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TheHomesteading Handbook ABack toBasicsGuide toGrowingYour Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More
With the rapid depletion of our planet’s natural resources, we would all like to live a more self-sufficient lifestyle. But in the midst of an economic crisis, it’s just as important to save money as it is to go green. As Gehring shows in this thorough but concise guide, being kind to Mother Earth can also mean being kind to your bank account! It doesn’t matter where your homestead is located—farm, suburb, or even city. Wherever you live, The Homesteading Handbook can help
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Plan, plant, and harvest your own organic home garden.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Enjoy fruits and vegetables year-round by canning, drying, and freezing.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Build alternate energy devices by hand, such as solar panels or geothermal heat pumps.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Differentiate between an edible puffball mushroom and a poisonous amanita.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Prepare butternut squash soup using ingredients from your own garden.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Conserve water by making a rain barrel or installing an irrigation system.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Have fun and save cash by handcrafting items such as soap, potpourri, and paper.
Experience the satisfaction that comes with self-sufficiency, as well as the assurance that you have done your part to help keep our planet green. The Homesteading Handbook is your roadmap to living in harmony with the land.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Plan, plant, and harvest your own organic home garden.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Enjoy fruits and vegetables year-round by canning, drying, and freezing.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Build alternate energy devices by hand, such as solar panels or geothermal heat pumps.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Differentiate between an edible puffball mushroom and a poisonous amanita.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Prepare butternut squash soup using ingredients from your own garden.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Conserve water by making a rain barrel or installing an irrigation system.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýâ€� Have fun and save cash by handcrafting items such as soap, potpourri, and paper.
Experience the satisfaction that comes with self-sufficiency, as well as the assurance that you have done your part to help keep our planet green. The Homesteading Handbook is your roadmap to living in harmony with the land.
Paperback
First published May 25, 2011
136 people are currently reading
475 people want to read
About the author
Abigail R. Gehring
39Ìýbooks55ÌýfollowersAbigail R. Gehring is a writer who divides her time between New York City and rural Vermont. She is the editor of Back to Basics, Homesteading, and Self-Sufficiency, and author of Odd Jobs: How to Have Fun and Make Money in a Bad Economy and Dangerous Jobs: The World’s Riskiest Ways to Make an Extra Buck. The Simple Joys of Grandparenting: Stories, Nursery Rhymes, Recipes, Games, Crafts, and More. The Little Book of Country Baking: Classic Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Breads, and Pies. She's practiced living self-sufficiently since her childhood in Vermont, helping build a log cabin, being home-schooled, home-canning jams and jellies, and enjoying natural crafts. She's held many of the jobs she writes about in her book, including beer promoter, “Cinderellaâ€�, lipstick reader, and hot dog vendor.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 10, 2020
This book does what it's supposed to do: give you a basic guide to a lot of things. It's a good starting point, but definitely not the only resource you should consult.
June 23, 2020
Keep this on your shelf as a go to reference guide to self sufficient living. Well worth reading.
April 4, 2020
Good book
I have chickens and live on a large lot on a lake. We do some of these things but, gave me more helpful ideas.
I have chickens and live on a large lot on a lake. We do some of these things but, gave me more helpful ideas.
June 4, 2014
My rating is this low simply because the amount of people who can actually practice the majority of the ideas in this book are very slim. It was fun to read about what I COULD do if I was on a large plot of land with conditions for all of the things mentioned here. It has some useful gardening tips and I'm sure the animal raising things are also useful (though again, irrelevant to my world) but there is faaaaar too much time spent on canning recipes and construction of structures that most people couldn't possible do. As an urban gardener I didn't find most of it helpful even if I found it inspiring for my mind.
January 19, 2025
Very good full of basic information on survival and homesteading of all sorts including growing your own food, preserving (with reciepes), raising animals, making shelters for animals, composting toilets, energy supplies on the homestead, basic first aids, homestead hobbies like knitting, tinctures, making soaps and so much more!
January 25, 2021
This covers so many topics and crafts so well. Best canning instructions I’ve seen yet. I definitely want to buy this book soon as I rented this one from the library.
August 1, 2023
excellent reference. most useful for gardening and raising animals
January 17, 2025
Some misinformation regarding medical care and mushroom foraging.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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