If you are looking for real information on homesteading, this is NOT the book. At best the information is very general and almost worthless.
The author has information on buying food from CSAs, Co-ops,and farmers markets. How about more info on growing your own food. There's nothing on raising beef or pork.
In the section on dairy goats, she speaks about the breed La Mancha, yet the photo is NOT a LaMancha. The goat in the photo has ears, La Manchas don't have ears. Also although goats will eat some grass, they are poor grazers.
In the section of llamas there is a least one photo of alpacas.
In the sheep section, the author tells the reader to milk a sheep you must pull the sheep up to the fence so it can't get away, then she has you milking the animal from the front. What? I have all these animals, plus more.That's not even close to how milking is done.
I don't need a homesteading book to tell me how to hang wallpaper, or how to use Feng Shui to decorate my home.
The photos used for growing in a greenhouse are greenhouses that none of us can afford to buy. The same with the chapter on energy and the photos for solar panels and wind turbines.
Where's the info on building with recycled material?
This is a book for yuppies with lots of money who want to play "homestead."
This author does not know what she is writing about. There are many more worthwhile books out there. Homesteading: A Back to Basics Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More (Back to Basics Guides)
Growing up in the country, many of the aspects touched on in "Homesteading" were reminders of how I was raised. Yet, even though I had participated in many of the activities presented here (gardening, canning/freezing, raising animals, crafting), there were so many items and suggestions I had yet to discover! The step by step directions on how to make your own paper, or yogurt and butter, or the various natural herbal remedies discussed in "Homesteading" were great surprises for me. There are multitudes of magnificently bright, eye-catching pictures, and the text is easy to read. All of the directions for the various projects are very user friendly, with "quick tip boxes" throughout. Anyone new to simple, back to basics living will certainly benefit from this book, and if you're like me, this book might just be a bright reminder of days gone past - and days you'll want to enjoy again!
I purchased this book thinking it would be a "compendium" on the topics involved in homesteading. Instead it is an overview or introduction to many topics. I like the fact that there is much to learn from this book, and it covers many, many topics, but few of them in depth. Worth buying if you are interested in the subject of self sufficiency, but it will make you want to get more books and materials to fill the gaps left by this book. For the price I'd buy it again.
Homesteading is extremely relevant, as we pursue our efforts to adopt a more "green" lifestyle on a worldwide scale. The reader will find a host of useful ideas in this book, ranging from growing your own food, canning fruits and vegetables, smoking meats, designing and erecting wind turbines, the art of keeping bees, constructing poultry houses and even solar and thermal heating systems. Photographs and designs will spark the reader's imagination and, hopefully, lead to a better and cleaner Earth for us all.
I bought this book expecting much more in-depth information on the subjects of gardening and animals. But that being said, it is still a good resource for where to find more information. It had enough information for one to decide if they were interested in the subject such as: greywater, bookbinding, beekeeping, and different animals.
A great companion book to Back to Basics.
This is a wonderful book that I highly recommend to anyone who wants to get started with their own homestead. Not only is the book attractive with great pics but also has great info that I will refer to over and over, all the way from growing and raising your own food to energy and more.
A "must have" book for those that are serious about such topics as the keeping of backyard chickens, gardening, and learning how to make use of a city backyard in a sustainable way, as our ancestors did.
Great also for teaching young adults some important life skills that are often overlooked...and a great way to teach yourself a new skill as well. We have proudly added this one to our book shelves and highly recommend it to others.
(Reviewed by the authors of "Small Town Living" an online e-zine geared towards the simpler life. [...]
The first section of this book covers gardening, focusing not just on vegetables but on ornamentals, too. You'll find details on choosing the best location for a garden, testing and amending your soil, companion planting (what plants may grow best next to each other), making compost, irrigation (including how to make your own rain barrel - although the author neglects to mention that some cities and counties do not allow citizens to collect rain water), planting and caring for trees (a section oddly absent of information on fruit and nut trees), growing in containers, and rooftop gardens. There are even sections on growing plants without soil, attracting beneficial insects to your garden, and starting community and school garden. Beginners may find the wealth of information here a bit overwhelming, but it's nice to know you have all the details you'll need to start your own garden all in one location.
The next section covers the pantry, with information on choosing locally grown food, joining or starting a co-op, and a pretty extensive section on canning (including many recipes). There's a shorter section on drying and freezing, which includes a simple design for making a food dryer that hangs over a wood stove, plus a few pages on edible wild plants. This last section, while interesting and accompanied by photographs of each plant, isn't detailed enough, in my opinion. I don't feel the author stresses identifying safe and unsafe wild plants well enough.
The author also offers great information on making your own butter (in a jar), yogurt, ice cream (in a coffee can), beer, wine, and cheese. There are even basic instructions for making a cheese press for hard cheeses.
The next section is titled "The Backyard Farm" and includes many basics about the time, resources, and energy required to raise animals like chickens, ducks, turkeys, bees, goats, and llamas. The author also offers additional info on such things as building a beehive and milking a goat.
This is followed by a section on structures, which offers general information on building fences and gates, dog kennels, birdhouses, stables, hen- and duck houses, foot bridges, sheds, smokehouses, root callers, tree houses, trellises, and weather vanes. At least a little experience working with wood is best before delving into this chapter.
There's also a chapter on alternative energy. Unfortunately, for most folks the ideas here are either too spendy or will provide only a small amount of energy - but even supplementing your standard energy can be a boon. Topics covered include solar power, wind energy, hydropower, and geothermal power. There's also information on composting toilets (ideal for locations where it's impractical or expensive to put in sewer lines) and using grey water. (Again, be careful. Although the author doesn't note it, in many parts of the country it's illegal or requires a permit to use grey water.)
There's also a mish mash of crafts included in this book - some practical (like candle and soap making) and others not (like making potpourri and jewelry). You can learn a bit about pottery, knitting, making paper and bookbinding, trying knots, making kites, and basket weaving, too.
The final sections of the book give the very basics of herbal remedies, listing common plants, what ailments they are sometimes used to treat (exactly how to use and dose the herbs is rarely included), preparing for natural disasters, first aid, stenciling, making your own wall paper, and more.
There are certainly some sections of this book I will never refer to (for example, Feng shui and living in communes). And there are some that, to my way of thinking, stretch the meaning of homesteading, especially as applied to the backyard. However, the sections on raising and caring for animals are more complete than other homesteading books, the canning information is thorough, and there are also great how-to details on gardening, co-ops, and many odds and ends of sustainable living. If you're interested in being more self sufficient, this book will be a good addition to your bookshelf. - Homesteading - Country Life - Back To Basics - Country Skills'
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