Contents

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1

PART ONE
Principles to Get Small
1. Leverage Constraint 19
2. Build Just Enough 31
3. Essentialize: The Pareto Principle 47
4. Simplify Fieldwork 61
5. Localize: The Practice of Swadeshi 85

PART TWO
Setting Up a Lean Micro Farm
6. No-Till for Micro Farms: 111
The Deep-Mulch Method
7. Two-Step Bed Flipping: 131
A Method for Increasing Your
Production on a Small Footprint
8. Seven Vital Tools (and a Few Others) 143
9. Less but Better Infrastructure 159
10. Getting Started: A Plan for Selling 191
$20,000 from Your Backyard

Appendix A: Minimalist Growing Tips 231

for Seven More Crops
Appendix B: Recommended Reading 245

Notes 248
Index 253