Every single human society that has relied on annual crops for staple foods has collapsed. Restoration Agriculture explains how we can have all of the benefits of natural, perennial ecosystems and create agricultural systems that imitate nature in form and function while still providing for our food, building, fuel and many other needs - in your own backyard, farm or ranch. This book, based on real-world practices, presents an alternative to the agriculture system of eradication and offers exciting hope for our future.

    An all-encompassing manual that addresses safety, equipment, tactics, and the best practices for all shooters, here is an all-encompassing book of use to every gun owner.A result of twelve years of research, The Modern Day Gunslinger was written to meet the needs of the gun owner, the experienced shooter, those who own a weapon strictly for home and self-defense, and for the military member who wants to become a better shooter in defense of our country.It’s also for the law enforcement officer who risks his or her life going against the thugs of our society and for anyone interested in learning the defensive and tactical training techniques from some of the best and most experienced shooters in the world.This comprehensive training manual includes chapters on:Weapons and Range SafetyDry FireUse of ForceLiving in a BattlefieldCombat MindsetShooting CompetenceHandgunsDefensive Handgun AmmunitionMarksmanshipStanceBasic Kneeling PositionsReady PositionsThe Draw StrokesGrip and Trigger ControlVisual Techniques and Sight AlignmentMultiple ShotsFollow-Through and ScanLoading, Reloading, and UnloadingMalfunctionsLow- and No-Light ShootingConcealed Carry and HolstersLearning StylesTraining FundamentalsShooting DrillsThe shooting skills taught in this book carry broad application in civilian, law enforcement, and military contexts. Common criminals, terrorists, assailants—the enemy and threat—all will find themselves outgunned in the face of a properly armed and trained gunslinger. Members of the armed services, government and law enforcement agencies, as well as civilians, will find that the close-range shooting methods addressed in this book can provide a decisive advantage.

    Written by a gardener with 30 years of experience, this easy-to-use reference explains everything you need to know to start seeds and raise healthy seedlings successfully. You'll find:* The latest research in seed starting* The best growing media* The newest gardening materials* Solutions to seed-starting problems* Source lists for seeds and hard-to-find gardening suppliesAnd! An encyclopedia section lists more than 200 plants--including vegetables and fruits, garden flowers, wildflowers, herbs, trees, and shrubs--with details on how to start each from seed.

    Volume I lays out the vision of the forest garden and explains the basic ecological principles that make it work. In Volume II, Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier move on to practical considerations: concrete ways to design, establish, and maintain your own forest garden. Along the way they present case studies and examples, as well as tables, illustrations, and a uniquely valuable -plant matrix- that lists hundreds of the best edible and useful species.Taken together, the two volumes of Edible Forest Gardens offer an advanced course in ecological gardening--one that will forever change the way you look at plants and your environment.

    Angelic Organics is a leader in community supported gardening and biodynamics, helping to connect people with their food, their farmers, and healthful living.

    Stretch the resources of your small backyard garden further than ever before, without devoting hundreds of hours to canning! This informative and inspiring guide shows you not only how to construct your own root cellar, but how to best use the earth’s naturally cool, stable temperature as an energy-saving way to store nearly 100 varieties of perishable fruits and vegetables.

