Books for the Homestead

Please pardon our dust!

All successful homesteads have a collection of resource books to answer those unique questions that are common only to those of us that have chosen the simpler lifestyle.  These books are "must haves" for today's homesteader. 

Browse by category, or scroll through the entire list.  Either way, be sure these books have a place in your library!

Basic Skills for the Homestead:

Building & Construction:

Critters (Cows, Pigs, Chickens and more):

Barnyard in your Backyard; by Gail Damerow

Economics

Food Storage

Gardening

Basic Skills for the Homestead

At Home in Nature; by Rebecca Gould

Here is the ULTIMATE book on homesteading!

A book about people who have chosen to live with less attention to economic livelihood, while focusing more attention to living life itself... This is about the whole "back to the land" movement, home schooling, compost bins, food preparation without electricity, bread making, home construction, stonework, off-grid living, and tons of other useful information for the modern homesteader.

There are sections on the spirituality of homesteading, with thoughts by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau, quotes by Emily Dickinson, knowledge from Helen and Scott Nearing, and others.  

This book is a MUST HAVE for all  homesteaders, as well as those just learning about this unique lifestyle.  This book is 366 pages of homesteading knowledge that is considered by many to be the NEW ultimate source on Homesteading!

The Encyclopedia of Country Living; by Carla Emery  

The Original homesteading bible!

From the garden or barnyard to the kitchen table, here is a comprehensive resource for step-by-step information about food production. Filled with more than 1,000 recipes, 700 mail-order sources, how-to instructions from making soap, raising chicken, to slaughtering hogs. Packed with earthly wisdom gleaned from a lifetime of self-sufficient living, this thorough, reliable treasury should be in every home. Features 300 illustrations. The Homesteader's Bible. A "must have"!

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-To-Basics Guide; by John Seymour

The only book that teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land.

This book teaches you the skills needed for harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops, keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more. This new edition includes 150 new full color illustrations and a special section in which John Seymour the father of the back to basics movement explains the philosophy of self-sufficiency and its power to transform lives and create communities. More relevant than ever in our high-tech world, The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the ultimate practical guide for realists and dreamers alike.

The Self-Reliant Homestead; by Charles A. Sanders

Written by a real country homesteader

A hands-on text for country living, this book contains detailed advice on everything from selecting a piece of land to raising livestock, from making wine from home-grown fruits to making fences strong and durable. Here is abundant advice from a real country homesteader, a book equally valuable for lifelong farm-dwellers or for the new-to-the-country city folks looking to set down roots.

Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance; by John & Martha Storey

From Fighting Flu to Cleaning Your House...What Country Folk Know that You Don't

Learn all the wisdom and secrets that have been passed down from generation to generation of folks living in the country. Tips on how to use rubbing alcohol, lighter fluid and vinegar when cleaning, and how to plant a cold and flu garden to make your winter healthier and happier. This encyclopedia is big enough for the coffee table but better suited to the tool shed. In addition to providing bushels of advice on gardening, it's a manual for everyday survival in rural America. Some skills you might pick up: how to build a garden shed, caring for pet llamas, techniques for building a stone wall and making your own preserves. Even if you only use 1 percent of the information in it, Basic Country Skills is fascinating reading.
 

Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small

Farm Management, by M.G. Kains

This is a classic of the back-to-the-land movement

First published in 1940, but still in print thanks to Dover. Packed with solid, timeless information on the small farm and good advice for any city transplant trying to master the world of agriculture. Definitely worth reading.

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Building and Construction

How to Build Small Barns & Outbuildings;

by Monte Burch

A big book of construction for the farm

Building your own barns and outbuildings offers many benefits, perhaps the most obvious being the money you can save. About half the costs of any building project is the labor, and, by doing it yourself, you can construct your building more economically, or even put up a larger building on the same budget.

But another important benefit of building it yourself is the satisfaction that comes from improving your own landscape and surroundings. A well-constructed barn, shed, or outbuilding can be a source of pride for many years -- and will also enhance the value of your property.

In How to Build Small Barns & Outbuildings, Monte Burch takes readers step by step through the fundamentals of general construction -- from planning and laying out a site to do-it-yourself instructions on framing, roofing, wiring, plumbing, and much more.
 

How To Build This Log Cabin for $3,000;

by John McPherson

 If you want to learn how to build your own log cabin

on a budget, then THIS is the book for you

A step by step "how-to" on the construction of a log cabin profusely illustrated with over 300 photographs plus several line drawings. This book was written and designed for the "average" person who has the desire to build a log cabin but not much knowledge. Modern tools are used and everything but logs (including roof) were purchased and yet the cost of construction was kept right at $3,000. Common problems are shown being solved using not much more than common sense. From trees in the timber to the final chinking, this book is designed to get the reader out there and building.
 

