Backyard Homestead

Enjoy a weekend breakfast featuring eggs, bacon, and honey from your own chickens, pigs, and bees, or a holiday meal with your own heritage-breed turkey as the main attraction. Gail Damerow covers everything you need to successfully raise your own farm animals, from selecting the right breeds to producing delicious fresh milk, cheese, honey, eggs, and meat. Even with just a small plot of land, you can become more self-sufficient, save money, and enjoy healthy, delicious animal products. Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead, The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects, The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How. Companion to Storey's best-selling The Backyard Homestead, this book delves deeper into raising animals for meat, milk, eggs, cheese, and other dairy products. Gail Damerow has written extensively on raising chickens and other livestock, growing fruits and vegetables, and related rural know-how in more than a dozen books, including What's Killing My Chickens? and the best-selling Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, The Chicken Encyclopedia, The Chicken Health Handbook, and Hatching & Brooding Your Own Chicks. Damerow is a contributor to Chickens and Hobby Farms magazines and a regular blogger for Cackle Hatchery. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, where they operate a family farm with poultry and dairy goats, a sizable garden, and a small orchard. Visit her online at gaildamerow.com.   Contents Preface Introducing Backyard Farm Animals How Many Animals Can You Keep? Chickens Turkeys Ducks & Geese Rabbits Honey Bees Goats Sheep Pigs Dairy Cows & Beef Cattle Glossary Resources Credits Index The Best Breakfast You'll Ever Eat, Courtesy of Your Backyard Animals: • Gather fresh eggs for fluffy omelets. • Stuff homemade sausages with meat. • Fill your omelet with tangy, creamy cheese. • Stir sweet honey into tea or coffee. • Fry a steak or bacon as a savory side. • Top off your meal with a cold glass of milk. Breakfast isn't the only meal you'll enjoy from your backyard farm... Imagine the satisfaction of feeding your family wholesome eggs, milk, meat, and honey produced by animals raised organically and humanely in your backyard. On as little land as one-tenth of an acre, you can raise healthy, productive barnyard animals and take a big step toward food independence. Learn how to: • Raise chickens in brooder boxes • Determine the freshness of eggs hidden in the backyard • Roast a duck or goose to perfection • Make goat-milk yogurt • Interpret everyday sheep behavior • Harvest honey • Raise your own Thanksgiving turkey • Manage your beef cattle to produce the best-tasting meatIncludes Full-Color at-a-Glance Breed Guide The animal-raising companion to The Backyard Homestead.

Growing vegetables and raising livestock is only the beginning of a successful homestead - that fresh food goes to waste unless you can properly prepare, cook, and preserve it. Andrea Chesman shows you how to bridge the gap between field and table, covering everything from curing meats and making sausage to canning fruits and vegetables, milling flour, working with sourdough, baking no-knead breads, making braises and stews that can be adapted to different cuts of meat, rendering lard and tallow, pickling, making butter and cheese, making yogurt, blanching vegetables for the freezer, making jams and jellies, drying produce, and much more. You'll learn all the techniques you need to get the most from homegrown foods, along with dozens of simple and delicious recipes, most of which can be adapted to use whatever you have available. Introduction PART 1 GETTING THE MOST FROM FRESH FOOD • Setting Up the Homestead Kitchen • Fresh Vegetables: Harvesting, Handling, Cooking • Fresh Fruit: Harvesting, Handling, Cooking • Grains and Beans • Homemade Sweeteners:Honey, Maple Syrup, and Apple Cider Syrup • Eggs, Birds, and Rabbits • Fresh Milk • Meat: Goat, Lamb, Pork, and Beef PART 2 FOOD PRESERVATION • Cold Storage • Freezing • Canning: Boiling-Water-Bath and Pressure Canning • Drying • Pickling • Making Fruit Preserves • Culturing Milk and Making Cheese • Curing Meats and Making Sausage PART 3 HOMESTEAD COOKING • Breakfast and Egg Dishes • Vegetable, Cheese, and Bean Dishes • Poultry and Meat Dishes • Desserts and Baked Goods Appendix: Basic Cooking Methods Resources Metric Conversion Charts Index

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.

