Honest Book Review · 2026
I Spent $847 on Groceries One Month. Then I Got Pissed Off.
The book that stopped me from crying in the produce aisle
Get The Book Here →. I'll say that upfront.
So. March 2023. I remember the exact number because I took a photo of the receipt and sent it to my husband with the caption "we're eating ramen forever now." $847.32. For one month. Family of four. And half the vegetables went bad in the drawer because I forgot about them. Again.
That same week, I stood in front of the tomato section at Kroger and almost cried. They were $4.99 a pound. For tomatoes that tasted like wet cardboard. I actually said out loud, "this is insane," and some guy looked at me weird.
I'm telling you this because I want you to know I didn't start growing food because I'm some earthy-crunchy homesteader type. I started because I was angry and broke and tired of feeling stupid every time I threw away slimy lettuce.
Also I should mention: I killed a cactus once. A cactus. So if you're thinking "I can't grow anything," trust me, I was you.
How I Found This Book (And Why I Almost Didn't Buy It)
My neighbor Karen yeah, I know, but her name is actually Karen has this annoying perfect garden. She brought me zucchini bread last summer and I hated her a little bit for it. Not because the bread was bad. Because it was good and I didn't know how to do that.
So I asked her. Like, swallowed my pride and everything. She said "get The Self-Sufficient Backyard by Ron and Johanna Melchiore." I wrote it down on my phone and forgot about it for three weeks.
Then I found it again when I was deleting screenshots of recipes I'd never make. Looked it up. Almost didn't buy it because the sales page looked like every other "transform your life" thing. You know the type. But Karen had never steered me wrong before (except that time she recommended a hairdresser, but we don't talk about that).
Paid the money. Downloaded it. Started reading at 11pm because that's when I make all my best/worst decisions.
What Actually Happened When I Tried This Stuff
First Attempt: I Built a Raised Bed Wrong
The book said "level ground." I thought "close enough." It wasn't. First rain, all the soil washed to one end. Had to shovel it all out and start over. But here's the thing the book had a troubleshooting section that basically said "if your soil washes away, you didn't listen about leveling." Felt called out. Fixed it.
Then I Got Chickens And Regretted It Immediately
Built the coop from pallets like the book showed. Took me four weekends because I kept measuring wrong. Got three hens. Named them stupid names Nugget, Sandwich, Breakfast. Dark humor, whatever.
First week: they escaped. Twice. Pooped on my porch. I texted my husband "we're eating them." He thought I was joking. I wasn't entirely joking.
Month three: they started laying. I cried. Actual tears. Held a warm egg in my hand and felt like I'd accomplished something for the first time in months.
Canning Taught Me I'm Clumsy
Last fall I tried canning tomatoes. Burnt my hand. Got sauce on the ceiling don't ask how, I don't know. Three jars didn't seal right so I had to refrigerate them and use them immediately. But the ones that worked? I made spaghetti in January with sauce from MY garden. Told everyone. They were bored of hearing about it by February.
Stuff Nobody Tells You
Year one, I spent MORE money than I saved. Tools. Soil. The chicken coop materials. Seeds that failed. A "compost bin" that just became a box of smelly garbage until I figured out the ratio thing.
And bugs. So many bugs. I had to google "what are these tiny green demons on my tomatoes" at midnight. Turns out aphids are assholes.
Also, your family will not be impressed at first. My kids complained about "weird eggs" for two weeks. My husband asked if this was "a phase" after he stepped in chicken poop on the deck.
But.
Year two, something shifted. I knew what I was doing. Mostly. Still killed some plants. But I knew WHY they died. That's the difference. The book didn't make me perfect. It made me persistent. Or stubborn. Same thing sometimes.
I'm not special. I literally killed a cactus. If I can keep chickens and grow actual food, the bar is low.
Check Out The Self-Sufficient Backyard →I get a few bucks. Keeps my chickens in feed.
