Backyard Homesteading: A Back-to-Basics Guide to Self-Sufficiency

by David Toht

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607654414
Publisher:	Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date:	12/15/2021
Series:	Gardening
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	533,585
File size:	121 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Dave Toht, a former contractor with decades of hands-on experience, fondly remembers his first house located in the sometimes frigid, sometimes frying Midwest. Built in 1854, it was loaded with opportunities for caulking, glazing, weatherstripping and insulating. He has written or edited more than 6 books on home repair and remodeling.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Planning Your Farmstead 2. Raising Table Vegetables 3. Growing Fruit 4. Raising Chickens 5. Raising Goats 6. Bee Keeping 7. Harvest Home: Preserving, Processing, and Keeping

Editorial Reviews

" from the legal aspects of local regulations, raising chickens, goats, bees, and more, David Toht presents an excellent introductory reference on how to create one's own steady source of fresh food."   James A. Cox Midwest Book Review December 2011

From the Publisher