Logs, Wind and Sun: Handcraft your own Log Cabin Then... Power It With Nature;

by Rex A. Ewing

 A very inspiring and fun read! Written by a couple who had the courage to pursue their dreams, this book is written for you and me with lots of details, wit and humor.

Many people dream of getting back to nature and living self-sufficiently in a house built with their own hands. The Ewings show readers how to do just that in this account of how they built a log house and then powered it using sun and wind. For most people, this would be a monumental undertaking, and so it was for the Ewings. In one case, their logs were delivered a mile from their home site, and they had to move them the rest of the way themselves. Using a combination of brains and hard work, they solved this problem and many others. The Ewings take a clear, step-by-step approach to log building.  Fully a third of the text is devoted to explaining how to run one's home completely off the power grid. Readers are offered a wealth of hard-to-find information about solar photovoltaic modules, wind generators, charge controllers, batteries, inverters-all fully explained in the Ewings' easygoing, pragmatic manner with an emphasis on safety. This section makes their work stand out from other log-building books.

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Critters (Cows, Pigs, Chickens and More)

Barnyard in Your Backyard: A Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Rabbits, Goats, Sheep and Cows; by Gail Damerow

 The perfect book for anyone who has ever dreamed of having that little place in the country, Barnyard in Your Backyard offers tried-and-true, expert advice on raising healthy, happy, productive farm animals

When is the right time to shear a sheep? Is there a market for manure? What time of day is best to collect eggs? What is the correct way to milk a goat? What does a duck eat? Can a cow and a sheep share the same pasture? Which types of rabbits are easiest to raise? The perfect book for anyone who has ever dreamed of having that little place in the country.

Each chapter focuses on a different animal, discussing the pros and cons of raising the animal, housing and land requirements, feeding guidelines, health concerns, and a schedule for routine care. Species that are easy to raise, hardy, and companionable are profiled. First-time farmers will discover simple, clear instructions for caring for animals throughout the year, as well as guidelines for processing barnyard products such as milk, wool, and eggs. Combining practical advice from real experts, easy-to-use checklists and charts, a seasonal care calendar, and detailed black-and-white illustrations, Barnyard in Your Backyard offers a comprehensive review of the ins and outs - the tribulations and triumphs - of living with and caring for a small barnyard.

Backyard Poultry Raising: The Chicken-Growing, Egg-Laying, Feather-Plucking, Incubating, Caponizing, Finger-Licking Handbook, by John F. Adams.  This one is very folksy and clearly based on long experience. Not especially organized, but full of hints and tips on everything from the personality of ducklings to nurturing foundling wild birds. This is the only chicken book you might read just for fun.

Husbandry: The Surest, Cheapest Way to Leisure, Plenty, Prosperity & Contentment, Plai Ly Demonstrated, by Nathan Griffith.  "Husbandry" tells how anyone can achieve a good living in the country, without a lot of money.  It gives the author's first-hand, no-nonsense account of good living by sustainable management of rather small, cheap parcels of land. He tells how to find and evaluate country places, how to examine their titles at a courthouse, and how to buy wisely.

Our thanks to J.R. for suggesting this excellent book.

The Family Cow, by Dirk van Loon. This is one of the few books available on keeping a single cow at your farm to provide milk and milk products for your family. Published in 1976, so the economics are a bit suspect, but it's still a good reference.

Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew

Square Foot Gardening presents a new way to garden in less space with less work. The book has been overwhelmingly accepted by gardeners across America. Bartholomew also hosts the popular PBS series of the same name. 37 photos. 63 illustrations and charts. Excellent for homesteaders and backyard gardeners alike!

The Candlemaker's Companion: A Complete Guide to Rolling, Pouring, Dipping, and Decorating Your Own Candles, by Betty Oppenheimer.  This book covers the basics of getting started, as well as more creative ideas once you get the hang of it.

 

Keeping Livestock Healthy: A Veterinary Guide to Horses, Cattle, Pigs, Goats & Sheep  Keeping Livestock Healthy, by N. Bruce Haynes. Basic veterinary handbook for the livestock owner who wants to know when to call the vet and what to do until she gets there. Covers horses, cows, goats, sheep, and pigs. 

Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game, by John J. Mettler, Jr.  Step by step instructions, with lots of pictures, telling you what to do with those meat animals now that you've raised them.

The Complete Tightwad Gazette, by Amy Dacyczyn.  In a newsletter published from May 1990 to December 1996 as well as in three enormously successful books, Amy Dacyczyn established herself as the expert of economy. Now The Complete Tightwad Gazette brings together all of her best ideas and thriftiest thinking into one volume, along with new articles never published before in book format. Dacyczyn describes this collection as "the book I wish I'd had when I began my adult life." Packed with humor, creativity, and insight.

 Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month, by Deborah Taylor-Hough.  Frozen Assets is small in stature, but jam-packed with meal-planning advice. It contains recipe ideas, plus detailed instructions on how to get the maximum value from your food dollar, while also slashing meal preparation times.