The Money Part (Because That's What I Cared About)
Year two savings: tracked everything because I'm that person now. Cut grocery bill by $180-240/month during growing season. That's real money. That's "maybe we can fix the dishwasher" money.
Chickens cost about $15/month in feed. Give us 18-20 eggs a week. Do the math. We sell extras to neighbors for $4/dozen. Covers the feed. Sometimes.
But honestly? The money stopped being the main point. The main point is I know what's in my food. I know where it came from. When that tomato recall happened last summer? I didn't panic. I went outside.
That feeling I don't know how to price that.
Should You Buy This? I'll Be Real.
Buy this if you’re somewhere around here:
- You’ve never grown anything… and you’re already thinking “I’ll probably kill it anyway”
- You don’t have a big yard… just something small, a balcony, maybe even a window that gets sun
- Grocery shopping has started to annoy you more than it should
- You’re okay failing a few times without quitting immediately
- Chickens sound like a good idea… but also slightly terrifying (yeah, that’s normal)
And don’t get this if you’re like this:
- You want something easy where you read it once and everything just works
- You get frustrated fast and drop things halfway
- You already know your way around gardening or homesteading
My Brutal Rating
| Category | Rating |
|---|---|
| Actually works for idiots like me | ★★★★★ |
| Worth the money | ★★★★★ |
| Small space friendly | ★★★★★ |
| Made me want to quit then kept me going | ★★★★★ |
| For experts who already know everything | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Buy again if I lost it? | ★★★★★ |
What Worked vs. What Annoyed Me
Actually GoodDoesn't make you feel stupid for not knowing stuff
Real pictures, not Instagram fake perfectStep-by-step when you need it
Chickens section saved my sanity
Troubleshooting "when things go wrong" sections
Shows how everything connects (chickens → compost → garden)
Annoying Stuff
Some planting charts too general for my zoneMore pest solutions would help (those aphids man)
No pressure canning (safety thing, but still)
Makes gardens look nicer than mine will ever be
Three years ago I couldn't keep a plant alive. This morning I ate eggs from chickens I raised and tomatoes I grew. Still can't believe it sometimes.
Get The Book →60-day guarantee. If you hate it, refund it. No guilt.
The Uncomfortable Truth
I'm not gonna pretend this fixed my whole life. I still have bad days. I still buy cereal and coffee because I'm not a monster. My garden isn't Instagram pretty there's weeds I haven't pulled and a corner where nothing grows because I planted wrong.
But.
Last Tuesday I walked outside in pajamas, collected eggs, picked a tomato, and made breakfast. Didn't get in my car. Didn't swipe a card. Just... ate food from 20 feet away.
My kid said "these eggs taste funny" and I said "that's what real food tastes like" and he rolled his eyes but ate them. Small wins.
I don't know if this book will do the same for you. Maybe your situation is different. Maybe you have less time, less space, less patience. But I know that three years ago I was desperate and angry and felt helpless about food prices. Now I don't. That's something.
Look. You've read this far.
You already know what you're gonna do.
You'll either keep complaining about grocery prices every single month… or you'll try something.
That's it. Those are the options.
Just Buy It Or Don't
I'm not gonna hard sell you. You're an adult. If you're tired of feeling helpless about food, if you want to try growing something even though you're scared you'll fail, this book helps. It helped me. That's all I can tell you.
Get The Self-Sufficient Backyard →Affiliate link. I get paid. You get a book. Fair trade.
Here's the difference between now and later:
Buy it now = you could be planting your first seeds this weekend.
Buy it later = you'll still be staring at those grocery receipts wondering why everything costs so damn much.
Three months from now, you could have seedlings growing. Or you could still be reading reviews trying to decide.
Your call.
Get It Now → Start This Weekend60-day guarantee. But you won't need it.
Results vary. I failed a lot before anything worked. Your garden will have different problems than mine. This is my story, not a promise you'll have the same one. But I hope you do.