An accessible guide for the aspiring modern homesteader from the craftsmen at Living the Country Life magazine! Grow your own crops, raise backyard animals, and preserve your bounty for the winter months and beyond. Once upon a time, people had a real connection with the land. Instead of being mere consumers, they were producers and makers. Traditional skills were learned to eliminate a reliance on others, enabling the self-sufficiency that’s at the heart of the Do-It-Yourself movement. And this artisanal wisdom was passed on to family and friends. The editors at Living the Country Life magazine have collected this essential expertise into Modern Homesteading, a guide to rediscovering the crucial skills to truly go from farm to table. Whether you live in the country or just want to reconnect with nature in your own backyard, Modern Homesteading provides guidance to: * Build a chicken coop, raise and care for chicks, and produce farm-fresh eggs for the breakfast table * Grow your own fruits, vegetables, grains, and herbs for a healthy and delicious bounty * Preserve and can your favorite fruits and vegetables to enjoy their flavors throughout the year * Customize your garden for a harmonious mix of plants that yield what you need, when you need it Whether you’re raising urban chickens behind your Brooklyn brownstone or feeding your family from a front-yard organic veggie plot, this book can bring a little self-sufficiency into any life.

The Homesteader’s Natural Chicken Keeping Handbook is the modern homesteader’s guide to raising, feeding, breeding, selling, and enjoying the noblest animal on the farm—the chicken. From the rooster’s crow in the morning, to the warm egg in the nesting box, chickens are the gateway livestock for almost every homesteader and backyard farm enthusiast. In this book, you’ll learn everything you need to know about raising chickens naturally. Fewell guides you in: understanding why chickens do what they do creating your very own poultry or egg business preventing and treating ailments with herbal remedies setting up your property, coop, and brooder hatching chicks purchasing chickens properly cooking delicious recipes with your farm fresh eggs and poultry. This is heritage chicken keeping skills 101, with a modern twist. Not only will you gain knowledge about naturally keeping chickens through every stage of their lives, but you’ll fully embrace the joy and ease of raising all-natural chickens on your homestead.

Raise a gaggle of geese, the unsung heroes of the small farm While chickens preen in the spotlight, geese are the historic unsung heroes of small farms and homesteads. Providing weed control, large eggs, and entertainment, and acting as "security" over other animals, geese are the ultimate modern homesteading companion. The Modern Homesteader's Guide to Keeping Geese covers everything you need to know to raise geese, including: Profiles of breeds and how to select the best one for your needs How to "imprint" goslings on a person Feeding, housing, animal health, and cold weather care Using geese for weed control, soil improvement, and as "watch-geese" Cooking with goose eggs and meat Additional coverage includes a look at the rich history of geese on farms in North America and Europe that will enhance any goose keeper's enjoyment of these intelligent and unique birds. This practical guide is a must-have essential for the kitchen table of homesteaders, small farmers, permaculturists, and professional farmers looking to add the power of geese to their land.

The "look before you leap" guide to the joys and pitfalls of the rural good life. Dreams of self-sufficiency, independence, and tranquility continue to pull in a new generation of modern homesteaders. While growing your own food and being in charge of your life is the source of much satisfaction, there are many challenges to living away from modern conveniences. Written by an experienced modern homesteader who successfully made the leap, So You Want to Be a Modern Homesteader? offers an in-depth examination of what you need to consider before moving "back to the land." Drawing from a deep well of experience, this essential guide covers: Romance versus the reality of rural living Finding the right property Building versus bootstrapping Practical "must-have" skills Earning an income and farming on a budget Creating community Seasonal living Children and schooling Social media, the internet and rural life. Whether you are dreaming of moving to the country for peace and an escape from the daily grind, to provide a different lifestyle for your children, or you're already long-established in the country, this complete and realistic guide is the essential resource to help you achieve success as a modern homesteader.

In the ’60s it was called the "back to the land" movement, and in Helen and Scott Nearings’ day, it was "living the good life." Whatever the term, North Americans have always yearned for a simpler way. But how do you accomplish that today? Blending inspiration with practical how-to’s, Rural Renaissance captures the American dream of country living for contemporary times. Journey with the authors and experience their lessons, laughter and love for the land as they trade the urban concrete maze for a five-acre organic farm and bed and breakfast in southwestern Wisconsin. Rural living today is a lot more than farming. It’s about a creative, nature-based and more self-sufficient lifestyle that combines a love of squash, solar energy, skinny-dipping and serendipity . . . The many topics explored in Rural Renaissance include: "right livelihood" and the good life organic gardening and permaculture renewable energy and energy conservation wholesome organic food, safe water and a natural home simplicity, frugality and freedom green design and recycled materials community, friends and raising a family independence and interdependence wildlife conservation and land stewardship. An authentic tale of a couple whose pioneering spirit and connection to the land reaches out to both the local and global community to make their dream come true, Rural Renaissance will appeal to a wide range of Cultural Creatives, free agents, conservation entrepreneurs and both arm-chair and real-life homesteaders regardless of where they live. Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko are innkeepers, organic growers, copartners in a marketing consulting company, and have previously published books. John is also a photographer. Former advertising agency fast-trackers, they are nationally recognized for their contemporary approach to homesteading, conservation and more sustainable living. They share their farm with their son, two llamas, and a flock of free-range chickens. Rural Renaissance also offers a foreword by Bill McKibben.

Jill Winger, creator of the award-winning blog The Prairie Homestead, introduces her debut The Prairie Homestead Cookbook, including 100+ delicious, wholesome recipes made with fresh ingredients to bring the flavors and spirit of homestead cooking to any kitchen table. With a foreword by bestselling author Joel Salatin The Pioneer Woman Cooks meets 100 Days of Real Food, on the Wyoming prairie. While Jill produces much of her own food on her Wyoming ranch, you don’t have to grow all—or even any—of your own food to cook and eat like a homesteader. Jill teaches people how to make delicious traditional American comfort food recipes with whole ingredients and shows that you don’t have to use obscure items to enjoy this lifestyle. And as a busy mother of three, Jill knows how to make recipes easy and delicious for all ages. "Jill takes you on an insightful and delicious journey of becoming a homesteader. This book is packed with so much easy to follow, practical, hands-on information about steps you can take towards integrating homesteading into your life. It is packed full of exciting and mouth-watering recipes and heartwarming stories of her unique adventure into homesteading. These recipes are ones I know I will be using regularly in my kitchen." - Eve Kilcher These 109 recipes include her family’s favorites, with maple-glazed pork chops, butternut Alfredo pasta, and browned butter skillet corn. Jill also shares 17 bonus recipes for homemade sauces, salt rubs, sour cream, and the like—staples that many people are surprised to learn you can make yourself. Beyond these recipes, The Prairie Homestead Cookbook shares the tools and tips Jill has learned from life on the homestead, like how to churn your own butter, feed a family on a budget, and experience all the fulfilling satisfaction of a DIY lifestyle.