Learn to Live Holistically, Sustainably, and Intentionally Make healthier life choices to heal yourself and the environment through self-sufficiency. The Happy Holistic Homestead by Roxanne Ahern provides the tools for living slowly, intentionally, and better through permaculture, edible gardening, and organic farming. Live the Homestead Life. Ahern’s book guides new and seasoned homesteaders in improving personal and environmental health. The Happy Holistic Homestead is geared toward people who are interested in pursuing intentional lifestyles and organic farming methods. It is both for those who have access to land and those who are interested in retrofitting urban and suburban lifestyles and landscapes to shift towards sustainability. Utilize Sustainable Organic Farming Techniques. Learn about permaculture design, holistic nutrition, and sustainable farming in rural and urban settings. The Happy Holistic Homestead covers how to use organic soil and zero chemicals to grow the best vegetables and fruits, responsible and humane animal husbandry that improves the ground and carbon sequestration, as well as the best canning and preserving techniques. Ahern also provides tips on safely foraging for flowers and mushrooms. Read The Happy Holistic Homestead and learn: Permaculture practices that can be used in rural and urban spaces How to get the most out of your food through holistic nutrition The best techniques for canning and preserving your fruits and vegetables How to bake sourdough bread and how to create your own sourdough culture If you enjoyed books such as The Modern Homestead Garden, The Encyclopedia of Country Living, and Beginner's Guide to Preserving, your next read should be The Happy Holistic Homestead.

The Holistic Homestead: How to Start an Interconnected Homestead, is here to give you more than the often-repeated, simple information you find in any homesteading book. The goal of this book is to show you how to think holistically (meaning with a consideration for your entire homestead). First by giving you lots of practical examples so you can see how to make the connections, then by showing you how to make your own. Grow your own sustainable, permaculture type of homestead that considers every aspect, with a plan and goal for the future! Soli Deo Gloria! (Glory be to God alone!) Table of Contents... Introduction Chapter 1: Holistic, Permaculture & Homesteading Chapter 2: Holistic Guidelines Chapter 3: Six Pivotal Points to Starting a Successful Homestead Chapter 4: Grass Is Key! Chapter 5: The Microbial Conscious Gardener Chapter 6: Compost—A Homesteader’s Best Friend Chapter 7: The Orchard & Fruit Tree Guilds Chapter 8: Holistic Vegetable Gardening Chapter 9: Multi-Purpose Herbs Chapter 10: Weeds—A Problem or Temporary Solution? Chapter 11: Beneficial Insects & Holistic Pest Control Chapter 12: Rainwater & Greywater on the Homestead Chapter 13: Holistic Chickens Chapter 14: Beyond Chickens—Guineas, Ducks & More Chapter 15: Milk Cows & Goats, Part 1: Which Is Best for You? Chapter 16: Milk Cows & Goats, Part 2: Two Important Considerations Chapter 17: Milking Sanitation Chapter 18: Keeping Roosters, Bucks, Rams & Bulls Chapter 19: Natural Remedies & Animal Health on the Homestead Chapter 20: Fly Control & Prevention Chapter 21: Holistic Points Applied Chapter 22: Make the Connections Part 3: Indoor Homesteading Chapter 23: Connections in the Home Chapter 24: The Holistic Household, Part 1: Eight Ways to Reduce Waste Chapter 25: The Holistic Household, Part 2: System Efficiency Chapter 26: The Holistic Household, Part 3: Preserving & a Few Projects Chapter 27: The Holistic Household, Part 4: Family Health Part 4: Put the Pieces Together! Chapter 28: The Holistic Homestead Resources & Notes—How & Where to Learn More Appendix Index About

Winner of the American Horticulture Society Book Award "Phillip’s first-hand knowledge anchors this innovative and highly readable book in practical wisdom that both beginner and long-time fruit growers will find invaluable."—Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia’s Garden Many people want to grow fruit on a small scale but lack the insight to be successful orchardists. As The Holistic Orchard illustrates, growing tree fruits and berries is something virtually anyone can do. A holistic grower knows that producing fruit is not about manipulating nature but more importantly, fostering nature. The Holistic Orchard demystifies the basic skills everybody should know about the orchard ecosystem, focusing on: Orchard design Soil biology Organic health management Grafting Planting Pruning Choosing the right varieties for your climate Includes a step-by-step instructional calendar to guide growers through the entire orchard year! Fruit profiles include: pome fruits (apples, pears, asian pears, quinces) stone fruits (cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums) berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, and elderberries) Phillips completely changed the conversation about healthy orcharding with his first bestselling book, The Apple Grower, and now he takes that dialogue even further by exploring: The connections between home orcharding and permaculture The importance of native pollinators Plantings with shade-tolerant berry bushes and other insectary plants Information on cover crops and biodiversity Safe, homegrown solutions to pest and disease challenges All along the way, Phillips' expertise and enthusiasm for healthy growing shines through, as does his ability to put the usual horticultural facts into an integrated ecology perspective. With The Holistic Orchard in your hand you have every reason in the world to confidently plant that very first—or next—fruit tree!

Many would like to take a step towards becoming more self-reliant but don't know where to begin. Others are theoretically interested in the idea but aren't sure it's realistic. In this book Anna Twitto, an Israeli nutritionist and simple living enthusiast, outlines some of the steps that can be taken by people wishing to reduce their dependence on mass production and paid services. From practical topics such as keeping livestock and home maintenance to discussing sustainable communities and alternative economy, Your Own Hands brings forward a refreshing point of view for those who aim to pave their own way in a consumerism-centered culture. Inside you will find: - Advice for newbie gardeners and backyard flock owners; - Tips for a basic healthy diet with minimum time and budget investment; - Insight on DIY building and home maintenance; - Tips for simple living with children; - Natural health, beauty and household recipes; And much, much more!

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

Every farm and homestead can enjoy the timeless pleasure of a fruit orchard. Yet this can also be challenging, because few people today have the depth of knowledge and experience that’s needed to produce healthy trees and nutritious, great-tasting fruit. At the same time, both orchardists and consumers are looking to avoid spraying harmful and expensive chemicals on their trees. The answer is to create a more holistic orchard, one that emphasizes biological health and diversity – from the microscopic fungi in the soil to the beneficial insects, companion plants, and the birds and wildlife that together form a complete and living orchard ecosystem. In other words, it’s time for us to start working with nature, rather than fighting against it. Michael Phillips is a pioneering author and orchardist whose books include The Holistic Orchard and The Apple Grower. In this book & DVD bundle you'll get Phillips's award-winning book The Holistic Orchard, which offers step-by-step information on all aspects of total orchard health, plus detailed growing information on fruit tree and berry species. You'll also get the DVD Holistic Orcharding with Michael Phillips, which shows Phillips's techniques at work in his own orchard. About the Book: The Holistic Orchard demystifies the basic skills everybody should know about the inner-workings of the orchard ecosystem, as well as orchard design, soil biology, and organic health management. Detailed insights on grafting, planting, pruning, and choosing the right varieties for your climate are also included, along with a step-by-step instructional calendar to guide growers through the entire orchard year. The extensive profiles of pome fruits (apples, pears, asian pears, quinces), stone fruits (cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums), and berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, and elderberries) will quickly have you savoring the prospects. Phillips completely changed the conversation about healthy orcharding with his first bestselling book, The Apple Grower, and now he takes that dialogue even further, drawing connections between home orcharding and permaculture; the importance of native pollinators; the world of understory plantings with shade-tolerant berry bushes and other insectary plants; detailed information on cover crops and biodiversity; and the newest research on safe, homegrown solutions to pest and disease challenges. About the DVD: Holistic Orcharding with Michael Phillips leads viewers through a year in his own orchard, demonstrating basic horticultural skills like grafting and pruning, but also revealing groundbreaking and field-tested strategies for growing apples and other tree fruits not just organically, but holistically.

The Resilient Farm and Homestead is a manual for developing durable, beautiful, and highly functional human habitat systems fit to handle an age of rapid transition. Ben Falk is a land designer and site developer whose permaculture-research farm has drawn national attention. The site is a terraced paradise on a hillside in Vermont that would otherwise be overlooked by conventional farmers as unworthy farmland. Falk's wide array of fruit trees, rice paddies (relatively unheard of in the Northeast), ducks, nuts, and earth-inspired buildings is a hopeful image for the future of regenerative agriculture and modern homesteading. The book covers nearly every strategy Falk and his team have been testing at the Whole Systems Research Farm over the past decade, as well as experiments from other sites Falk has designed through his off-farm consulting business. The book includes detailed information on earthworks; gravity-fed water systems; species composition; the site-design process; site management; fuelwood hedge production and processing; human health and nutrient-dense production strategies; rapid topsoil formation and remineralization; agroforestry/silvopasture/grazing; ecosystem services, especially regarding flood mitigation; fertility management; human labor and social-systems aspects; tools/equipment/appropriate technology; and much more, complete with gorgeous photography and detailed design drawings. The Resilient Farm and Homestead is more than just a book of tricks and techniques for regenerative site development, but offers actual working results in living within complex farm-ecosystems based on research from the "great thinkers" in permaculture, and presents a viable home-scale model for an intentional food-producing ecosystem in cold climates, and beyond. Inspiring to would-be homesteaders everywhere, but especially for those who find themselves with "unlikely" farming land, Falk is an inspiration in what can be done by imitating natural systems, and making the most of what we have by re-imagining what's possible. A gorgeous case study for the homestead of the future.