    The Small-Scale Poultry Flock offers a practical and integrative model for working with chickens and other domestic fowl, based entirely on natural systems.Readers will find information on growing (and sourcing) feed on a small scale, brooding (and breeding) at home, and using poultry as insect and weed managers in the garden and orchard. Ussery's model presents an entirely sustainable system that can be adapted and utilized in a variety of scales, and will prove invaluable for beginner homesteaders, growers looking to incorporate poultry into their farm, or poultry farmers seeking to close their loop. Ussery offers extensive information on:The definition of an integrated poultry flock (imitation of natural systems, integrating patterns, and closing the circle)Everything you need to know about your basic chicken (including distinctive points about anatomy and behavior that are critical to management) Extended information on poultry health and holistic health care, with a focus on preventionPlanning your flock (flock size, choosing breeds, fowl useful for egg vs. meat production, sourcing stock)How to breed and brood the flock (including breeding for genetic conservation), including the most complete guide to working with broody hens available anywhereMaking and mixing your own feed (with tips on equipment, storage, basic ingredients, technique, grinding and mixing)Providing more of the flock's feed from sources grown or self-foraged on the homestead or farm, including production of live protein feeds using earthworms and soldier grubsUsing poultry to increase soil fertility, control crop damaging insects, and to make compost-including systems for pasturing and for tillage of cover crops and weedsRecipes for great egg and poultry dishes (including Ussery's famous chicken stock!)And one of the best step-by-step poultry butchering guides available, complete with extensive illustrative photos.No other book on raising poultry takes an entirely whole-systems approach, or discusses producing homegrown feed and breeding in such detail. This is a truly invaluable guide that will lead farmers and homesteaders into a new world of self-reliance and enjoyment.

    On the other hand, gardening itself could be the culprit: elaborate, traditional perennial borders; water-hungry or disease-prone plants; needy lawns; and high-maintenance plants that require staking or clipping all suck up precious hours. Simply put, we need to start gardening in a whole new way. In this inspiring book, Val Easton shows exactly how to have a low-maintenance garden that doesn't sacrifice style. You won't have to give up your favorite plants or settle for expanses of ugly bark nuggets. You just have to unlearn some bad old habits and pick up some good new ones. So, how do you go about making a "new" low-maintenance garden? First, design your garden with maintenance in mind—good-looking hardscape will both save weeding time and showcase your favorite plants. Second, simplify your garden routines—learn the most efficient planting and maintenance techniques and don't get stressed if everything isn't letter-perfect. Third, learn how to work with nature rather than against it. And finally, embrace home-grown fruits, herbs, and vegetables; well planted containers; and thoughtfully chosen plants.The New Low-Maintenance Garden doesn't just tell you how to garden in a whole new way—it shows you, through profiles and beautiful photographs of real gardens that embody low-maintenance techniques. The pressures of life are not likely to ease up anytime soon, but the lessons of this timely book will help you banish guilt over undone garden chores and revel in your garden successes.

    Stressing the utility of raised beds and wide rows, gardening expert Dick Raymond shares his time-tested techniques for preparing the soil, starting plants, and controlling weeds. With helpful photographs, clear charts, and profiles of reliable garden vegetables, Joy of Gardening will inspire you to grow your best crop ever.

    Our beginners guide contains all the essential information you need in order to succeed. It covers the basic techniques, well illustrated with over a hundred images, and explains everything you need to know in an understandable way. Bonsai Empire is the world's most visited Bonsai website and has provided beginners with quality information for over a decade. We have developed this guide to help you get a taste of this fascinating and living art, and hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do! This book includes: - Over 100 stunning images - Over 80 pages - Explanations of the basic techniques - Care guides on the 10 most popular tree species - Background on the history, definition and styles Walter Pall: "Now here is the ultimate book to lead beginners. I am happy to have been able to contribute to this" Mauro Stemberger "Very clear" and "With great quality drawings and pics"

    or water? What if you've never even planted a garden in your life... and your life depended on growing your own food?Don't panic! Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening has the answers. From hand tools that will till the ground better than a tractor to plans for growing all the calories you need in a crisis to easy-to-follow crop rotations that will beat the pests, this book is the cheapest insurance you can own against the crash we all know is coming sooner or later.You'll discover how to scrounge for seeds in unlikely places. How to till without a tiller. How to preserve your harvest. How to beat pests without poison. How to convert a lawn into a food factory. How to garden to survive in emergencies and crises.Expert gardener David The Good, author of the bestselling Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting, has written the gardening book that could one day save your life. Easy to follow and entertaining, Grow Or Die doesn't bog down in the technical details, but focuses on how you can turn your garden into a tool for survival. It's perfect for those interested in preparedness, low-tech gardening and living with a lighter, more ecologically sustaining footprint.