Gardeners, small farmers, and outdoor living enthusiasts will love this compilation of 76 rustic DIY projects. From plant supports and clotheslines to a chicken coop, a greenhouse, and a root cellar with storage bins, most of the projects are suitable for complete novices, and all use just basic tools and easy-to-find materials. You'll find techniques to build whatever your outdoor world is missing, with additional tips to live sustainably, happily, and independently. Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead, The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How. Expert woodworker Spike Carlsen offers simple, fully illustrated instructions for projects that homesteaders, gardeners, and outdoor enthusiasts can build themselves. Spike Carlsen built a tree house at the age of 8 and has been swinging a hammer ever since. He worked as a carpenter and contractor for 15 years, then as an editor with The Family Handyman - the world's leading DIY magazine - for another 15. He's the author of the award-winning A Splintered History of Wood, Woodworking FAQ, and The Backyard Homestead of Building Projects. He's written for Men's Health, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, American Woodworker, and other publications and has appeared on HGTV, Modern Marvels, and CBS's The Early Show. He and his wife, Kat, divide their time between their home in Stillwater, Minnesota, and their cabin on Lake Superior. Build Your Self-Sufficient Life Build-it-yourself equipment, shelters, workspaces, and storage structures are just what you need to make your backyard more productive and better organized. Cold frames, compost bins, hose guides, raised-bed gardens, and potting benches make your vegetable gardening more pleasurable and your yields more plentiful. Rabbit hutches, bat houses, and chicken coops protect the useful animals in your yard. Drying racks, outdoor cookers, and root-cellar storage help you prepare and preserve fresh food. Tool sheds, chests, and storage racks provide tidy homes for everything you use in your backyard. Whether you're a new woodworker or a seasoned expert with power tools, you'll find projects you can put together in just a day or a weekend. Clear instructions guide you through every step required to build 76 useful items that will support and expand your active outdoor lifestyle. Foreword by Carleen Madigan Introduction Chapter 1 Tools, Materials & Skills My Go-To Hand Tools Safety and Safety Equipment Lifting and Moving Heavy Stuff Woods and Plywoods Glues and Caulks Exterior Fasteners Drilling Holes and Driving Screws Tool Sharpening and Maintenance Digging Holes and Setting Posts Circular Saw Basics Measuring, Leveling, and Squaring Paints and Finishes Chapter 2 For the Garden Two-Wheel Garden Cart Cold Frame Compost Bin Trio Critter-Proof Fence Shadow Box Fence Panel Deep Irrigation Basics Simple Hose Guides Garden Marker/Stepping Stone Super-Simple Path Sitting and Kneeling Garden Stool Five Raised-Bed Gardens Five Simple Plant Supports Bent Rebar Pergola Golf Cart Garden Dolly Rain Barrel Basics Potting Bench Hoop Greenhouse Rustic Trellis Chapter 3 Harvesting & Food Preparation Harvesting Tote Foldaway Countertop Rack Harvest Trug Shoulder Bucket Yoke Outdoor Workbench Multipurpose Produce Rack Fire Pit Grilling Station Root Cellar Root Cellar Storage System Flowerpot Smoker Chapter 4 Storage & Workspaces Overhead Storage Cradles Sawbuck Bench Firewood Storage and Splitting Station Knockdown Sawhorses Stand-Up Tool Rack Patio Storage Chest Wall-Hung Tool Rack Mini Tool Shed Modular Shed Homestead Emergency Cart Ultimate Yard Shed Hose Headquarters Chapter 5 Animal Shelters & Feeders Nesting Box Buckets.

This comprehensive guide to homesteading provides all the information you need to grow and preserve a sustainable harvest of grains and vegetables; raise animals for meat, eggs, and dairy; and keep honey bees for your sweeter days. With easy-to-follow instructions on canning, drying, and pickling, you'll enjoy your backyard bounty all winter long. Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, 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 publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.   On just a quarter-acre of land, you can produce fresh, organic food for a family of four - year-round! Before becoming an editor at Storey Publishing, Carleen Madigan was managing editor of Horticulture magazine and lived on an organic farm outside Boston, Massachusetts, where she learned the homesteading skills contained in The Backyard Homestead. She enjoys gardening, hiking, foraging, baking, spinning wool, and knitting. Contents Preface Introduction Part 1 GETTING THE MOST FROM FRESH FOOD • Setting Up the Homestead Kitchen • Fresh Vegetables: Harvesting, Handling, Cooking • Fresh Fruit: Harvesting, Handling, Cooking • Grains and Beans • Homemade Sweeteners: Honey, Maple Syrup, and Apple Cider Syrup • Eggs, Birds, and Rabbits • Fresh Milk • Meat: Goat, Lamb, Pork, and Beef Part 2 FOOD PRESERVATION   • Cold Storage • Freezing • Canning: Boiling-Water-Bath and Pressure Canning • Drying • Pickling • Making Fruit Preserves • Culturing Milk and Making Cheese • Curing Meats and Making Simple Sausage Part 3 HOMESTEAD COOKING • Breakfast and Egg Dishes • Vegetable, Cheese, and Bean Dishes • Poultry and Meat Dishes • Desserts and Baked Goods Appendix: Basic Cooking Methods Resources Metric Conversion Charts Index From a quarter of an acre, you can harvest 1400 eggs, 50 pounds of wheat, 60 pounds of fruit, 2000 pounds of vegetables, 280 pounds of pork, and 75 pounds of nuts. Put your backyard to work. Enjoy fresher, organic, better-tasting food all the time. The solution is as close as your own backyard. Grow the vegetables and fruits your family loves; keep bees; raise chickens, goats, or even a cow. The Backyard Homestead shows you how it's done. And when the harvest is in, you'll learn how to cook, preserve, cure, brew, or pickle the fruits of your labor. The indispensable guide to food self-sufficiency: learn how to milk a goat, prune a fruit tree, dry herbs, make dandelion wine, bake whole-grain bread, tap a maple tree, make fresh mozzarella, brew beer, mill grains for flour, save seeds for next season, and a whole lot more. "Bottom line is, even if you're not ready for complete self-sufficiency, in today's economic climate, it just makes sense to try to produce some of your own food. And this book is a great way to get your feet wet." -Bust "The tone is sweet and accessible, and the well-organized chapters cover all the bases…" - July 2009-Everyday Prepper "This book delivers what it aims to sell. Its 368 pages of information on creating a successful, self sufficient, backyard homestead that will keep you and your family busy and eating all year long. 4.5 out of five stars, this is the book homestead enthusiasts have been looking for. Go buy this book!" -Boston Sunday Globe "The Backyard Homestead is a comprehensive and accessible guide to starting a vegetable garden, raising chickens and cows, canning food, making cheese, and a whole lot more. Editor Carleen Madigan…a homesteader in her own right, draws on the dozens of books about country living that Storey has published since its founding in 1983."-New York Times Book Review "Because you need to brace yourself for what's on the horizon: