Farm to table takes on new meaning with this comprehensive beginner's guide to creating a backyard homestead. Learn how to convert your yard into a sustainable and self-reliant space that reduces waste and puts food on your plate. Filled with practical advice and straightforward lessons, you'll soon see how feasible it is to keep poultry or can fruit you've grown. Whether you have a tiny plot or a large estate, The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading demonstrates that anyone can start living off their land. This homesteading book offers up indispensable tips and tricks, including: Project action plans—Kick-starting your homesteading journey is a breeze with action plans that help you break down necessary materials, project costs, monthly goals, and more. Seasonal timelines—Knowing what to plant and when is crucial to your success. These precise timelines reveal the ideal schedules for everything from starting seedlings to harvesting honey. Exhaustive instructions—Learn how to build the infrastructure you need with easy-to-follow directions. You'll find yourself constructing raised beds and planting fruit trees in no time. Jump into a more sustainable, affordable, and fulfilling lifestyle with The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading.
The First-Time Homesteader has all the essential information you need to start a homestead in the city, country, or suburbia, including advice on gardening, raising chickens, keeping bees, starting a home dairy, and living more resourcefully.
A simple guide to growing fruits, vegetables, nuts & berries, raising chickens, goats, & bees, and making beer, wine, & cider from your backyard. If you want to take control of the food you eat and the products you use, Backyard Homesteading will help you learn how to do it—even if you live in an urban or suburban house on a typical-size lot. Inside, you’ll discover how to turn a yard into a productive and wholesome “homestead” that allows you to grow your own fruits and vegetables and raise farm animals, including chickens and goats. You’ll also find the laws and regulations of raising livestock in populated areas, as well as ways to use and preserve the bounty your land produces. GETTING STARTED Benefits of pure food Family recreation Local regulations Potential yields and savings RAISING VEGETABLES AND HERBS Garden planning/layout Structures/irrigation Vegetable profiles Planting techniques Composting/healthy soil Seasonal gardening GROWING FRUITS, BERRIES, AND NUTS Planting fruit trees and bushes Fruit profiles Organic pest control Grafting and pruning Harvesting methods RAISING CHICKENS The joy of chickens Collecting eggs Care and feeding tips Other small animals RAISING GOATS Benefits of goat milk Structures/fencing Care and feeding tips Other large animals BEEKEEPING Benefits of beekeeping Care and harvesting Building hives Collecting honey HARVEST HOME Canning/drying/freezing Making beer, wine, cider Making jerky, sausage Making jams, jellies Pickling/salting/smoking Building root cellars
For readers who want to shrink their carbon footprint, save money, and eat homegrown food whenever possible, this large, fully-illustrated guide--and companion to the bestseller "Back to Basics"--provides the basics of living a good, clean life.
The Resilient Farm and Homestead is a manual for developing durable, beautiful, and highly functional human habitat systems fit to handle an age of rapid transition. Ben Falk is a land designer and site developer whose permaculture-research farm has drawn national attention. The site is a terraced paradise on a hillside in Vermont that would otherwise be overlooked by conventional farmers as unworthy farmland. Falk's wide array of fruit trees, rice paddies (relatively unheard of in the Northeast), ducks, nuts, and earth-inspired buildings is a hopeful image for the future of regenerative agriculture and modern homesteading. The book covers nearly every strategy Falk and his team have been testing at the Whole Systems Research Farm over the past decade, as well as experiments from other sites Falk has designed through his off-farm consulting business. The book includes detailed information on earthworks; gravity-fed water systems; species composition; the site-design process; site management; fuelwood hedge production and processing; human health and nutrient-dense production strategies; rapid topsoil formation and remineralization; agroforestry/silvopasture/grazing; ecosystem services, especially regarding flood mitigation; fertility management; human labor and social-systems aspects; tools/equipment/appropriate technology; and much more, complete with gorgeous photography and detailed design drawings. The Resilient Farm and Homestead is more than just a book of tricks and techniques for regenerative site development, but offers actual working results in living within complex farm-ecosystems based on research from the "great thinkers" in permaculture, and presents a viable home-scale model for an intentional food-producing ecosystem in cold climates, and beyond. Inspiring to would-be homesteaders everywhere, but especially for those who find themselves with "unlikely" farming land, Falk is an inspiration in what can be done by imitating natural systems, and making the most of what we have by re-imagining what's possible. A gorgeous case study for the homestead of the future.
