Five Acres and Independence

by Kains, Maurice G.

• ISBN13: 9780486209746
• ISBN10: 0486209741
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1973-06-01
• Publisher: Dover Publications

Summary

This classic of the back-to-the-land movement is packed with solid, timeless information. Written by a renowned horticulturist, it has taught generations how to make their land self-sufficient, with explanations of organic farming techniques and reliable advice on other topics, including irrigation, livestock, crops, greenhouses, fertilizers, much more. 95 figures.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
A word about the author, his practical experience, and qualifications suggest reliability of the text
City vs. Country Life	p. 4
Advantages and disadvantages
City vicissitudes
Dependence upon "income" to supply "outgo"
Country stability, productivity
Dependence upon "outgo" to supply "income"
Self-supporting
Occupancy of home in country vs. tenancy of "flat" in city
Health, wealth, happiness in country home
Tried and True Ways to Fail	p. 7
Too little capital
Unfavorable location
Uncongenial soil
Too large area
Inefficient soil preparation and tillage
Lack of feeding
Big-headedness
Inexperience
City hours
Laziness
Too many pets and guests
Who Is Likely to Succeed?	p. 11
Thinker and worker
Owner on the spot
Absentee direction
Book farming
Observation as a teacher
Hired help
Figures Don't Lie	p. 15
Striking figures from U. S. Census and Department of Agriculture reports
Supply and demand
Relation to and contrast with individual owner's problems on productive land
The Farm to Choose	p. 18
Soil survey maps
Character of soil
Nature of plant growth already on the land
Depth, drainage, slope, freedom from stones, previous crops and yields, neighborhood crops and yields
Where to Locate	p. 22
Good roads
Their up-keep
Snow removal
Site with respect to roadside sales
Distance from market
Schools, churches, electric current, buses, stores, doctors, etc.
Lay and Lay-out of Land	p. 27
Elevation
Aspect
Frostiness
Impediments such as fences
Boulders, stone walls
Fields--sizes and shapes
Roadways, lanes and paths
Arrangement of buildings
Wind-breaks, Pro and Con	p. 30
Importance
Types
Influence on crops, animals and residence
Workability in their shelter
Good and bad kinds
Saving of fuel
Production of fuel
Essential Factors of Production	p. 37
Good seed
Good breed of animal
Variety
"Strain"
Abundant water and available plant food in the soil
Rational tillage
Ample space between plants and for animals
Renting vs. Buying	p. 47
Advantages and disadvantages of each
Various ways to manage depend upon each
Renting with option of buying
Buying a small place but working large rented area
Capital	p. 52
Investment and working money
Cost of land
Rent of property
Insurance
Equipment
Nursery stock and other plants
Animals
Labor
Time needed to get returns
Farm Finance	p. 56
Importance of credit
Origin of capital
How secured
Borrowing for production
Usury
Fundamental rules for borrowing
Character of borrower and business ability
Annual inventory and budget
Bank cashier as adviser and confidant
Safety deposit boxes
Farm Accounts	p. 63
Planning for production
Knowledge of market, and the truth about one's business
Records of crops and animals individually and of the farm as a whole
Account books
Water Supply	p. 66
Rain water and cisterns
Filter cisterns
Cistern capacities
Cistern cleaning and purification
Springs
Gravity piping
Pneumatic pressure systems
Hydraulic rams
Sewage Disposal	p. 75
Primitive methods
Cess pools
Septic tanks
Tank construction
Personal experience
Functions of Water	p. 82
Necessity in plant and animal growth
Quantity needed by plants
Types of water in soil
Conservation by tillage and mulching
Drainage	p. 88
Importance
Methods
Instances to prove their value
Irrigation	p. 96
Methods
Types of apparatus
Assurance of adequate water
Success in spite of drouth
Use to supply fertilizer and certain kinds of spraying
Frost Damage Prevention	p. 105
What frost is
How it affects plants
Plant resistance to damage
Hardy and tender plants
Preventing fall of temperature to or below danger point
Forecasting local frosts
Methods available
Live Stock	p. 112
Advantages and disadvantages of keeping cow, pig, poultry, rabbits, bees
Desirable and undesirable kinds to have
Poultry	p. 116
Chickens for eggs and meat
Ducks, geese, turkeys, pigeons
Scrubs vs. breeds and strains
Housing, feeding, yarding, range, management
Hatching vs. buying day-old chicks
Brooding
Sanitation
Etc.
Bees	p. 125
Honey the principal interest
Importance in fruit production
Management easy but imperative
Greenhouses	p. 128
Standardized styles preferable to home built
Advantages
Sizes desirable
Avoidance of mistakes
Types of houses
Ventilation
Heating
Greenhouse builders' contracts and propositions
Coldframes and Hotbeds	p. 136
Invaluable to start seedlings
Limitations of each
Types of each
How and where to make them
Hardening-off plants
Electric heating and regulation most desirable
Soils and Their Care	p. 146
Nature's soils injured by man
