We Wanted a Farm

In his classic Five Acres and Independence, Maurice G. Kains offered advice about living off the land with privately raised stock and produce. In this engaging and informative memoir, he relates his family's experiences in realizing their long-cherished dream—establishing and maintaining their own small farm.


Kains recounts how they overcame the handicap of unproductive clay soil to develop a relatively small garden that yielded an entire year's supply of vegetables. He describes his reclamation of neglected fruit trees, vines, and blackberry patches; laying out an orchard of 1,000 trees, a vineyard, a commercial vegetable garden, and ornamental plantings; the installation of heating, water, and sewage systems; fighting weeds and bugs; and numerous other challenges. Gardeners, urban homesteaders, those who aspire to life on a small working farm, and other readers will find We Wanted a Farm an outstanding and informative source of expert advice.