Jill Winger, creator of the award-winning blog The Prairie Homestead, introduces her debut The Prairie Homestead Cookbook, including 100+ delicious, wholesome recipes made with fresh ingredients to bring the flavors and spirit of homestead cooking to any kitchen table. With a foreword by bestselling author Joel Salatin The Pioneer Woman Cooks meets 100 Days of Real Food, on the Wyoming prairie. While Jill produces much of her own food on her Wyoming ranch, you don’t have to grow all—or even any—of your own food to cook and eat like a homesteader. Jill teaches people how to make delicious traditional American comfort food recipes with whole ingredients and shows that you don’t have to use obscure items to enjoy this lifestyle. And as a busy mother of three, Jill knows how to make recipes easy and delicious for all ages. "Jill takes you on an insightful and delicious journey of becoming a homesteader. This book is packed with so much easy to follow, practical, hands-on information about steps you can take towards integrating homesteading into your life. It is packed full of exciting and mouth-watering recipes and heartwarming stories of her unique adventure into homesteading. These recipes are ones I know I will be using regularly in my kitchen." - Eve Kilcher These 109 recipes include her family’s favorites, with maple-glazed pork chops, butternut Alfredo pasta, and browned butter skillet corn. Jill also shares 17 bonus recipes for homemade sauces, salt rubs, sour cream, and the like—staples that many people are surprised to learn you can make yourself. Beyond these recipes, The Prairie Homestead Cookbook shares the tools and tips Jill has learned from life on the homestead, like how to churn your own butter, feed a family on a budget, and experience all the fulfilling satisfaction of a DIY lifestyle.
Discover how to start your homesteading journey the right away... and avoid making expensive beginner's mistakes. Are you thinking about moving to a country homestead, but have no idea how to start planning? Do you want to raise your level of self-sufficiency, but live in a small city apartment and don't know how to do it? Just imagine what it would be like if you didn't have to rely on municipal power or water grids (or pay those expensive bills every month). Not to mention the joy and health benefits of growing your own organic food, instead of being forced to buy supermarket food infused with dangerous chemicals and pesticides. Does this sound like a lot of work? You're right. It is. Planning your homestead journey can take weeks, or even months if you're a complete beginner. You would have to read numerous books, research the farthest corners of the Internet, and spend thousands of dollars on consultations. And even after all that planning, there are no guarantees that you wouldn't miss something crucial... something that would make a huge dent in your budget and make you regret starting this blasted thing in the first place. That's how it goes for most first-time homesteaders -- they make mistakes, lose money, learn from the experience, and spend more money to make it right. If you don't want to be one of them, you've come to the right place. You don't have to plan everything yourself. Actually, you don't have to plan anything yourself. We've done it for you. In The Homesteading Encyclopedia, you will discover: A diverse range of different ways to live your homesteading dream, even if you can't afford moving to the country The best US states to live in when homesteading or going off-the-grid A complete guide to utility options for homesteaders, including renewable energy and water sources Exactly how you can avoid making expensive beginner's mistakes when planning your homesteading paradise Different ways to become completely food independent -- even if you don't own a lot of garden space How to deal with medical emergencies when you live in an isolated area Types of homestead properties (and how to choose the right one for yourself) How to become a homesteader on a small budget And much more. No matter your motivation, financial situation, or living arrangements, homesteading is a great option for anyone who wants to gain any level of independence -- whether that's a small taste or complete control of your lifestyle. Even if you live in a city apartment, this book will spark your imagination, and show you how to make the most of what you have to become thoroughly self-sufficient. If you want to discover how to plan your homestead flawlessly, this book is a must-have!
This comprehensive guide to homesteading provides all the information you need to grow and preserve a sustainable harvest of grains and vegetables; raise animals for meat, eggs, and dairy; and keep honey bees for your sweeter days. With easy-to-follow instructions on canning, drying, and pickling, you’ll enjoy your backyard bounty all winter long. Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
The immensely popular blogger behind Little House Living provides a timeless and “heartwarming guide to modern homesteading” (BookPage) that will inspire you to live your life simply and frugally—perfect for fans of The Pioneer Woman and The Hands-On Home. Shortly after getting married, Merissa Alink and her husband found themselves with nothing in their pantry but a package of spaghetti and some breadcrumbs. Their life had seemingly hit rock bottom, and it was only after a touching act of charity that they were able to get back on their feet again. Inspired by this gesture of kindness as well as the beloved Little House on the Prairie books, Merissa was determined to live an entirely made-from-scratch life, and as a result, she rescued her household budget—saving thousands of dollars a year. Now, she reveals the powerful and moving lessons she’s learned after years of homesteading, homemaking, and cooking from scratch. Filled with charm, practical advice, and gorgeous full-color photographs, Merissa shares everything from tips on budgeting to natural, easy-to-make recipes for taco seasoning mix, sunscreen, lemon poppy hand scrub, furniture polish, and much more. Inviting and charming, Little House Living is the epitome of heartland warmth and prairie inspiration.
Gardeners, small farmers, and outdoor living enthusiasts will love this compilation of 76 rustic DIY projects. From plant supports and clotheslines to a chicken coop, a greenhouse, and a root cellar with storage bins, most of the projects are suitable for complete novices, and all use just basic tools and easy-to-find materials. You’ll find techniques to build whatever your outdoor world is missing, with additional tips to live sustainably, happily, and independently. Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead, The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How.
