Homegrown & Handmade - 2nd Edition: A Practical Guide to More Self-reliant Living

The author of Ecothrifty shows you how to life more self-sufficiently with her guide to modern homesteadingno farm required. Food recalls, dubious health claims, scary and shocking ingredients in health and beauty products. Our increasingly industrialized supply system is becoming more difficult to navigate, more frightening, and more frustrating, leaving us feeling stuck choosing in many cases between the lesser of several evils. That's why author Deborah Niemann is here to offer healthier, more empowering choices, by showing us how to reclaim links in our food and purchasing chains, to make choices that are healthier for our families, ourselves, and our planet. In this fully updated and revised edition of Homegrown and Handmade, Deborah shows how making things from scratch and growing some of your own food can help you eliminate artificial ingredients from your diet, reduce your carbon footprint, and create a more authentic life. Whether your goal is increasing your self-reliance or becoming a full-fledged homesteader, this book is packed with answers and solutions to help you rediscover traditional skills, take control of your food from seed to plate, and much more. This comprehensive guide to food and fiber from scratch proves that attitude and knowledge is more important than acreage. Written from the perspective of a successful, self-taught modern homesteader, this well-illustrated, practical, and accessible manual will appeal to anyone who dreams of a more empowered life. "Dreaming of a mindful life? Niemann's advice on gardening, cooking, orcharding, raising livestock, and much more demonstrates that it's possible to begin the journey in your own backyard." -Rebecca Martin, Managing Editor, Mother Earth News

Table of Contents:
Foreword: Joel Salatin, Polyface Farm Acknowledgments Preface to the Second Edition Introduction Part 1: The Sustainable Garden Chapter 1: Planning the Sustainable Garden      What do you need?      What will you grow?      How much will you grow? Chapter 2: Growing the Sustainable Garden      Composting      Vermicomposting      Vertical Gardening      Organic Solutions      Seed Saving      Growing Herbs Indoors      Growing Sprouts      Extending the Tomato Harvest      Winter Gardening Chapter 3: Cooking from the Sustainable Garden      Tomatoes      Freezing Tomatoes      Drying Tomatoes      Canning Tomatoes           Recipe: Creamy Heirloom Tomato Soup           Recipe: Gazpacho      Step-by-step Canning           Recipe: Pizza Sauce           Recipe: Canned Salsa      Peppers      Drying Peppers           Recipe: Pickled Peppers      Green Beans           Recipe: Pickled Green Beans      Herbs           Recipe: Iced Lemon Spearmint Tea           Recipe: Kombucha      Root Cellar Vegetables Part 2: The Backyard Orchard Chapter 4: Planning the Backyard Orchard      What do you need?      What will you grow? Chapter 5: Growing the Backyard Orchard      Planting      Watering      Mulching      Pruning Chapter 6: Cooking from the Backyard Orchard      Freezing Berries      Canning Fruit           Recipe: Canned Pears           Recipe: Caramel Apple Butter Part 3: The Backyard Poultry Flock Chapter 7: Planning the Backyard Poultry Flock      What do you need?      What will you raise?      Glossary - Poultry Chapter 8: Raising the Backyard Poultry Flock      Brooding Chicks      Brooding Ducklings      Coop Management      Laying      Feeding      Injury Prevention and Treatment Chapter 9: Raising the Backyard Poultry Flock for Meat      Chickens      Turkeys      Ducks and Geese Chapter 10: Cooking from the Backyard Poultry Flock      Eggs           Recipe: Crème Brûlée Pie           Recipe: Quick Quiche           Recipe: Brioche           Recipe: Noodles           Recipe: Mayonnaise           Recipe: Ranch Dressing      Meat           Recipe: Chicken Soup           Recipe: Faux Barbecue Chicken           Recipe: Turkey Stroganoff           Recipe: Bone Broth Part 4: The Home Dairy Chapter 11: Planning the Home Dairy      Cows      Goats      Sheep      Donkeys      Camels      Herd Animals      Pasture or Dry Lot      Bedding      Feeding      Minerals and Supplements      Breeding Males      Babies      Veterinary Care      Milking Equipment      Breeds      Buying Dairy Animals      Glossary - Dairy Animals Chapter 12: Managing the Home Dairy      Natural Dairy Management      Training a Milker      Milking by Hand      Milking by Machine      Health Basics      Natural Parasite Control      Birthing      Pasteurization Chapter 13: Producing from the Home Dairy      Butter      Buttermilk      Yogurt      Cheese           Recipe: Queso Blanco           Recipe: Ricotta           Recipe: Chèvre           Recipe: Easy Mozzarella           Recipe: Feta      Meat      Soap           Recipe: Gardener's Scrub Bar           Recipe: Castile Soap           Recipe: Facial Soap Part 5: Homegrown Pork Chapter 14: Planning for Hogs      Choosing a Breed      Housing      Fencing      Feeding      Glossary - Hogs Chapter 15: Living with Hogs      Breeding      Farrowing      Raising Piglets      Choosing Breeding Stock      Pork Chapter 16: Cooking with Pork and Lard      Rendering Lard           Recipe: Autumn Pork Breakfast Skillet Part 6: Homegrown Sweeteners Chapter 17: Maple Syrup      What do you need?           Step-by-step Maple Syrup           What do you do with all that maple syrup?           Recipe: Peanut Butter Brownies Chapter 18: Honey      What do you need?      Package Bees      Nucleus Colony      Feeding Bees      Maintenance      Harvesting Honey Part 7: The Home Fiber Flock Chapter 19: Planning and Managing the Home Fiber Flock      Choosing Fiber Animals      Rabbits      Goats and Sheep      Llamas and Alpacas      Bedding      Shearing      Breeding      Veterinary Care      Feeding and Supplements      Glossary - Fiber Animals Chapter 20: Producing from the Home Fiber Flock      Processing Fiber      Felting           Project: Felted Soap      Spinning      Knitting           Project: Scarf Part 8: Homegrown Business Chapter 21: Turning Your Passion into a Business      Where to sell your wares? Chapter 22: Selling Non-Food Products      Fiber, Yarn, Clothing      Leather and Sheepskins      Soap      Manure and Compost      Breeding Stock Chapter 23: Selling Food Products      Eggs      Dairy Products      Meat and Meat Products      Produce      Honey      Maple Syrup      Prepared Foods Afterword Appendix A: Cookware Appendix B: Cob Oven Notes Bibliography Index About the Author A Note about the Publisher

