cid's review
4.0
It's always difficult reviewing a crowdfunded book since there's a ton of hype and built up expectations behind it. Nonetheless, this book delivers on what it promised. I could go on about its merits, particularly from a practical point of view, but the key point is simple - If you're looking to get into farming of any kind or just producing some food on your homestead, do pick it up. You won't be disappointed.
What follows are some discussion points for further improvement in hopefully future editions, to make this book even more widely accessible.
While I'm entirely behind the DIY and self publishing flow, this book really should have spent more time with an editor before going to print. I understand the time factor and the push to just get the information out there, but the poor editing makes an already complex and dense tome of knowledge even harder to read. Some key issues:
* Big walls of text with confusing structure (example: a very thorough C:N ratio discussion is placed under Climate Classification, never to be found again - when required for future reference)
* Lack of bullet points or any illustrations to simplify complicated and complex concepts, workflows, infrastructure schematics, designs, etc.
* Dozens of spelling and grammatical errors that disturb the flow of reading
These issues are enhanced by the fact that I assume the majority of people reading this book will not be speaking English as a first language.
I was surprised that a pragmatist such as Richard would get into the Keyline vs. Swale debate, which is running a little stale in land restoration circles. Keyline ploughing requires specialty mechanized equipment, a swale can be made with a shovel. So the question addressed should really be: if a keyline plough is unavailable (due to limited investments), should we swale at all? And the answer might very well be NO, depending on the context. No need to bring Keyline as the catch-all solution, as its unaffordable in many contexts - emphasized by the fact that none of the case study farmers used keyline design on their farms.
Again, these are just points for improvement. Despite these issues, the book is excellent.
Do keep in mind that Ridgedale is a tried and tested successful model for operating a farm in affluent, high waste, high spending-power countries - Scandinavia, Benelux, Austria, Germany, etc. Be sure to do extra thorough market research (as is mentioned in the book) if you're trying to apply this business model to regions with less spending power.
What follows are some discussion points for further improvement in hopefully future editions, to make this book even more widely accessible.
While I'm entirely behind the DIY and self publishing flow, this book really should have spent more time with an editor before going to print. I understand the time factor and the push to just get the information out there, but the poor editing makes an already complex and dense tome of knowledge even harder to read. Some key issues:
* Big walls of text with confusing structure (example: a very thorough C:N ratio discussion is placed under Climate Classification, never to be found again - when required for future reference)
* Lack of bullet points or any illustrations to simplify complicated and complex concepts, workflows, infrastructure schematics, designs, etc.
* Dozens of spelling and grammatical errors that disturb the flow of reading
These issues are enhanced by the fact that I assume the majority of people reading this book will not be speaking English as a first language.
I was surprised that a pragmatist such as Richard would get into the Keyline vs. Swale debate, which is running a little stale in land restoration circles. Keyline ploughing requires specialty mechanized equipment, a swale can be made with a shovel. So the question addressed should really be: if a keyline plough is unavailable (due to limited investments), should we swale at all? And the answer might very well be NO, depending on the context. No need to bring Keyline as the catch-all solution, as its unaffordable in many contexts - emphasized by the fact that none of the case study farmers used keyline design on their farms.
Again, these are just points for improvement. Despite these issues, the book is excellent.
Do keep in mind that Ridgedale is a tried and tested successful model for operating a farm in affluent, high waste, high spending-power countries - Scandinavia, Benelux, Austria, Germany, etc. Be sure to do extra thorough market research (as is mentioned in the book) if you're trying to apply this business model to regions with less spending power.
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