Essential Succulents: The Beginner's Guide


Ken Shelf - 2018
    In Essential Succulents, budding succulent enthusiasts will gain the know-how needed to begin growing, decorating with, and enjoying these amazing plants.From simple houseplants and drought-friendly landscaping to decorative wreaths and trendy mason jar terrariums, Essential Succulents is the ultimate guide to learning which succulents are best for beginners, along with a basic understanding of how to care for and creatively design with them.Accompanied by beautiful photography of the succulents and projects presented, Essential Succulents includes: 50 easy-to-grow succulents that can grow in a variety of environments, as well as a care guide and arrangement tips for each. 8 easy DIY projects that include step-by-step instructions and are listed in order from easiest to more challenging. Guidance for growing indoor and container succulents, including what they need to thrive—such as the right light, soil, and irrigation. Instructions for creating outdoor succulent gardens that require minimal maintenance and saves money on water. Whether you’ve never cared for succulents before, or are interested in deepening your understanding of them, Essential Succulents will give you the confidence you need to explore your succulent-growing passion.

The Edible Balcony: Growing Fresh Produce in the Heart of the City


Alex Mitchell - 2011
    From an easy edible balcony that can be set up over a weekend, to using recycled and salvage materials, growing exotic fruit and creating a futuristic salad and herb wall, "The Edible Balcony" mixes inspirational ideas with practical advice on how to achieve beautiful, flourishing outdoor areas however many floors up you maybe and however small your space. Packed with detailed planting and growing advice on all the crops featured, including the best varieties for sunny, shady, windy and dry balconies, plus how to make a self-watering container, create a salad cascade using guttering and grow beans and tomatoes on a hatstand, it is the essential guide for both beginner and experienced gardeners alike.

Build Your Own Earth Oven: A Low-Cost Wood-Fired Mud Oven, Simple Sourdough Bread, Perfect Loaves


Kiko Denzer - 2000
    Building one will appeal to bakers, builders, and beginners of all kinds, from: the serious or aspiring baker who wants the best low-cost bread oven, togardeners who want a centerpiece for a beautiful outdoor kitchen, tooutdoor chefs, tocreative people interested in low-cost materials and simple technology, toteachers who want a multi-faceted, experiential project for students of all ages (the book has been successful with everyone from third-graders to adults)."Build Your Own Earth Oven" is fully illustrated with step-by-step directions, including how to tend the fire, and how to make perfect sourdough hearth loaves in the artisan tradition. The average do-it-yourselfer with a few tools and a scrap pile can build an oven for free, or close to it. Otherwise, $30 should cover all your materials--less than the price of a fancy "baking stone." Good building soil is often right in your back yard, under your feet. Build the simplest oven in a day! With a bit more time and imagination, you can make a permanent foundation and a fire-breathing dragon-oven or any other shape you can dream up.Earth ovens are familiar to many that have seen a southwestern "horno" or a European "bee-hive" oven. The idea (pioneered by Egyptian bakers in the second millennium bc!) is simplicity itself: fill the oven with wood, light a fire, and let it burn down to ashes. The dense, 3- to 12-inch-thick earthen walls hold and store the heat of the fire, the baker sweeps the floor clean, and the hot oven walls radiate steady, intense heat for hours.Home bakers who can't afford a fancy, steam-injected bread oven will be delighted to find that a simple earth oven can produce loaves to equal the fanciest "artisan" bakery. It also makes delicious roast meats, cakes, pies, pizzas, and other creations. Pizza cooks to perfection in three minutes or less. Vegetables, herbs, and potatoes drizzled with olive oil roast up in minutes for a simple, elegant, and delicious meal. Efficient cooks will find the residual heat useful for slow-baked dishes, and even for drying surplus produce, or incubating homemade yogurt.

