A consumer report on the Melchiore homesteading guide, its two editions and what retail listings show
New York, NY – September 11, 2026 –
The self sufficient backyard is a homesteading manual by Ron and Johanna Melchiore. The couple say they have lived off the power grid since the late 1970s. DailyProductScan read the seller pages, two store listings and a forum thread on September 11, 2026. The book comes in two editions, digital and print, and both list at $37. The seller pitch sits on the Self-Sufficient Backyard sales page.
The print copy adds $9.99 to ship. Three digital bonus titles come with either edition, and the sellers state a 60-day refund window. Store listings put the paperback at 266 pages. The site terms name Global Brother SRL, and no street address is published.
What the self sufficient backyard book is
The full title on store listings is “The Self-Sufficient Backyard: For the Independent Homesteaders”. Amazon lists it under ISBN 9781732557161. The Mother Earth News store shows a 266-page paperback at $37.00. Members pay $34.99.
That listing is on backorder, with a limit of two copies per order. The Grit magazine store carries the same title at $37.00.
Both stores credit the authors with more than 40 years off grid. Both say the book holds over 100 DIY projects. The sellers call the couple modern pioneers who came out of the back-to-the-land movement. They built three homesteads and now work a quarter-acre plot.
What the book covers
The sales page names sections rather than chapters. They include a low-cost water collection system and the seven herbs the authors keep in a medicinal garden. Others cover a backyard hybrid electricity system, a bio insect control routine, a garden layout the couple call easy on the back, and a plan they call the no-work orchard.
Three digital bonus titles come with the order. They are The Aquaponic Gardener, DIY Projects from the 1900s, and a guide to where free land can still be found in the US. The seller puts a value of $27 on each one.
The site terms name Global Brother SRL as the seller. They give a support email and place any dispute under the courts of Bucharest, Romania. No mailing address or head office city appears on the pages this report read.
What readers say about the self sufficient backyard
Outside feedback is thin. A thread on the permaculture forum permies.com was opened in 2018. It holds a long 2019 write-up from a member posting as echo minarosa, read again in September 2026.
The post called the book a good primer and diary from people doing the work. It valued the record of 40 years across three homesteads. It also picked out the pages on cutting physical work with age.
The same member raised a caution about the publisher and data. Only California residents appeared able to opt out of having their details sold.
Store ratings are small. The Mother Earth News store shows 4.71 out of 5 from seven reviews. The Grit store lists none at all. This report found no Trustpilot page, no Better Business Bureau page and no real Reddit thread for the seller.
The seller pages carry three five-star quotes with full names on them. Those sit on the vendor site, so this report does not treat them as outside reviews. Near-identical sales pages run under several domain names, and their details differ, including the shipping fee and the project count.
Pricing, guarantee and where to buy
As read on September 11, 2026, the digital version is $37 with no shipping charge. The print book is $37 plus $9.99 to ship. There is one price tier and no subscription. The order path runs from the official Self-Sufficient Backyard website.
The sellers state that buyers get 60 full days to work through the material. A full refund can be asked for inside that window. The paperback is also stocked by the Mother Earth News store and the Grit store at the same $37 list price.
Verdict on the self sufficient backyard in 2026
What the self sufficient backyard package holds is clear enough. A buyer gets a 266-page guide, three digital bonus files, and a choice of an instant download or a print copy that costs $9.99 more to ship. The outside record is small. There is one long forum write-up and a seven-review store rating. Shoppers should note the many sales domains and check the refund terms on the page they buy from.
About DailyProductScan
DailyProductScan is an independent consumer publisher at dailyproductscan.com. It runs gift guides and product roundups. Its topics include birthdays, holidays, presents for friends and coworkers, and handmade gift ideas. Posts are credited to a site admin account, and the site lists no founding date.
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