The Five-Year Guide to Self-Sufficiency: Simple Living Made Simpler


Amelia Barrows - 2012
    Now, however, with prices rising and more chemicals than foods in the grocery store, families are starting to take notice. The return to sustainable living is long overdue, but many are so intimidated by the amount of work involved that they never even start.The Five-Year Guide to Self-Sufficiency follows a logical progression to move your homestead forward every year in an organized and affordable manner. Over the course of five years, you will learn how to get the most from your land, whether it be half an acre or 100. You'll grow everything from a basic garden bed to a fruitful orchard, pick from a wide variety of livestock ranging from chickens to alpacas, and lead a simpler life with less reliance on fossil fuels.The road may be long and arduous, but there's no need to overwhelm yourself. By taking everything at a rational pace, you too can remove yourself from a meaningless culture and improve your quality of life one day at a time.

Plant Propagator's Bible: A Step-by-Step Guide to Propagating Every Plant in Your Garden


Miranda Smith - 2007
    But to many, the idea of propagating plants seems like a feat that only the most experienced gardeners can master. The Plant Propagator's Bible strips away the mystique and makes multiplying plants easy even for the novice.Drawing on her many years as a horticulture teacher, Miranda Smith explains the natural process and conditions in which plants grow and reproduce, and shows gardeners how to use these systems to propagate any plant that grows in their garden or greenhouse—or even on their windowsill. The book features:• an A to Z directory of more than 1,000 individual plant species—with appropriate propagation techniques for aquatics, ornamental plants, houseplants, shrubs, trees, vegetables, and wildflowers• "What Can Go Wrong" advice for each type of plant, explaining potential problems and how to prevent or fix them• detailed, step-by-step illustrations and annotated photographsIncluding information on essential tools and equipment, this is an indispensable addition to every gardener's bookshelf.

First Lessons in Beekeeping


Keith S. Delaplane - 2007
    In the preface to this book, author Keith Delaplane says of his first book on beekeeping, "Its pages opened to me a golden world of honey bees and beekeeping and guided my stumbling steps that first spring season. My story is but one of thousands who have passed through the door opened by Dadant's little book."

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible: Discover Ed's High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions


Edward C. Smith - 2000
    in vegetable gardening with Ed Smith's amazing gardening system. By integrating four principles -- Wide beds, Organic methods, Raised beds, and Deep beds -- Smith reinvents vegetable gardening, making it possible for everyone to have the best, most successful garden ever. By following this complete system you cultivate deep, powerful soil that nourishes plants and discourages pests and disease. The result is fewer weeds, healthier plants, and lots of great-tasting vegetables. Plus, you'll enjoy gardening as you never have before. The Vegetable Gardener's Bible -- the last W.O.R.D. in vegetable gardening.Praise for the book:"this book will answer all your questions as well as put you on the path to an abundant harvest. As a bonus, anecdotes and stories make this informative book fun to read." - New York Newsday

Projects to Get You Off the Grid: Rain Barrels, Chicken Coops, and Solar Panels


Instructables.com - 2010
    Twenty Instructables illustrate just how simple it can be to make your own backyard chicken coop, or turn a wine barrel into a rainwater collector.Illustrated with dozens of full-color photographs per project accompanying easy-to-follow instructions, this Instructables collection utilizes the best that the online community has to offer, turning a far-reaching group of people into a mammoth database churning out ideas to make life better, easier, and in this case, greener, as this volume exemplifies.

The Tao of Vegetable Gardening: Cultivating Tomatoes, Greens, Peas, Beans, Squash, Joy, and Serenity


Carol Deppe - 2014
    In her latest book, groundbreaking garden writer Carol Deppe (The Resilient Gardener, Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties) focuses on some of the most popular home garden vegetables--tomatoes, green beans, peas, and leafy greens--and through them illustrates the key principles and practices that gardeners need to know to successfully plant and grow just about any food crop. Deppe's work has long been inspired and informed by the philosophy and wisdom of Tao Te Ching, the 2,500-year-old work attributed to Chinese sage Lao Tzu and the most translated book in the world after the Bible. The Tao of Vegetable Gardening is organized into chapters that echo fundamental Taoist concepts: Balance, Flexibility, Honoring the Essential Nature (your own and that of your plants), Effortless Effort, Non-Doing, and even Non-Knowing. Yet the book also offers a wealth of specific and valuable garden advice on topics as diverse as: - The Eat-All Greens Garden, a labor- and space-efficient way to provide all the greens a family can eat, freeze, and dry--all on a tiny piece of land suitable for small-scale and urban gardeners.- The growing problem of late blight and the future of heirloom tomatoes--and what gardeners can do to avoid problems, and even create new resistant varieties.- Establishing a Do-It-Yourself Seed Bank, including information on preparing seeds for long-term storage and how to -dehybridize- hybrids.- Twenty-four good places to not plant a tree, and thirty-seven good reasons for not planting various vegetables. Designed for gardeners of all levels, from beginners to experienced growers, The Tao of Vegetable Gardening provides a unique frame of reference: a window to the world of nature, in the garden and in ourselves.

The Flower Gardener's Bible: Time-Tested Techniques, Creative Designs, and Perfect Plants for Colorful Gardens


Nancy Hill - 2003
    They cover it all--from choosing your site and designing your garden to improving your soil, choosing and caring for your plants, and fighting pests and disease. Create the flower garden of your dreams with this comprehensive reference.