The Big Book of Kombucha: Brewing, Flavoring, and Enjoying the Health Benefits of Fermented Tea


Hannah Crum - 2016
    This complete guide, from the proprietors of Kombucha Kamp, shows you how to do it from start to finish, with illustrated step-by-step instructions and troubleshooting tips. The book also includes information on the many health benefits of kombucha, fascinating details of the drink’s history, and recipes for delicious foods and drinks you can make with kombucha (including some irresistible cocktails!). “This is the one go-to resource for all things kombucha.” — Andrew Zimmern, James Beard Award–winning author and host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods

The Edible Garden: How to Have Your Garden and Eat It, Too


Alys Fowler - 2009
    Abandoning the limitations of traditional gardening methods, she has created a beautifully productive garden where tomatoes sit happily next to roses, carrots are woven between the lavenders and potatoes grow in pots on the patio. And all of this is produced in a way that mimics natural systems, producing delicious homegrown food for her table. And she shares her favorite recipes for the hearty dishes, pickles and jams she makes to use up her bountiful harvest, proving that no-one need go hungry on her grow-your-own regime.Good for the pocket, good for the environment and hugely rewarding for the soul, The Edible Garden urges urbanites everywhere to chuck out the old gardening rules and create their own haven that's as good to look at as it is to eat.

DIY Succulents: From Placecards to Wreaths, 35+ Ideas for Creative Projects with Succulents


Tawni Daigle - 2015
    DIY Succulents shows you how to use beautiful and resilient plants like echeveria, sedum, and graptopetalum to craft nature-inspired home decor like rustic tabletop centerpieces and breathtaking wall art. Each page offers details on selecting the right plants and containers for the project, assembling a gorgeous arrangement, and maintaining the garden as it grows. With step-by-step instructions, gardening tips, and dozens of ideas to choose from, anyone can create imaginative succulent crafts like:Living WreathBirch Log PlanterTerrarium NecklaceTopiary BallComplete with photos and plenty of inspiration, DIY Succulents will help you add creativity, color, and personality to every room in your home.

Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate


John Kallas - 2010
    John Kallas makes it fun and easy to learn about foods you've unknowingly passed by all your life. Through gorgeous photographs, playful, but authoritative text, and ground-breaking design he gives you the knowledge and confidence to finally begin eating and enjoying edible wild plants. Edible Wild Plants divides plants into four flavor categories -- foundation, tart, pungent, and bitter. Categorizing by flavor helps readers use these greens in pleasing and predictable ways. According to the author, combining elements from these different categories makes the best salads.

Lawn Gone!: Low-Maintenance, Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Yard


Pam Penick - 2013
    Filled with how-to information, design ideas, and inspirational photographs, it covers all the available options: alternative lawns, ornamental grasses, groundcovering plants, small shrubs and perennials, artificial turf, “people places” like patios and paths, and more. In addition, it includes step-by-step lawn-removal methods, strategies for dealing with HOAs and lawn-loving neighbors, and practical ways to reduce your lawn if you’re not ready to go all the way. Written by Austin garden designer and award-winning blogger Pam Penick, Lawn Gone! will show you how easy it is to ditch the lawn and create an enjoyable, earth-friendly landscape for your home.

True Brews: How to Craft Fermented Cider, Beer, Wine, Sake, Soda, Mead, Kefir, and Kombucha at Home


Emma Christensen - 2013
    All you need is the know-how.               That’s where Emma Christensen comes in, distilling a wide variety of projects—from mead to kefir to sake—to their simplest forms, making the process fun and accessible for homebrewers. All fifty-plus recipes in True Brews stem from the same basic techniques and core equipment, so it’s easy for you to experiment with your favorite flavors and add-ins once you grasp the fundamentals.               Covering a tantalizing range of recipes, including Coconut Water Kefir, Root Beer, Honey–Green Tea Kombucha, Pear Cider, Gluten-Free Pale Ale, Chai-Spiced Mead, Cloudy Cherry Sake, and Plum Wine, these fresh beverages make impressive homemade offerings for hostess gifts, happy hours, and thirsty friends alike.

