The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner

This hardworking addition to the best-selling Backyard Homestead series offers expert advice on what tasks to do around your farm and when to do them - no matter where on the planet you call home. Author Ann Larkin Hansen sets the priorities for each area of the farm, including the barn, garden, orchard, field, pasture, and woodlot. For every critical turn of the year (12 in all), Hansen provides an at-a-glance to-do list along with tips and a more in-depth discussion of key topics for the season. Easy-reference charts, checklists, and record-keeping sections help you keep track of it all.



Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead, The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How. This practical workbook offers a detailed calendar of what to do when on a small farm or homestead - from pruning apple trees to brooding chicks - and shows how to organize each season's tasks efficiently and effectively.
Ann Larkin Hansen is the author of The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, The Organic Farming Manual, The Electric Fencing Handbook, Finding Good Farmland, and Making Hay; coauthor of A Landowner's Guide to Managing Your Woods with consulting forester Dennis Waterman and master logger Mike Severson; and coauthor with her husband, Steve, of Maintaining Small-Farm Equipment. She has been a journalist for more than 30 years, specializing in organic agriculture and sustainable forestry. A homesteader and a small-scale organic farmer, she lives with her family on a farm in northern Wisconsin.  Preface

Introduction: Defining the Seasons

Chapter 1: Midwinter

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: Soil Health and Fertility

Chapter 2: Late Winter

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: Meeting Plant Needs

Chapter 3: Early Spring

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: The Lives of Poultry and Livestock

Chapter 4: Mid-Spring

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: Rotational Grazing

Chapter 5: Late Spring

    Seasonal Chores

    Topics of the Season: Cover Crops and Honey Bee Partners

Chapter 6: Early Summer

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: Making Hay

Chapter 7: Midsummer

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: Caring for an Orchard

Chapter 8: Late Summer

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: Tools and Equipment

Chapter 9: Early Fall

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: Weed, Pest, and Disease Control

Chapter 10: Mid-Fall

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: Managing Your Woods

Chapter 11: Late Fall

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: Restoring Biodiversity

Chapter 12: Early Winter

    Seasonal Chores

    Topic of the Season: Quality of Life

Tracking Your Year

Seasonal Priorities: Throughout the Year

Resources

Acknowledgments

Index Your Success Depends on Your Timing



Whether it's pruning your apple trees or tuning up your tractor, knowing when to do each chore is key to a well-run farm. Ann Larkin Hansen divides each season into early, mid, and late sections and details what needs to be done during each to keep your garden, field, pasture, orchard, beeyard, barn, coop, equipment shed, woodlot, and wildlife habitate in good order. After setting seasonal priorities, every chapter examines a specific topic – such as cover crops, honey bees, and making hay – that's especially relevant for that sub-season. This practical, informative volume also provides plenty of room for your own record-keeping.