Featuring over 80 self-contained projects, from growing your own food organically, cooking home-grown produce, keeping selected livestock, and leading a more sustainable lifestyle, this down-to-earth, yet practical guide is the perfect start for someone looking to go “green.” Features more than 80 self-contained projects Offers urban, suburban, and rural projects Concerned by the poor quality of food on offer, Sheherazade Goldsmith started up an organic delicatessen that soon began to specialize in home-cooked food for babies and young children.

    There are some amazing homemade gift ideas that can be made by real-life moms on a real-life budget!In this book you'll find step-by-step instructions for sixty gifts that you can make using easy to find items and you don't have to be an expert crafter to do it!

     Popular food blogger and doyenne of canning, Marisa McClellan, is using small batches and inventive flavors to make preserving easy enough for any novice to tackle. If you grew up eating home-preserved jams and pickles, or even if you're new to putting up, you'll find recipes to savor. Sample any of the 100 seasonal recipes:In the spring: Apricot Jam and Rhubarb SyrupIn the summer: Blueberry Butter and Peach SalsaIn the fall: Dilly Beans and Spicy Pickled CauliflowerIn the winter: Three-Citrus Marmalade and Cranberry KetchupMarisa's confident, practical voice answers questions and quells any fears of accidental canning mistakes, and the book is written for cooks of any skill level. Stories of wild blackberry jam and California Meyer lemon marmalade from McClellan's childhood make for a read as pleasurable as it is delicious; her home-canned food-learned from generations of the original "foodies"-feeds the soul as well as the body.

    End your worries about garden problems with safe, effective solutions from The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control!* Easy-to-use problem-solving encyclopedia covers more than 200 vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs* Complete directions on how, when, and where to use preventive methods, insect traps and barriers, biocontrols, homemade remedies, botanical insecticides, and more* More than 350 color photos for quick identification of insect pests, beneficial insects, and plant diseasesNewly revised with the latest, safest organic controls.A New York Times Best Gardening Book

    Explore the latest methods for cultivation without chemicals, discover the benefits of composting, and learn how to maintain an organic garden year-round. Packed with stunning photography throughout, you'll be see why the organic gardening movement can create beautiful results equal to, and more often superior than, gardening with pesticides.The Rodale Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening is the complete, comprehensive guide to a natural and chemical-free garden. Whether you're an experienced gardener looking to go organic, or a beginner wanting to create a healthy, natural garden, this guide has all the advice you need to turn your garden into thing of natural beauty, safe for kids, pets, and wildlife. The Rodale Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening is your invitation to organic gardening for spectacular, all-natural results.

    Now, at last, there is a book that teaches absolutely everything there is to know about using an electric food dyhydrator to dry foods at home -- and gives more than 100 foolproof recipes for scrumptious snacks and meals made from dried foods.With this extraordinary book, you can learn how to cross junk food and expensive store-bought snacks off your family's shopping list -- and add to your cupboard homemade, preservative-free fruit leathers, candied apricots, beef (and fish) jerkies, "sun" dried tomotoes, corn chips, banana chips, and so much more!Mary Bell gives specific techniques and instructions for preparing every kind of fruit (from apples to watermelon) and vegetable (from asparagus to zucchini). She also provides important shopping tips for buying an electric food dehydrator. The recipes for cooked meals (including mushroom soup, sloppy joes, pesto, and moist banana bread) will make this book a kitchen classic. And recipes for lightweight, filling trail snacks mean that the book will travel, too.Additional chapters explain to how make herb seasonings, granolas, celery powder, cosmetics, dried fruit sugars, potpourri -- and even pet treats!Food drying is an excellent way for gardeners to preserve their produce. It is a great way to make healthful snacks for the kids. It's perfect for the new wave of thrifty consumers who can't bear to spend dollars at health food stores for treats they cold make for pennies themselves. And food drying doesn't use chemicals or preservatives—so it's great for you and for the planet, too!

    Amateur gardeners wondering how to get started and veteran gardeners looking for new ideas will be inspired by Houbein’s practical, often charming, and always optimistic advice. One Magic Square includes:Earth-friendly tips, tricks, and solutions for establishing and maintaining an organic gardenIllustrated, annotated plans for 30 plots with different themes—including perennials and “pick-and-come-again” plants, anti-cancer and anti-oxidant-rich vegetables, and salad, pizza, pasta, and stir-fry ingredientsComprehensive information about every plant in every plotColor photographs of the author’s own garden—plus helpful illustrationsHoubein family recipes for making the most of your bounty—including salad dressings, fruit and vegetable juices, stir-fries, and more.

    John 'Lofty' Wiseman presents real strategies for surviving in any type of situation, from accidents and escape procedures, including chemical and nuclear to successfully adapting to various climates (polar, tropical, desert), to identifying edible plants and creating fire. The book is extremely practical and is illustrated throughout with easy-to-understand line art and diagrams.

