The Complete Homesteading Handbook

Homesteading ?? a l?f??t?l? ?f self-sufficiency. It ?? ?h?r??t?r?z?d by ?ub???t?n?? agriculture, h?m? preservation of f??d, ?nd m?? ?l?? ?nv?lv? the small ???l? ?r?du?t??n of textiles, ?l?th?ng, ?nd ?r?ftw?rk for household u?? ?r ??l?. Pursued ?n d?ff?r?nt w??? around the w?rld-?nd ?n different h??t?r???l eras-homesteading is generally d?ff?r?nt??t?d from rural village ?r commune l?v?ng b? isolation (??th?r socially ?r ?h?????ll?) ?f th? homestead. U?? of the t?rm ?n th? United States d?t?? back t? th? H?m??t??d A?t (1862) ?nd b?f?r?. In ?ub-S?h?r?n Africa, particularly ?n n?t??n? f?rm?rl? ??ntr?ll?d by th? Br?t??h Em??r?, a h?m??t??d ?? th? h?u??h?ld compound for a single extended family. In th? UK, the t?rm 'smallholder' ?r '?r?ft?' ?? th? r?ugh equivalent ?f 'homesteader'. Here is a full-color guide to help you and your family to be kinder to Mother Earth, while being kind to your bank account! It doesn't matter where your homestead is located-farm, suburb, or even city-you can learn to grow vegetables, use alternative energy, can and preserve, and more! You, too, can be more self-sufficient!With the rapid depletion of our planet's natural resources, we would all like to live a more self-sufficient lifestyle. But in the midst of an economic crisis, it's just as important to save money as it is to go green. Plan, plant, and harvest your own organic home garden. Enjoy fruits and vegetables year-round by canning, drying, and freezing. Build alternate energy devices by hand, such as solar panels or geothermal heat pumps. Differentiate between an edible puffball mushroom and a poisonous amanita. Prepare butternut squash soup using ingredients from your own garden. The Homesteading Handbook is your roadmap to living in harmony with the land.