The Self-Sufficient Backyard Review
A project-by-project homesteading playbook from a couple who actually lived it off-grid.
✓ Pros
- Written by authors with decades of genuine off-grid homesteading experience, and it shows
- Broad project coverage across gardening, water, energy, and food preservation in one volume
- Practical, do-this-next tone aimed at ordinary yards rather than 40-acre fantasies
- Around $37 is modest for the breadth of ideas if even one project gets built
✗ Cons
- Project depth varies; some entries are build-ready while others are only overviews
- Many projects assume real space, tools, budget, or permits that suburban readers may lack
- Direct-sale funnel with upsells through Digistore24 rather than a bookstore purchase
Using the book
This reads like a long conversation with experienced neighbors who moved off-grid decades ago and kept notes. The format is a wide catalog of backyard projects - garden beds and season extension, rainwater collection, small energy setups, root-cellar-style storage, food preservation - each presented with the Melchiores' practical, lived-in voice. The best way to use it is as a menu and sequencing tool: read broadly, shortlist two or three projects that fit your lot and climate, then go deeper with specialized resources before you buy lumber. Depth varies by entry, which is the book's real limitation; some projects give you enough to start building this weekend, while others sketch the concept and leave the engineering to you. Anything involving water, electricity, or structures also needs a check against local codes before you dig or wire.
The value math
At roughly $37, the book costs less than a single sheet of decent plywood, so the value question is really about follow-through. If it gets you to build even one working system - a productive garden layout, a rain barrel setup, a proper pantry preservation routine - it pays for itself quickly in groceries or avoided contractor visits. If it joins a shelf of aspirational homesteading books, it is $37 of pleasant reading. Be realistic about the hidden costs the book cannot pay for: materials, tools, your weekends, and in some cases permit fees, since projects touching plumbing, electrical, or structures often trigger local requirements. The purchase itself runs through a Digistore24 funnel with upsell offers rather than a bookstore, so expect that experience and decline the add-ons if you only want the core book.
Should you buy it?
Buy it if you own or rent a place with actual outdoor space, you like building things, and you want one broad, credible map of what backyard self-sufficiency can look like, drawn by people who lived the full version of it. It is especially good for the planning stage, when you need to see the whole menu before committing to a direction. Skip it if you live in an apartment, if you already know your one target project and need exhaustive plans for it, or if funnel-style selling with upsells puts you off. Go in expecting uneven depth: treat the thinner chapters as pointers for further research, not blueprints. And before any project involving water lines, wiring, or permanent structures, verify local codes and permit rules - the book is a guide, not a variance.
Best for
Homeowners with a yard and a DIY streak who want a broad menu of self-sufficiency projects rather than a single-topic deep dive.
We have no affiliate relationship with The Self-Sufficient Backyard - this link is the plain vendor site and earns us nothing.
Community discussion
Used The Self-Sufficient Backyard? Share your real experience - help others decide, and read what other users think.