A simple guide to growing fruits, vegetables, nuts & berries, raising chickens, goats, & bees, and making beer, wine, & cider from your backyard.
If you want to take control of the food you eat and the products you use, Backyard Homesteading will help you learn how to do it—even if you live in an urban or suburban house on a typical-size lot.
Inside, you’ll discover how to turn a yard into a productive and wholesome “homestead” that allows you to grow your own fruits and vegetables and raise farm animals, including chickens and goats. You’ll also find the laws and regulations of raising livestock in populated areas, as well as ways to use and preserve the bounty your land produces.
GETTING STARTED
Benefits of pure food
Family recreation
Local regulations
Potential yields and savings
RAISING VEGETABLES AND HERBS
Garden planning/layout
Structures/irrigation
Vegetable profiles
Planting techniques
Composting/healthy soil
Seasonal gardening
GROWING FRUITS, BERRIES, AND NUTS
Planting fruit trees and bushes
Fruit profiles
Organic pest control
Grafting and pruning
Harvesting methods
RAISING CHICKENS
The joy of chickens
Collecting eggs
Care and feeding tips
Other small animals
RAISING GOATS
Benefits of goat milk
Structures/fencing
Care and feeding tips
Other large animals
BEEKEEPING
Benefits of beekeeping
Care and harvesting
Building hives
Collecting honey
HARVEST HOME
Canning/drying/freezing
Making beer, wine, cider
Making jerky, sausage
Making jams, jellies
Pickling/salting/smoking
Building root cellars
Title: Backyard Homesteading: A Back-to-Basics Guide to Self-Sufficiency
Dave Toht, a former contractor with decades of hands-on experience, fondly remembers his first house located in the sometimes frigid, sometimes frying Midwest. Built in 1854, it was loaded with opportunities for caulking, glazing, weatherstripping and insulating. He has written or edited more than 6 books on home repair and remodeling.