Weekend Homesteader: April


Book Description

Twelve months to self-sufficiency! This fully updated second edition of the popular Weekend Homesteader series includes exciting, short projects that you can use to dip your toes into the vast ocean of homesteading without getting overwhelmed. If you need to fit homesteading into a few hours each weekend and would like to have fun while doing it, these projects will be right up your alley, whether you live on a forty-acre farm, a postage-stamp lawn in suburbia, or a high rise. The April volume includes the following projects: * Find room to homestead * Survey your site * Plan your summer garden * Start a no-till garden with a kill mulch The second edition has been revised and expanded to match the paperback, with extra photos and feedback from weekend homesteaders just like you, plus permaculture-related avenues for the more advanced homesteader to explore.




So You Want to Be a Modern Homesteader?


Book Description

The "look before you leap" guide to the joys and pitfalls of the rural good life. Dreams of self-sufficiency, independence, and tranquility continue to pull in a new generation of modern homesteaders. While growing your own food and being in charge of your life is the source of much satisfaction, there are many challenges to living away from modern conveniences. Written by an experienced modern homesteader who successfully made the leap, So You Want to Be a Modern Homesteader? offers an in-depth examination of what you need to consider before moving "back to the land." Drawing from a deep well of experience, this essential guide covers: Romance versus the reality of rural living Finding the right property Building versus bootstrapping Practical "must-have" skills Earning an income and farming on a budget Creating community Seasonal living Children and schooling Social media, the internet and rural life. Whether you are dreaming of moving to the country for peace and an escape from the daily grind, to provide a different lifestyle for your children, or you're already long-established in the country, this complete and realistic guide is the essential resource to help you achieve success as a modern homesteader.




The Homesteader's Herbal Companion


Book Description

The Homesteader’s Herbal Companion is a beautiful guide for the modern day homesteader. From learning how to incorporate herbs and essential oils around your home, to learning how to enhance your family’s health and well-being, this book is the go-to resource for those wishing to live a more natural homesteading lifestyle. This book takes readers through the basics of herbalism, including the different types of herbs and their uses. It also breaks down how herbs are used in tinctures, salves, essential oils, and infused oils. You’ll learn how to efficiently incorporate herbs into your lifestyle, creating your own herbal remedy cabinet for yourself and for your livestock as well. And through encouragement and evidence-based information, you’ll be confident using herbs, cooking with herbs, and sharing your herbal products with your friends and family. With an array of beautiful photos and easy to read terminology, just about any homesteader, new or seasoned, can learn from The Homesteader’s Herbal Companion, and finally feel comfortable incorporating the many wonderful qualities of herbs around their homes and homesteads.




The Prairie Homestead Cookbook


Book Description

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.




The New Homesteader


Book Description

Ten years ago, Bella and Nick Ivins left the big city behind and relocated to Walnuts Farm. Inspired by the Modern Homesteading movement, they decided to embrace a self-sufficient way of life. 'The New Homesteader' tells the story of their family life on their home farm and provides all the knowledge necessary for anyone thinking of embracing a self-sustaining lifestyle and starting their own homestead or urban farm - or even just tending their own plot to provide a supply of fresh ingredients throughout the year. Starting with the Kitchen Garden, Nick and Bella discuss designing and planning their plot, then move on to choosing and planting fruit and vegetable crops. Next, in The Orchard, they explain how to plant and tend an orchard as well as growing different varieties of soft fruit. The section on Animals covers the topic of livestock, including keeping bees, chickens and other small poultry, and rearing lambs and pigs. And The Garden tackles a range of associated subjects such how to make any additional outside space productive by planting a wildflower meadow, a small woodland, and even a nuttery. The Outbuildings takes a closer look at the places and spaces at the heart of a successful homestead - the barn, the wood yard, the workshop, and the store, where summer produce (such as potatoes, onions and apples) is stored to keep the homestead going during the lean winter months. Finally, in The Farmhouse, Nick and Bella move on to the hub of the homestead, the backdrop for day-to-day farm life. The farmhouse kitchen is the place where produce is canned and preserved, bread is baked, and dairy products are produced. Other sections address decorating with natural finds and homestead housekeeping, including natural cleaning products. Whether you d




The Backyard Homestead


Book Description

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.




Weekend Homesteader: Spring


Book Description

Twelve months to self-sufficiency! This fully updated second edition of the popular Weekend Homesteader series includes exciting, short projects that you can use to dip your toes into the vast ocean of homesteading without getting overwhelmed. If you need to fit homesteading into a few hours each weekend and would like to have fun while doing it, these projects will be right up your alley, whether you live on a forty-acre farm, a postage-stamp lawn in suburbia, or a high rise. The Spring volume includes the following projects: * Plant easy berries * Stock up on dried goods * Prepare for an emergency with backup lighting * Set homesteading goals * Plant a spring garden * Grow edible mushrooms * Attract native bees * Learn to enjoy what you've got * Bonus epilogue: Becoming true weekend homesteaders The second edition has been revised and expanded to match the paperback, with extra photos and feedback from weekend homesteaders just like you, plus permaculture-related avenues for the more advanced homesteader to explore. Dive right in and start your homesteading journey today!




Polyface Designs


Book Description

Polyface Farms in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley is famous for low-cost, bootstrap mobile, multifunctional, environmentally friendly, scalable livestock infrastructure. After years of being asked for shelter blueprints, we have accumulated our signature designs into a comprehensive, easy to follow how-to manual full of tips, tricks, and a half century of the lessons we learned through trial and error.




Backyard Homesteading


Book Description

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




Letters of a Woman Homesteader


Book Description

"Warmly delightful, vigorously affirmative." - The Wall Street Journal. Told with vivid gusto by a young, fiercely determined widow, this towering classic of American frontier life paints a candid portrait of her work, travels, neighbors, and harsh existence on a Wyoming ranch in the early 1900s. Includes 6 original illustrations by N.C. Wyeth.