    Whether you're fed up with your hormones, worried about your baby's nappy rash, your partner is prone to a sore-throat, or leg-waxing is proving just too expensive to maintain, Grow Your Own Drugs: A Year With James Wong offers over 100 great new remedies to soothe all manner of common conditions and beauty problems - whenever they might flare up. James shows how easy it to have access to the right ingredients whatever the weather, with his easy-to follow seasonal focus - whether you've got a window box, a roof terrace, a country garden (or a computer to order the goods online!). His seasonal planner takes you right through from Spring to Winter, making sure you know what to plant when, the best time to harvest and how to create your own mini-apothecary (or store-cupboard) at home. Packed with James's personal top tips and easy solutions for both growing and making remedies, this is your must-have companion to help ward off any ailments and complaints which might crop up throughout the year, the natural, James Wong way. FEATURES: / Over 100 new remedies / New seasonal guide - how to make sure you have all the ingredients you need for a healthy body and mind all year round / New non-gardener's guide: if you're not green-fingered or don't have a garden, James reveals how to identify plants and how to source good quality ingredients online / More about James's personal inspirations: how he came to a career in ethnobotany, how he goes about living his own GYOD year and why a seasonal approach is important and easy to adopt / James's top tips and new gift flashes (perfect for cheap, thoughtful presents) / New case studies: how people who've tried and tested the remedies have got on / New HOME section: brilliant natural and cheap remedies for home life. Contains pet flea powder, horsetail metal polish, wood polish, carpet deodoriser

    Practical projects as useful today as when first published 75 years ago.

    Norris, author of The Made-from-Scratch Life and voice of the Pioneering Today podcast, offers down-to-earth tips and guidance to help you learn how to...bake old-fashioned recipes (everything from biscuits to shepherd's pie) with quick, stress-free stepsgrow, harvest, and preserve culinary and medicinal herbs (with DIY tutorials for soaps, salves, and balms)make your own cultured and fermented foods at home following simple instructions for buttermilk, sour cream, sourdough, and moresimplify your routine and declutter your home with room-by-room guides and Depression-era wisdomOpen your heart to God-given rest and discover practical and tangible ways you can craft your home into a refuge for yourself and the ones you love.

    Author Sue Weaver, who keeps various exotic breeds and countless barnies on her farm, is an expert on all things livestock and an avowed chicken fanatic. This photo-filled guide begins with “Chickens 101” and details the physiology of chickens, members of the Phasianidea family, providing beginning hobby farmers with a basic education in the chicken’s unique physical makeup (from wings and feathers to beaks and digestive tracts), behavior, mating, and its unexpected high intelligence. The author offers advice on choosing the right types of chickens to get started: meat, egg, or dual purpose, or maybe even “just for pets.” The book is an excellent resource for selecting which breed of chicken is best for the hobby farmer based on the birds’ traits, such as aggression, personality, noise factor, tolerance for heat, confinement, cold, etc. Chickens also provides information on selecting or building a suitable chicken coop for the hobby farmer’s brood, outlining the basic requirements (lighting, ventilation, flooring, waterers, insulation, safety, and so forth). A detailed chapter on feeding chickens offers essential guidance on nutrition, commercial feeds, supplements, and water requirements. For the chicken hobby farmer looking to start with a clutch of baby chicks (from his own hen or an outside source), the author provides excellent info on incubators and hatching as well as all of the accommodations and preparation required for hens in the nest box. A chapter on selling eggs and broilers provides timetables, requirements, and dos and don’ts to get a hobby farmer’s business off on the right foot. All chicken keepers will find the chapter on health of particular value, with expert advice on preventing common problems and dealing with various maladies and diseases. Much detailed information about all of the topics in the book is encapsulated in sidebars. A glossary of over 125 terms plus a detailed resource section of chicken and poultry associations, books, and websites complete the volume. Fully indexed.