Book Description

Join popular homesteader and founder of Azure Farm, Annette Thurmon, to connect with the earth, animals, and food on a deeper level. With Simple Country Living at your side, learn how to successfully plant a kitchen garden, preserve whatever produce is in season, and replace commercial cleaning products with homemade. Tips, tricks, and family activities will help you reduce waste, save money, and harness new skills. Learn valuable techniques and lessons, chapter by chapter: The Natural- and Nature-Inspired Home: Create family traditions around nature: Enjoy strawberry and apple picking, natural egg dye, salt dough ornament making, and decorating your home with natural elements. Make DIY cleaning sprays, reduce food waste, learn self-sufficient laundry and bathroom tips, and share the bounty with nature-inspired gifts and gatherings. How to Plan Your Garden: Master the essentials for a healthy garden, including soil health, garden layout, raised beds, choosing your seeds, frost dates, crop rotation, companion planting, and compost essentials. What to Grow in Your Garden: Decide what to grow based on your climate and preferences, figure out how much to plant, and garden through the seasons. Go further with home orchards or berry patches, and explore the benefits of natural pest control, greenhouses, and animals in the garden. Preserving You Harvest: Learn everything you need to can, freeze, dehydrate, and save seeds--including plenty of recipes, from salsa to fruit spreads. The Home Kitchen: Embrace garden-to-table eating with seasonal recipes. Learn how to stock a resilient homestead pantry and find a selection of tried-and-true recipes the whole family will love (and love to cook!). Even if you don't have the acres you dream of, the simple country life can be more than a state of mind. Start growing more, cooking more, and living in rhythm with nature.