Abigail R. Gehring - Homesteading: a backyard guide to growing your own food, canning, keeping chickens, generating your own energy, crafting, herbal medicine, and more

Copyright 2014 by Abigail R. Gehring

Illustrations on copyright 2009, 2014 by Timothy W. Lawrence

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Print ISBN: 978-1-62914-366-8

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62914-990-5

Printed in China

Contents

Acknowledgments

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

G. K. Chesterton

This book was a team effort and it is something of an injustice that only one name appears on the cover. I am hugely grateful for all the people who used their time, skills, and creativity to bring it together.

Thanks to Tony Lyons for entrusting me with another exciting and challenging project, and for all his support along the way, and to Ann Treistman for her encouragement, ideas, and editorial guidance. Julie Matysik, this book wouldnt have gotten done if it werent for the hours and hours you spent researching, compiling information, organizing, and writingthank you. Bill Wolfsthal, Kathleen Go, and Adam BozarthI continue to be grateful for your marketing, editing, and designing skills, and for helping to make this work we do so fulfilling. Jessie Shiers, thanks for your close copyeditors eye and useful comments. Thanks also to Janike Ruginis, Heather Chapman, Loren Yandoc, Erika Meller, and Matt Messmer for your willingness to jump in and help at any moment. To the many people who offered their thoughts, experiences, and expertise, I am truly grateful.

Finally, thanks to my family for being supportive even as I spent portions of so many evenings, weekends, and holidays with my eyes glued to the computer screen. Tim Lawrence, I am more and more amazed by your many talents. Thank you for not only encouraging me but for willingly doing so many excellent drawings to illustrate the words in these pages. We make a good team.

Introduction

There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.

Howard Thurman

Homesteading is about creating a lifestyle that is first of all genuine. Its about learning to recognize your needsincluding energy, food, financial, and health needsand finding out how they can be met creatively and responsibly. In order to harness your own energy for heat or electricity, you first have to face the facts about how much energy you use versus how much you actually need, and then assess your environment and resources to determine the best method for meeting those needs. Before buying chicks or any other animal to raise, be honest with yourself about the time you have to invest in caring for them. If you want a garden, theres no reason not to have onebut think about how large a plot you can manage before you start digging up dirt. Homesteading is different for every individual or family. Sometimes being genuine means letting goat least temporarilyof grandiose schemes for acres of land, a home that is completely off the grid, and a barn full of animals. It could mean simply shopping at the local farmers market for your produce, or making candles to light in the evenings to conserve electricity. If you live in an urban apartment, maybe you can plant vegetables on your roof, or start a community garden in a park or at a school.

This book is meant for everyone who has a desire to be a responsible steward of our natural resources, whether living in the heart of the city or on a hundred acres of farmland in rural Vermont. Its meant to give you inspiration, information, and the basic directions you need to take a few steps closer to a healthier, happier, and more responsible lifestyle. From sprouting seeds to making a solar water heater to handcrafting paper to brewing herbal teas, youll find more ideas than youll ever be able to put into practice in one lifetime. In this updated edition youll also find new gems, including an appendix to help you identify trees, constellations, and birds.

Even if you only try one of the projects here, youll have learned something new and experienced a different way of being, which hopefully youll find enriching. Most importantly, youll have had an opportunity to learn something about yourself and what homesteading means to you.

Abigail R. Gehring

Part One

The Home Garden

My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plants point of view.

H. Fred Ale

Creating a gardenwhether its a single tomato plant in a pot on your windowsill or a full acre chock-full of flowers and veggiestakes imagination, hard work, a bit of planning, patience, and a willingness to take risks. There are some factors you can control, like the condition of the soil you bury your seeds in, the time of year you start planting, and what plants you put where. But there will always be situations you cant predict; you might get a frost in June, an old discarded pumpkin seed might sprout up in the middle of your magnolias, or the cat could knock your basil plant off the counter to its demise on the kitchen floor. This element of surprise is one of the joys and challenges of gardening. If you can learn to skillfully navigate the factors in your control and accept the unpredictable circumstances with patience and a sense of humor, youll have mastered a great life lesson. The following pages are meant to help you with that first part: gaining the knowledge and insight you need to give your garden the best chance of thriving. From understanding a plants basic needs, to properly preparing soil, to protecting against weeds and harmful insects, this section covers all the gardening basics. Beyond that, youll find information on growing plants without soil, tips for keeping your garden organic, and inspiration for gardening in urban environments. There is little in life as rewarding as enjoying a salad composed entirely of things youve picked from your own garden. But gardening is also about the process: If you can learn to love the feel of the dirt between your fingers, the burn in your muscles as you dig, and the quiet, slow way in which sprouts reach toward the sun, no moment of your labor will have been a waste, regardless of the end results.

Planning a Garden