Review: The Nourishing Homestead

They have come to refer to this ethos as “practiculture,” a catch-all term for the farming techniques they use as well as the “belief that cultivating our soil, skills, and spirits on this land and in this community is far more practical than relying on industry for the essentials of our wellbeing.”

The Nourishing Homestead reads as part back-to-the-land missive, part guide to the workings of a full-time family farm, from soil quality to butter production. Every detail of the Hewitts’ farm is recorded – how chores are done and who does them, what each season entails, practices that help provide food for pollinators, raising and nourishing animals, and even the family’s approach to raising children on a farm.

It’s an impressive look at what’s possible with a high level of commitment, and a great unlearning tool. So much farming is done in neat rows, separating and categorizing things by type. The Hewitt family has moved away from this kind of agricultural boundary-setting – hog panels are used to plant peas after animals are moved out in late spring; pigs and meat birds are used to help clear forested areas.

The admirable way the Hewitts live is the result of years of evolution and experimentation. Though Ben Hewitt spends many pages at the start of the book encouraging the reader not to be overwhelmed when thinking about the many tasks and fragile processes going on at once on the farm, it’s easy to be overwhelmed.

“Penny actually went into labor in the lumberyard,” Hewitt writes, “where she had the presence of mind to finish loading the truck and went grocery shopping before driving home to have Fin.” These sorts of examples leave the reader feeling that adopting a similar lifestyle, or even aspects of one, may be impractical, or at least difficult to subscribe to.

Overall, The Nourishing Homestead is a moving read, a great guide to low-impact agricultural practices and an excellent example of a family living true to their principles. The Hewitts live as a reminder that amassing money and goods isn’t the recipe for happiness. We should all remember that, whether we live in a buzzing metropolis or deep within America’s amber waves of grain.