The Good Living Guide to Country Skills: Wisdom for Growing Your Own Food, Raising Animals, Canning and Fermenting, and More

by Abigail Gehring

Overview

Gehring’s books on country living have sold more than 500,000 copies. In this book, Gehring offers a guide to country living skills that is as charming as it is practical. Full of sweet illustrations and gorgeous photographs, step-by-step instructions for essential skills such as building a chicken coop are interspersed with country lore and old-fashioned tips and tricks.

Readers will learn how to:

Raise chickens
Make candles
Churn butter
Grow vegetables
Make jams and jellies
Dry herbs
Ferment vegetables
Make cheese
And more!

Good Living Guide to Country Skills combines the know-how of Back to Basics with the charm of The Farmer’s Almanac. Packaged in an attractive hardcover format and with a price that’s hard to beat, this is the perfect gift for anyone interested in a more self-sufficient, greener, country lifestyle.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781680991222
Publisher:	Skyhorse Publishing
Publication date:	07/12/2016
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	477,135
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Abigail R. Gehring is the author or editor of more than a dozen books including Back to Basics, Homesteading, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Living, and Classic Candy. She enjoys writing, gardening, experimenting in the kitchen, and spending time with family. She lives with her husband and two children in an 1800s farmstead they are restoring in Marlboro, Vermont.

Table of Contents

Part I Growing Things 9

Choosing a Site for Your Garden 11

Companion Planting 15

Improving Your Soil 19

Growing Vegetables and Herbs 27

Container Gardening 33

Raised Beds 37

Insects and Mites 40

Plant Diseases 46

Harvesting Your Garden 48

Part II Raising Animals 57

Keeping Chickens 58

Keeping Bees 62

Keeping Goats 69

Keeping Dairy Cows 77

Keeping Pigs 81

Part III Food from Scratch 87

Canning 89

Homemade Butter, Cheese, and Ice Cream 115

Fermenting 135

Grinding, Sprouting, and Fermenting Grains 141

Part IV Natural Cleaners and Bath Products 147

Bath Salts and Cosmetics 149

Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body Cleansers 155

Household Cleansers and Detergents 160

Index 169