Backyard Homesteading All-in-one for Dummies

Live a more sustainable lifestyle 

Historically referred to as a government program for revitalizing undesirable living areas, "homesteading" today has come to mean the pursuit of a self-sufficient lifestyle. Homesteading can include everything from keeping bees, growing vegetables, and composting to installing solar panels, creating a rain barrel, and canning your own food,—plus much more.

Backyard Homesteading All-in-One For Dummies has a little bit of everything for the homesteader in all of us. It walks you through the basics of creating your own sustainable homestead and offers expert tips and tricks for making it as easy and successful as possible. 

• Raise chickens
• Keep bees
• Compost
• Can and preserve

This book gives you everything you need to embark on your own homesteading adventure.

Todd Brock is a television writer and producer whose work includes PBS's Growing a Greener World, DIY Network's Fresh From the Garden, and HGTV's Ground Breakers. He is the coauthor of Building Chicken Coops For Dummies.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 2

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Book 1: Creating a Garden 5

Chapter 1: Planning Your Garden 7

Determining Location and Size 8

Deciding On a Layout 15

Thinking Outside the Garden Bed 19

Keeping Critters Out 26

Assembling Tools 33

Chapter 2: Deciding What to Grow 41

Understanding Veggie Varieties 41

Deciding How Much to Grow 43

Succeeding with Vegetables 45

Planting Other Small-Scale Crops 58

Growing Herbs for and in the Kitchen 62

Chapter 3: Preparing to Plant 65

Razing Your Garden Spot 66

Analyzing and Improving Your Soil 69

Turning Your Soil 77

Looking Ahead at Watering Options 79

Fencing It In 86

Planning for Pathways 94

Chapter 4: Planting 95

Timing Your Planting Wisely 96

Choosing Seeds or Transplants 102

Deciding on Your Seeding Method and Decoding a Seed Packet 103

Starting Seeds Indoors 104

Transplanting Indoor Seedlings and Starter Plants 112

Sowing Seeds Directly in Your Garden 116

Planting Guidelines 120

Chapter 5: Growing Your Garden 125

Introducing Your Inner Gardener to the Watering Basics 126

Digging Into Composting 128

Fertilizing Your Vegetable Garden 135

Keeping Your Plants Cozy and Weed Free with Mulch 140

Surveying Some Cool Farmer Techniques 145

Knowing When to Harvest 151

Chapter 6: Dealing with Weeds and Pests 155

Fighting Weed Wars 156

Keeping Good Bugs Nearby 158

Battling Bad Bugs 159

More Methods of Attack 164

Chapter 7: Extending Your Season 171

Covering Your Rows 172

Using Cold Frames 173

Going with Greenhouses 175

Getting Your Feet Wet with Hydroponics, Aquaponics, and Aeroponics 178

Book 2: Preserving the Harvest 181

Chapter 1: Canning Basics 183

Starting Successful Canning 183

Gathering Your Canning Gear 185

Putting Safety First 191

Chapter 2: Water-Bath Canning 197

Water-Bath Canning in a Nutshell 197

Gearing Up for Water-Bath Canning 198

Water-Bath Canning Step-by-Step 200

Adjusting Your Processing Times at High Altitudes 206

Canning Fresh Fruit (Yes, That Includes Tomatoes) 207

Fresh Fruit Canning Recipes 211

Jam, Chutney, Relish, and Salsa Recipes 223

Chapter 3: Pressure Canning 231

Understanding the Fuss about Low-Acid Foods 232

Choosing a Pressure Canner 232

Pressure Canning Step-by-Step 238

Pressure Canning at Higher Altitudes 242

Canning Vegetables 243

Vegetable Canning Recipes 246

Chapter 4: Pickling 269

Perusing Pickling Ingredients 269

Brining Education 272

Adding Crunch to Your Food 274

Pickling Equipment and Utensils 275

Pickled Vegetable Recipes 275

Chapter 5: Freezing 291

Focusing on Freezing 291

Giving Fruit the Freeze 295

Frozen Fruit Recipes 298

Blanching Perfect Vegetables 303

Frozen Vegetable Recipes 304

Freezing Fresh Herbs 316

Chapter 6: Drying 319

Opening the Door to Successful Food Drying 319

Choosing a Drying Method 320

Protecting the Life of Your Dried Food 324

Snacking on the Run: Drying Fruit 325

Dried Fruit Recipes 328

Drying Vegetables for Snacks and Storage 338

Dried Vegetable Recipes 340

DIYing the Drying of Herbs 350

Chapter 7: Root Cellaring and Storage 357

Finding the Perfect Place for Cold Storage 357

Following Simple Storage Rules 362

Preparing Foods for Cold Storage 364

Book 3: Making Your Own 369

Chapter 1: Brewing Beer 371

Setting Up Shop to Brew 372

Getting to Know Your Ingredients 374

Brewing Your First Batch 377

Taking Hydrometer Readings 380

Bottling Your Brew 383

Chapter 2: Fermenting 389

Getting Familiar with Fermentation 389

Fermenting Essentials 390

Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Sterilizing 392

Fermenting Vegetables (including Sauerkraut and Kimchi) 393

Starting Sourdough 401

Mooving On to Dairy 405

Raising a Glass to Fermented Beverages 416

Chapter 3: Baking Bread 425

Understanding Yeast Breads 425

Mixing and Kneading Breads 428

Encouraging Bread to Rise 430

Shaping and Baking the Loaves 431

Yeast Bread, Quick Bread, Muffin, and Biscuit Recipes 432

Chapter 4: Making Candles and Soap 441

Igniting Your Candlemaking Hobby 442

Rolling Beeswax Candles 444

Making Molded Candles 445

Taking a Dip with Tapers 447

Cleaning Up with Homemade Soap 450

Book 4: Raising Animals 455

Chapter 1: Introducing Beekeeping 457

Breaking into Backyard Beekeeping 458

Choosing the Right Hive 461

Gearing Up for Beekeeping 467

Chapter 2: Caring for Your Bee Colony 473

Busying Yourself with Bee Activity 474

Holding Out for Honey 481

Harvesting Your Honey 485

Swarming and Absconding 496

Playing Doctor: Fighting Disease 498

Battling Varroa Mites 502

Colony Collapse Disorder 506

Chapter 3: Introducing Backyard Chickens 509

Thinking Through Chickenkeeping 510

Chicken Breeds 516

Analyzing the Anatomy of a Coop 525

Chapter 4: Raising Your Chicken Flock 529

Feeding Your Flock 529

Raising Baby Chicks 536

Pests and Predators 544

Expecting Eggs (for Eating) 549

Chapter 5: Opting for Other Animals 553

Raising Rabbits 554

Getting Your Goats 555

Figuring Out Fowl: Ducks, Geese, and Turkeys 556

Goin’ Fishin’ 558

Book 5: Building It Yourself 559

Chapter 1: Starting Small with Garden Projects 561

Making an A-Frame Trellis 562

Crafting the Ultimate Tomato Cage 563

Building Raised Garden Beds 565

Constructing a Cold Frame 567

Elevating Your Rain Barrel on a Stand 568

Organizing Made Easy with a Tool Wall 570

Creating a Compost Bin (or Two) 573

Whipping Up a Walk-In Hoop House 578

Chapter 2: Building a Backyard Beehive 581

Choosing Materials 582

Protecting Your Hive with Paint and More 586

Building the Kenya Top Bar Hive 587

Chapter 3: Building a Chicken Coop 603

Choosing Materials 604

Selecting the Right Coop for Your Flock 611

Constructing the Alpine A-Frame Coop 616

Index 631

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.