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


David Toht - 2011
    It shows homeowners how to turn their yard into a productive and wholesome "homestead" that allows them to grow their own fruits and vegetables, and raise farm animals, including chickens and goats. Backyard Homesteading covers the laws and regulations of raising livestock in populated areas and demonstrates to readers how to use and  preserve the bounty they produce.

Indoor Kitchen Gardening: Turn Your Home Into a Year-round Vegetable Garden - Microgreens - Sprouts - Herbs - Mushrooms - Tomatoes, Peppers More


Elizabeth Millard - 2014
    Imagine serving a home-cooked meal highlighted with beet, arugula, and broccoli microgreens grown right in your kitchen, accompanied by sautéed winecap mushrooms grown in a box of sawdust in your basement. If you have never tasted microgreens, all you really need to do is envision all the flavor of an entire vegetable plant concentrated into a single tantalizing seedling. If you respond to the notion of nourishing your guests with amazing, fresh, organic produce that you've grown in your own house, condo, apartment, basement, or sunny downtown office, then you'll love exploring the expansive new world of growing and eating that can be discovered with the help of Indoor Kitchen Gardening. Inside, author and Bossy Acres CSA co-owner Elizabeth Millard teaches you how to grow microgreens, sprouts, herbs, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and more-- all inside your own home, where you won't have to worry about seasonal changes or weather conditions. Filled with mouthwatering photography and more than 200 pages of Do-It-Yourself in-home gardening information and projects, Indoor Kitchen Gardening is your gateway to this exciting new growing method--not just for garnishes or relishes, but wholesome, nutritious, organic edibles that will satisfy your appetite as much as your palate.

Landscaping with Fruit: Strawberry ground covers, blueberry hedges, grape arbors, and 39 other luscious fruits to make your yard an edible paradise.


Lee Reich - 2009
    A plant-by-plant guide recommends 39 palate-pleasing species that are especially well-suited to the home landscape. Add beauty to your outdoor space while bringing organic fruit to your table.

The Indestructible Houseplant: 200 Beautiful Plants that Everyone Can Grow


Tovah Martin - 2015
    The Indestructible Houseplant is packed with indoor plants that are tough, beautiful, reliable, and virtually impossible to kill. In addition to plant profiles with concise information on water, light, and blooming times, this gorgeous book includes tips on care, maintenance, and ideas for combining houseplants in eye-catching indoor displays. Follow Martin’s sage advice and you’ll have a thriving urban jungle in no time.

The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More


Arin Murphy-Hiscock - 2017
    She embraces the power of nature; she draws energy from the Earth and the Universe; she relies on natural objects like stones and gems to commune with the land she lives off of; she uses plants, flowers, oils, and herbs for healing; she calls on nature for guidance; and she respects every living being no matter how small.In The Green Witch, you will learn the way of the green witch, from how to use herbs, plants, and flowers to make potions and oils for everyday healing as well as how crystals, gems, stones, and even twigs can help you find balance within. You’ll discover how to find harmony in Earth’s great elements and connect your soul to every living creature. This guide also contains directions for herbal blends and potions, ritual suggestions, recipes for sacred foods, and information on how to listen to and commune with nature. Embrace the world of the green witch and discover what the power of nature has in store for you.

How to Store Your Garden Produce: The Key to Self-Sufficiency


Piers Warren - 2002
    The easy to use reference section provides applicable storage and preservation techniques for the majority of plant produce grown commonly in gardens and allotments. Why is storing your garden produce the key to self-sufficiency? Because with less than an acre of garden you can grow enough produce to feed a family of four for a year, but as much of the produce will ripen simultaneously in the summer, without proper storage most of it will go to waste and you’ll be off to the supermarket again. Learn simple and enjoyable techniques for storing your produce and embrace the wonderful world of self-sufficiency. In the A-Z list of produce, each entry includes recommended varieties, suggested methods of storage and a number of recipes. Everything from how to make your own cider and pickled gerkhins to how to string onions and dry your own apple rings. You will know where your food has come from, you will save money, there will be no packaging and you’ll be eating tasty local food whilst feeling very good about it.