    Instead of pills, reach for:Cinnamon Tea to soothe your throat . . . Garlic Hummus to support your immune system . . . Ginger Lemon Tea for cold and flu symptoms . . . Cayenne Salve to relieve sore muscles . . . Cardamom Chocolate Mousse Cake for heart health . . . A glass of Spiced Cold Brew Coffee as a powerful antioxidant . . .Alchemy of Herbs will show you how to transform common ingredients into foods and remedies that heal. What were once everyday flavorings will become your personal kitchen apothecary. While using herbs can often seem complicated or costly, this book offers a way to learn that’s as simple and inexpensive as cooking dinner.With the guidance of herbalist Rosalee de la Forêt, you’ll understand how to match the properties of each plant to your own unique needs, for a truly personalized approach to health for you and your family. In addition to offering dozens of inspiring recipes, Rosalee examines the history and modern-day use of 29 popular herbs, supporting their healing properties with both scientific studies and in-depth research into herbal energetics.   Grow your knowledge of healing herbs and spices and start using nature’s pharmacy to feed, heal, and nurture your whole family!

    Readers will learn about non-toxic methos of controlling mites, breeding strategies, and many other tips and techniques for maintaining healthy hives.

    Maybe traditional soapmaking appeals to you, but you figure that working with lye is too difficult or dangerous. Or maybe you're already doing it, but outmoded ideas and methods are complicating the process and slowing you down. No matter which of these fits you, you'll find -Smart Soapmaking- practical, helpful, and refreshing. Written by a former professional soapmaker, this book explodes the myths about soapmaking and shows you how to make luxurious soap from scratch with the least fuss and bother. With both customary and metric measurements, plus a list of suppliers in five countries, -Smart Soapmaking- is the first truly international book on the craft! ///////////////////////////////////////////////// Anne L. Watson is the first author to have introduced modern techniques of home soapmaking and lotionmaking to book readers. She has made soap under the company name Soap Tree, and before her retirement from professional life, she was a historic preservation architecture consultant. Anne and her husband, Aaron Shepard, live in Friday Harbor, Washington. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// ******RECOMMENDED BY THE HANDCRAFTED SOAP & COSMETIC GUILD****** -Should become THE book for soapmaking. . . . It's about time someone wrote a book like this. Most are idealistic and inaccurate. This book has a wonderful common sense approach that is SO long overdue. . . . I can recommend it with 100% confidence.- -- Susan Kennedy, Oregon Trail Soaps, Rogue River, Oregon -Smart it is . . . . A simple, no-nonsense book that cuts through the curmudgery of stifling soap bibles like no other.- -- Shellie Humphries, Harstine Island, Washington -Way overdue. . . . A gift of common sense caution, proven methods, tried-and-true shortcuts, and some excellent recipes as well, for both the professional/experienced soapmaker and the eager beginner.- -- Deb Petersen, Shepherd's Soap Co., Shelton, Washington -A great book for beginners, with clear and easy instructions.- -- Anne-Marie Faiola, Bramble Berry Inc., Bellingham, Washington -I learned more from Smart Soapmaking than from any other soaping book, and I have read quite a few. . . . It's written with the average person in mind, not a chemistry major. Directions are very simple and easy to understand. It really takes the mystery out of making soap.- -- Jackie Pack, Stuart, Virginia -Groundbreaking . . . . Anne L. Watson [is the] universally respected and loved author/crafter/curator of this lost art for thousands of aspiring soapers . . . . Unquestionably the best book with which to begin. To be precise, it's probably the most accessible, most reader-friendly, and most immediately useful container of information a first-time soapmaker could hope to find.- -- Wishing Willow (blog)

    He also offers a comprehensive guide to the various pests and diseases of tomatoes and explains how best to avoid them. No other book offers such a detailed look at the specifics of growing tomatoes, with beautiful photographs and helpful tomato profiles throughout.

    Broken down into four essential sections, Sustenance, Warmth, Orientation and Safety, this enlightening manual reveals how to catch game without a gun, what plants to eat (full-color illustrations of these make identification simple), how to build a warm shelter, make clothing, protect yourself and signal for help. Detailed illustrations and expanded instructions offer crucial information at a glance, making How to Stay Alive in the Woods truly a lifesaver.

    Whether instructing a beginning canner or helping a seasoned cook hone her skills, certified Master Food Preserver Georgia Varozza shows people how to get the very best out of their food. Here, readers will find...a short history of canning lists of all the tools and supplies needed to get started basic instructions for safe canning recipes for canning fruit, vegetables, meat, soups, sauces, and more guidelines for adapting recipes to fit personal tastesWith its expert advice and warm tones, The Amish Canning Cookbook will become a beloved companion to those who love the tradition, frugality, and homestyle flavor of Amish cooking!

    This book explains in detail exactly how to build one, then how to use it in a range of applications. We discuss materials: where to find them, what to pay and how to make use of found and recycled parts. The section on fire and fuels is thorough but simple; we tried to keep away from numbers wherever possible. There are success stories, case studies, references and where to find further information, all heavily illustrated. Home heating can be expensive both in capital equipment and in running costs. If we heat by gas, oil or electricity we are supporting a big corporation and impoverishing ourselves. By building an extra efficient heating system you will be one more big step off the treadmill and your move to self-sufficiency and true wealth. Good luck with your stove! From the Introduction by Ianto Evans