Homesteading: A Backyard Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More

by Abigail R. Gehring (editor)

Who doesn’t want to shrink their carbon footprint, save money, and eat homegrown food whenever possible?

Even readers who are very much on the grid will embrace this large, fully-illustrated guide on the basics of living the good, clean life. It’s written with country lovers in mind—even those who currently live in the city.

Whether you live in an urban environment, the suburbs, or even the wilderness, there is plenty you can do to improve your life from a green perspective. Got sunlight? Start container gardening. With a few plants, fresh tomatoes, which then become canned tomato sauce, are a real option. Reduce electricity use by eating dinner by candlelight (using homemade candles, of course). Learn to use rainwater to augment water supplies. Make your own soap and hand lotion. Consider keeping chickens for the eggs. From what to eat to supporting sustainable restaurants to avoiding dry cleaning, this book offers information on anything a homesteader needs—and more.

With the thorough information included in this volume, as well as its 1000 color illustrations, you'll be one step closer to living the more independent and fulfilling life that comes with being knowledgeable and capable in this ever-chaotic world.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Food, Reference, Sustainability, Cooking, Survival

464 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2009

About the author

Abigail 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, “Cinderella”, lipstick reader, and hot dog vendor.

Reviews

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading factual books and this one was no exception. This book was filled with hundreds of pages covered with invaluable information that will and has helped me improve my everyday life. I would recommend this book to any outdoorsy person or people living in rural enviroments.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned a few things, and enjoyed the first bit on gardening & composting. As some other reviewers have said, the information seemed kinda random at times. Near the end in the "well being" chapter, it suddenly talks about interior design; like 3 pages on stenciling. A lot of it seemed either inaccessible, or silly. Idk. But I did enjoy the chapters on livestock and gardening.

[Patricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst how-to book for homesteading/gardening/raising livestock/building/etc that I have ever read. You will get more useful information by getting a children's picture book on 'Clifford Goes to the Farm' than from this book.
Information here is either sketchy, not there, outdated, or just plain wrong. In the first aid section (and I'm still not sure why a homesteading book has a first aid section), it tells you how to put on a tourniquet! That's right next to the picture from the 1939 Boy Scout Handbook on how to carry an injured person. Really?!?
Oh, and if you're going to make yogurt - good luck following the instructions here. I've made yogurt for years and can tell you that the recipe/instructions are wrong and bordering on stupid. Same for the build-your-own-barn 'instructions' and the home canning/freezing guides.
There are dozens of books out there that can help you get started homesteading. If the apocalypse comes and you can only grab one how-to-survive-and-raise-your-own-everything book, hope and pray that it's not this book.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book primarily because the title is so misleading. It is more of a pop-suburban form of more self-sufficient living than actual homesteading. The information is pretty basic and somewhat random (12 pages of food co-ops?, making your own bead jewelry? really?) The pictures are pretty but many doen't evoke backcountry homesteading life to me. A short section dedicated to stress management techniques (yoga and massage) and another on home decorating (hanging wall paper and light sconces) utterly destroyed the entire ridiculous facade of a series homesteading book. Marketed under a different title it may have been better received, but as it is I just can't help feeling cheated.

[Ann Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Homesteading is extremely relevant, as we pursue our efforts to adopt a more “green” lifestyle on a worldwide scale. The reader will find a host of useful ideas in this book, ranging from growing your own food, canning fruits and vegetables, smoking meats, designing and erecting wind turbines, the art of keeping bees, constructing poultry houses and even solar and thermal heating systems. Photographs and designs will spark the reader’s imagination and, hopefully, lead to a better and cleaner Earth for us all.

[Emily Mellow · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot even give this book a chance, because the text is too small to even think about reading. It's crazy small. Hopefully I'm not missing any valuable information. I think this book is trying to cover too much, and from briefly skimming it, it seems like it cannot cover any topic in depth. Better to get a book on beekeeping if that's what you're into, or generating your own power, or canning, etc. One book for all these topics could not do justice to them.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book at the library and checked it out because i wanted to get more information on raising chickens. Which I found out that it was way too basic of info to be of much help. I really needed detailed instructions or tips to start chicks and keep them healthy. The book told more about how to build a chicken coop... which i didn't need. but overall it was really quite interesting - even soap making recipes and canning foods recipes!

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

Emphasis is on breadth rather than depth.

[Wolf Fortenberry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am extremely disappointed with this book. I should have known from the beginning with as many topics as it says it covers, but this book is college textbook sized. It’s massive... massively disappointing.
There are a few good things in here to give you ideas on things to try yourself, but that’s about it, only general ideas. Nothing to really sink your teeth into.
The biggest issue I have with this book is some seriously misguided info in the livestock section - enough so that if someone were to follow these authors’ suggestions, they could easily end up with dead livestock. It makes me wonder what other topics, that I am unfamiliar with in this book, are spreading potentially dangerous misinformation. In my opinion this book is not worth buying.

[Ladonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book 3 stars because if you’re someone who is homesteading, I could see how it would be a great resource. However, for me personally, I didn’t really like it. It’s very overwhelming. The message that I got from it is homesteading is hard work and a full-time job. The fact that pioneers were able to do it, and we all are a result of their efforts as civilization moved west in the United States is frankly amazing. I will say that the section on Well-Being seemed an odd thing to throw in this book. It seems to me that it belongs in a different kind of book.

[Lmichelleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This may be a hasty review, since I skipped several sections and skimmed many, but I found this book to be trying to cover too much territory to be much use. The section on chickens (which I was especially interested in) was not informative enough to get a beginner started, and it looked to me that many other topics were treated the same: cursory and not enough detail to be helpful. Not recommended.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot of great information but as the book went on it provided less and less self sustainment and more arts and crafts. Will definitely look at it again, just wouldn’t re read the whole thing. Worth a look at if your serious about being self sufficient!

[Sarah Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful introduction of terms

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Behold, the lesbian farmer!

[Amy Burdick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, everything you need to know about homesteading. Things I hadn't thought of.

[Dawn Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book more stars I would. It is a fountain of knowledge for anyone wanting to live a self self sufficient life. It is a must need in the home library.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very through introduction with so much helpful information for those interested in homesteading. Covers many subjects and great imagery throughout.

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol)]

Gift~Christmas 2022

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kindle unlimited

For a honest review in my own words. What a educational and knowledgeable book. I learned a lot from this book .

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the chickens and it was fine. Again, there's totally better guides out there.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting overview book but I guess there's not enough information to do more than dabble in any of the skills described. It's probably enough for many people, who'd perhaps prefer to try something once, get a mediocre result while they are working out the process and refining it for themselves. I'm more the sort of person who likes a little more complete information and specialized info right up front. Thus, for example, if I wanted to know how to make jam, I'd rather have a book dedicated to that subject than this one, with a few pages on the basics. But it's a fun read with some overview info that I enjoyed. Just in case the zombies destroy civilization or whatnot, you know....

[David Gross · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want a catalog of things to go study, an idea cache so to speak, then this book is fine.

If you want a guide to the things this claims to guide, then you really want Seymour's "The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live it." It covers roughly the same turf, but it is written from the position of experience. This book feels like it is written by someone who just googled each topic and did a summary of what she found. This is not inherently bad, but it makes the book much less useful than it should be. Save yourself the money, and Google "what backyard skills should I know to be self-sufficient?" and then research whatever topics you find interesting for yourself, or just buy John Seymour's book instead.

[Rebecka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. She starts off with an excited interesting tone, but then looses it half-way through the book. Or well, i lost interest when i found out that low acid foods require more labor to can and more equiptment, for instance the pressure cooker needed to take care of bacteria. Guess i'll stick with drying vegetables for now. But at least i didn't waste money on the wrong kind of canning kit.
I would recommend the digital copy because the size of the book was very inconvenient. When you open it - it's 2 feet wide. Not easy for a lounger and cup of tea. I felt like i was tied to the table. Not cool.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

OMG this book is self-sufficiency pr0n. I was already getting a bit nutsy about making local, sustainable food, making my own bread, learning to make my own cheese. This book makes me want to raise my own chickens and goats, make my own yogurt, basically move to the country, start a farm, and do my own everything. All with gorgeous pictures!

No room for details on anything--if you actually want to do any of this stuff, get a book on it. But lots of fun for dreaming.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the book most people will pick up for a casual read, but I'm a glutton for information. :) The book is packed with useful information that I recommend for anyone interested in gardening, self-sufficiency, and better, greener living. This is the kind of knowledge that doesnt get passed on from generation to generation much these days as we become increasingly more an urban culture. A must read in my opinion.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, if you read this book cover to cover, I am pretty certain you would go blind because the type font is freakishly small. Information is distributed somewhat unevenly -- cursory info on growing plants for food but a huge chapter on canning? How am I supposed to grow enough to can anything? The book does serve as a good overview of a lot of ideas, but should probably be seen as a jumping-off point, rather than a definitive guide.

[Astrid Yrigollen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great overview of the many different things a person who wants to start their own little back yard farm needs to know.
Its a great starting point if you want to see the different options you have if you want to do a little homesteading. Covers growing , canning preserving veggies & chickens, sheep,wool, shearing, energy systems,building a stanle, chicken coop, bee keeping and a lot more.

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good beginner book to have on your shelves if you are interested in living off the land. It has a little bit about everything. I was especially enamored by the canning section. The pieces are short and easy to digest. If you're really about to homestead then you'll need other books to flesh out the brief coverage of topics in this one, but still a good overview and fun book to have.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of really useful and interesting information in this book, from growing plants in your garden to making your own cheese to alternative energy sources to recipes for homemade lip balm. Basically a broad view of each topic, but there was enough information to get a start with and determine if it's something you really want to delve into.

[Kenzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone who thinks they might be interested in doing more for themselves. It's not in depth or a true guide to doing much as it claims-but it gives a great overview of many homesteading things. It's a good book to see what is out there so you can read other books that are more in depth.