business and while Ms Ragan’s farm is located in the United States, I didn’t notice much geographically restricted information.

What I didn’t expect from the book was the strong links to community, family and to self-care. Dotted throughout the book - as well as ingrained within the text itself - are little snippets of ways that you can connect with your community, how growing can help build a bond with your family and, my personal favourites, how to take care of yourself such as gardening for positive mental health, not doing too much too soon or not beating yourself up if things don’t always work out. It was just a nice touch and really elevated the book to something special.

I can see myself returning to this book time and again as I ramp up my veggie growing and perhaps, in the future, take it to the next level. I’m also already recommending the book to friends and family that I think will enjoy it as much as I did. There are some tips, information and advice that seasoned gardeners will already know - but I still think that both experts and beginners will find something useful and inspirational in this book. I would really recommend it and happily give it the full 5 stars.

Tiny, but mighty indeed! The author describes how she, not having grown up on a farm but coming from a family of avid "backyard gardeners", gave her the bug to try making food and growing things in general. Over the course of time she becomes more drawn to gardening and it turns into farming. She meets someone who supports her goal of self a sustaining homesteading, and out of it a business is made. Ragan discusses everything from soil content to structural design and from supplies needed to turn your farm into a business to community engagement to help your business grow, and she does it all while reminding the reader that turning your life into that of a farmer is no small feat. It takes a lot of effort, though you can see by the many images of smiles and fun within the book that she has an amazing time being a farmer.

Loved this informative book about building a farm even with a small space. It is encouraging to those of us who want to do more but are unable to afford a large plot of land. Jill Ragan gives a wonderful and informative look at what it takes, and the tools needed, to build your own farm. She does not gloss over the hard work and what it really takes to get the results you want, she gives an open and honest look at what it requires. There are beautiful pictures throughout the book, I always love to have those for reference on what the author is talking about. Jill gives lists of Pros and Cons for different growing methods with an informative look at what each one entails and what is best for you. She takes us from planning the garden plot to sowing the seeds, to harvesting the produce. I found this book to be very realistic with my own small experience, not a lot of fluff or extras. There is a section towards the end where she highlights a few other farmers that are making it work on a small scale, which is a cool feature. A wonderful book for anyone who is interested in farming or gardening!

Very sweet book! I loved the personal photos, the nice commentary and the formatting/design of the book. This family should get their out Netflix special! Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fascinating!!! I’m so interested in how gardening/farming works in different settings, and as a total beginning this was a really cool and inspiring read.

Fantastic book, with a wealth of information and beautiful layout and illustrations. If you'd like to produce your own vegetables, this book won't stay much on a bookshelf, and it will look good on any table.
The book has a nice personal touch, even though I find the authors' message a little unrealistic. Our food isn't all vegetables, and personal gardening isn't efficient enough for our society. But if you are concerned with food quality, this is a book for you.

This book is beautifully designed and packed full of excellent information for anyone interested in starting a garden or tiny farm. I really appreciated the time spent on how growing your own food through small farms can be an expression of self and a way to enrich your community. My only tiny complaint is that this is geared more towards folks who do have a fairly decent scrap of land to use. The description provided by NetGalley states that this book "teaches you how to turn a typical suburban backyard into a productive mini farm". In my area a "typical" yard is not that large and I would not be able to take advantage of a large portion of this book. There were a few moments dedicated to some space-saving options but I expected them to be a larger portion of the book.