Reclamation
Types of soils and how to handle them
Humus
How to judge soil values
Soil erosion and its prevention
Manures	p. 154
Stable manure best
Why
Scarcity and cost
Fresh vs. rotted
Dried and pulverized
Amounts to apply
Functions in the soil
Experiences and experiments
Commercial Fertilizers	p. 159
Supplements to manures
Organic and inorganic
Value of each
Cautions in using
Composition
Most important unmixed ones
Functions of each
"Mixed goods"
Home mixing
Determining soil needs
Fertilizer distributors
Concentrated goods
Green Manures and Cover Crops	p. 166
Humus suppliers
Importance
Savers of soluble plant foods
Developers of others
Some gather costly nitrogen
Prevent soil washing, deep freezing and soil heaving
Collect fallen leaves
Aid drainage
Lime	p. 171
Functions in soils: neutralizes acidity, makes conditions favorable to growth of bacteria, improves physical properties of soil
Experimental data
When and how much to apply
Must not be used with manure
Compost	p. 175
Importance in gardening, especially under glass
Ways to make it
Best seasons to start it
Handling for best results
Cropping Systems	p. 177
Rotation--methods dependent upon types of cash crops grown
Good and bad sequences
Double cropping--companion, succession, marker and partnership crops
Examples of each and methods of handling
Soil Surface Management	p. 182
Effects of tillage
When and how to till
Right and wrong implements and ways to use them
Deepening soils to increase water capacity and root range
Trenching methods
Good tools for various purposes
Weeds	p. 196
Their significance and control
Species and size suggest character of soil
Annuals, biennials and perennials
When and how to destroy
Tools	p. 200
Kinds needed dependent upon type of soil and work
Essential and non-essential kinds
Good and poor styles
Storage
Cleanliness
Oiling, sharpening, etc.
Re-Making a Neglected Orchard	p. 206
Importance of competent advice before attempting such work
Many trees not worth reclamation
How to determine useful ones
Tree surgery not desirable from income basis
Personal appraisal methods
Renovation methods
Fruit Tree Pruning	p. 213
Principles
Applications
Methods good and bad
Times to prune
Tree architecture
Building strong trees
Vine and bush training and pruning
Knowledge of flower bud formation and position essential
Grafting Fruit Trees	p. 223
Simple methods
Trees not to graft
Best ones and best branches to use
How to get and keep scions
Time to graft
Grafting waxes
Paraffin
Repair or bridge grafting to save girdled trees
How to Avoid Nursery Stock Losses	p. 232
Buyers, not nurserymen, most often responsible for death of stock
Right and wrong handling
Loose planting
Bearing age trees unsatisfactory
Young stock best to order
Pruning after planting
Treatment of Y-crotch trees
Staking
Label removal
Vegetable Crops to Avoid and to Choose	p. 239
Quick and slow maturing kinds
Staple and fancy kinds
High and low quality varieties
Good vs. poor keepers
Kinds saleable in several ways
Seeds and Seeding	p. 243
Types of seeds
Effect of weight on sprouting and the crop
Seed testing
Age of seed
Seedsman's reputation
"Special stock" seed
Seedsmen's trial grounds
Seed growing, selection
Sowing times
Temperature
Depth
Etc.
Transplanting	p. 253
Stages of development
Pre-watering
Preparation of soils and flats
Lifting, pricking-out, spotting board and dibble
Depth, watering, hardening
Planting in the open
After-care
Plants for Sale	p. 261
Often highly profitable near town of amateur gardeners
General and special stocks and sales
Sales methods
Advertising
Something to Sell Every Day	p. 265
Crops in demand
Crops that "work over well"
Pickles, jams, jellies, juices, syrups, preserves, "canned goods"
Eggs
Chickens
Ducks
Honey
Plants
Flowers
Strawberries	p. 267
Regular season and everbearing kinds
Culture
Systems of training
After fruiting, what?
Companion and succession crops
Quickest fruit to bear
Often highly profitable
Every farm should have them
Grapes	p. 281
Planting
Pruning
Training
Precocious and annual fruiting
Long season of fruiting by successional ripening of varieties and storage
Bush and Cane Fruits	p. 291
Raspberry, blackberry, currant, gooseberry, dewberry, blueberry
Varieties
Culture
Small Farm Fruit Gardens	p. 299
Does the ordinary farm orchard pay?
Investigational experiment
Improved methods of cultivation
Varieties for home use
Sequence of ripening
Lay-out of orchard and small fruits
Selection of Tree Fruits	p. 308
Varieties to choose
Type of trade to work for
General market, roadside sales, personal trade
Successional ripening to hold trade
Filler trees and other fruits
Inter-tilled crops to help pay costs of development
Storage of Fruits and Vegetables	p. 317
Methods, good and bad for various types of crops
Root cellars, pits, storage houses, lofts
Arrangement
Ventilation
Cooling
Heating
Sanitation
Fumigation
Essentials of Spraying and Dusting	p. 330
Spraying, dusting and other methods effective when properly used
Fruit and vegetable insect enemies
Appendices	p. 341
Index	p. 387
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