About the Author :
Deborah Niemann and her family moved to the country in 2002, and soon 2 goats turned into 20, and a desire to make a simple chevre launched a new career helping people raise goats. Deborah is the author of Homegrown and Handmade, Ecothrifty, and Raising Goats Naturally. She blogs at thriftyhomesteader.com from her farm in Illinois. Joel F. Salatin is an American farmer, lecturer, and author whose books include Folks, This Ain't Normal, You Can Farm, and Salad Bar Beef.

Review :
Budding homesteaders who want to live simpler, healthier, and more self-sufficient lives will treasure this updated edition of Niemann's encyclopedic reference. The additional material on operating a home-based business is worth the price of admission alone. Dreaming of a mindful life? Niemann's advice on gardening, cooking, orcharding, raising livestock, and much more demonstrates that it's possible to begin the journey in your own backyard. -- Rebecca Martin, Managing Editor, Mother Earth News ...buy this book, read it and then go do something. You are not alone. Mentors to help you along the way are out here. -- Joel Salatin, from the Foreword Our beautiful world would be such a healthier and happier place if every home treasured a well-thumbed edition of this book! Whether the desire is to simply grow a few veggies or to fulfill the much grander vision of producing meats and dairy products, fruits, preserves and natural fibre products, Deborah has shared her vast extent of knowledge and experience in a way that is instantly accessible. Whether it be growing pigs or pumpkins, making cheese or felting wool, I can find out all I need to know with the turn of a page. Simply -- I love this book! -- Jenni Blackmore, author, Permaculture for the Rest of Us and The Food Lover's Garden I am so impressed with this new edition of Homegrown and Handmade. Deborah Niemann has shown once again not just her wide range of skills and experience, but also her curiosity and ongoing willingness to learn. Having grown up with a mom who cooked from scratch, I deeply appreciate Deborah's emphasis on cooking for ourselves, as well as the numerous recipes included. Not everyone has the room or the time to raise their own food crops or meat or dairy animals, but everyone does have choices about what and how they eat. Wherever you are on your journey toward a more self-reliant lifestyle, Homegrown and Handmade provides practical guidance and gentle encouragement to help you make the choices that work best for you. -- Victoria Redhed Miller, author, Pure Poultry and Craft Distilling Deborah Niemann is the real homesteading deal. She walks the talk and practices what she preaches, all of which authentically and vividly comes through in the engaging pages of Homegrown and Handmade. A treasure-trove of seasoned advice and resources, this book will serve as "idea fuel" for your homesteading journey. -- Lisa Kivirist, author of Soil Sisters