The Ultimate Dehydrator Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Drying Food, Plus 398 Recipes, Including Making Jerky, Fruit Leather & Just-Add-Water Meals


Tammy & Steven Gangloff - 2014
    The Ultimate Dehydrator Cookbook contains everything you need to know to get the greatest value from a home dehydrator.- Includes tips on selecting a dehydrator, as well as proper sanitation, storage, and rehydration techniques- Individual entries on how to dehydrate all manner of berries, fruits, vegetables, greens, herbs, and edible flowers include information on how to prep, dehydration temperatures, and times- Includes recipes for making your own teas, herb blends and rubs, flavored oils, instant baby food, jerky, and fruit leathers- Includes nearly 400 recipes for cooking from your dehydrator pantry. There is an entire chapter dedicated to slow cooker recipes using dehydrated ingredients and one on dehydrated meals for backpackers and campers

Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces


Michelle Slatalla - 2016
    The team behind the inspirational design sites Gardenista.com and Remodelista.com presents an all-in-one manual for making your outdoor space as welcoming as your living room. Tour personality-filled gardens around the world and re-create the looks with no-fail planting palettes. Find hundreds of design tips and easy DIYs, editors’ picks of 100 classic (and stylish) objects, a landscaping primer with tips from pros, over 200 resources, and so much more.

The Mini Farming Guide to Vegetable Gardening: Self-Sufficiency from Asparagus to Zucchini


Brett L. Markham - 2012
    This comprehensive new handbook covers everythingyou need to know about maximizing and harvesting the best vegetablesyou can possibly produce. With each chapter addressing a different vegetable,you’ll learn tips and tricks about varietal selection, nutritional merits, how to begin,special hints for growing, and how to deal with particular pests and diseases,plus one or two creative recipes to get you started. With over 150 of Markham’sown photographs guiding you every step of the way, you’ll find this an honest,straightforward guide and a must-have for any vegetable mini-farmer.

The Prepper's Cookbook: 300 Recipes to Turn Your Emergency Food into Nutritious, Delicious, Life-Saving Meals


Tess Pennington - 2013
    But if you follow this book’s plan for stocking, organizing and maintaining a proper emergency food supply, your family will have plenty to eat for weeks, months or even years, with comforting, nutritious meals such as: • French Toast • Black Bean Soup • Chicken Pot Pie • Beef Stroganoff • Fish Tacos • Potatoes Croquette • Asian Ramen Salad • Quinoa Tabouli • Rice Pilaf • Buttermilk Biscuits • Peach Cobbler  . . . and much more Packed with tips for off-grid cooking, canning charts for over 20 fruits and vegetables, and checklists for the best emergency pantry items, The Prepper’s Cookbook will have you turning shelf-stable, freeze-dried and dehydrated foods into delicious, nutritious dishes your family will love eating.   "The Prepper’s Cookbook is an excellent resource and foundation that covers many topics of preparation. Especially helpful for the seeker and the new-to-prepping, however, there are great ideas for even the seasoned prepper." —Real Food Living   "It’s more than a cookbook. It’s also a handy guide for beginning preppers who have wondered, 'So what do I actually do with all this extra food I’m buying?'" —The Survival Mom

People with Dirty Hands: The Passion for Gardening


Robin Chotzinoff - 1996
    From a New York City Green Guerrilla to the Texas Rose Rustlers and a Colorado tomato fanatic, Chotzinoff serves up colorful profiles of americanca’s quirkiest, most fervent gardeners.

Grow Your Own Vegetables


Joy Larkcom - 2002
    Covering every aspect of vegetable gardening from preparing soil to manures, composts and fertilizers, from growing techniques to protection, pests, from diseases and weeds to making good use of space, this is a comprehensive guide to ensuring the best results from your garden or allotment. With cultivation information for over 100 vegetables, including site and soil requirements, cultivation, pests and diseases, and cultivars, this illustrated handbook is a must for vegetable gardeners of all levels and experience.

Talking Dirt: The Dirt Diva's Down-To-Earth Guide to Organic Gardening


Annie Spiegelman - 2010
     Annie Spiegelman's down-to-earth wit and wisdom create the perfect primer for anyone with a passion for home-grown veggies or fresh-cut flowers, no matter what their skill level, location, or resources. Includes advice on: •Learning to worship the worm and build a compost pile •Landscape designs-start small in order to create a basic plan for a plot •The secret to healthy soil (the only way to have a healthy garden) •Irrigation systems and strategies to conserve water •Proper pruning-from roses to trees •How to combine vegetables to make them thrive •How to let your garden go native and become drought tolerant •Edible landscaping and gardening in small spaces Talking Dirt is a one-stop handbook that features resources for shopping, learning, and promoting environmentally sound garden practices within local communities.

Bonsai


Peter Warren - 2014
    Now DK brings this ancient practice into the 21st century, explaining how to grow and care for bonsai trees with a clear step-by-step approach.Offering easy-to-follow advice and simple photography, Bonsai demystifies the art of bonsai with sequences covering the traditional styles of Chokkan, Moyogi, Shakan, and Kengai, as well as deadwood bonsai styles such as Ishizuki, Yose Uye, and Sharimiki.For bonsai enthusiasts in search of fresh ideas, innovative techniques, and new ways to display their living art, Bonsai is the must-have book of the season.