Homesteading Handbook: A Complete Homesteading Guide to... (PDF) (2024)

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Homesteading Handbook : AComplete Homesteading Guide toSelf Sufficiency and SustainableLiving (Homesteading for Beginners,Homesteading Guide, How toHomestead, Homesteading Skills)Richard ForemanPUBLISHED BY:Richard ForemanCopyright © 2015Visit our website to get more books information: justhappyforever.comAll rights reserved.No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by anymeans, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright ownerand publisher of this book.Disclaimer

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The information contained in this ebook is for general information purposesonly. The information is provided by the authors and while we endeavor to keepthe information up to date and correct, we make no representations orwarranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy,reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the ebook or the information,products, services, or related graphics contained in the ebook for any purpose.Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.WAIT! Before you continue…Just to say thank you for purchasing this book, I want to give you a 100% FREE GIFT (valued at $5.99): 10Hot Tips for Eating Right & Losing Weight Fast.You will get the tips for eating right and losing weight fast to make you health.Click here to access your Free giftTable of ContentsIntroductionUnderstanding HomesteadingWhy Homesteading is a good decisionUrban Homesteading Vs. Rural HomesteadingHomesteading and PermacultureHomesteading - A social, economic and lifestylechoiceStarting your Own Garden

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Gardening for Self SufficiencySelecting the locationOptimum Amount of SunlightCollecting rainwater for Watering plantsMaking your own Backyard CompostMulching in your GardenSoil Types, Testing and PreparationTypes of Homestead GardeningRooftop GardeningBackyard GardeningSquare Foot GardeningContainer GardeningVertical GardeningRaised-bed GardeningTrellis GardeningChoosing Plants for HomesteadingDeciding What to PlantPlanning when to plantArranging CropsDealing with weeds and pests

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Livestock: Homesteading LifestyleMaking your Own FoodMake Your Own CheeseHomemade BreadOrganic EggsHomemade YogurtPreserving FoodCanningFreezingDehydrating and DryingSalt PreservationConclusion

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IntroductionUnderstanding HomesteadingIn this fast-paced technology driven world, the idea of living life at a slow andrelaxing pace has started to gain popularity and acceptance. Rising inflation,overdependence on technology, shortage of resources, pesticides ridden fruitsand vegetables, and not-a-moment-to-catch-my-breath lifestyle have pushed anumber of people into looking at homesteading as a viable lifestyle. Althoughhomesteading is certainly not a new concept, the ideas and concepts of urbanhomesteading has started to gain traction with both the young and the urbanpopulation.In the past, homesteaders spent years undertaking backbreaking tasks ofplowing, tilling and harvesting farms carved out of complete wilderness. Theystayed away from modern day amenities and tools. Although, present dayhomesteaders too undertake physically exhaustive tasks, they are, nevertheless,not as grueling as the olden-day tasks. But, let this not fool you as homesteading— present or past — is taxing if you do not have the right aptitude to live yourlife without a number of so-called ‘basic’ amenities that we take for granted.A large number of people are attracted towards homesteading because it helpskeep unhealthy and harmful chemicals out of the food chain. Turning togardening is the only way to ensure that each and every one of us has access towholesome and less-contaminated food. Moreover, people have gone further andhave ensured that chemicals do not find their way into their personal lives aswell. With every action they take, homesteaders make sure that they do not harmthemselves, their co-beings, the Earth and the future generations. Call it whatyou may — green movement, eco conscious or going green — the basic ideathat defines homesteading is self-sufficiency and environmental responsibility.Homesteading, as difficult and backbreaking it might seem initially, is the firststep towards a happier, healthier and satisfying lifestyle.Urban homesteading is not a new concept or an idea; in fact, homesteading is asold as the mountains. Before people started buying bread and eggs from stores,everyone raised poultry in their backyards and baked bread at their homes.

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Homesteading is an ancient concept; however, urban homesteading has revivedthe old techniques of self-sufficiency and adapted them to suit the urbandwellers’ needs. Urban homesteading is not a single concept; it is a collection ofvarious techniques and practices. It includes growing vegetables and fruits,raising animals, preserving food, making bread, cheese and yogurt at home,spinning and knitting, making cleaning products, using solar and wind energy,conserving water and making fertilizers and compost. The one concept that holdsurban and rural homesteading is the idea of providing for self, resisting thetemptation to binge consumption, consuming products made at home, creatingproducts rather than purchasing mass-produced products from stores.If you want to live a self-sufficient life, homesteading is a must for you.Homesteading is branded by subsistence farming, home conservation offoodstuffs and it may in certain instances involve a minor production of clothing,fabrics and craftwork for home use or sale.Homesteading generally makes a distinction from rural commune livelihood byisolation, socially or physically of the farm. The usage of this term, in the UnitedStates of America, dates way back to the Homestead Act of 1862 and probablytheven before the 19 century.thSelf-sufficiency movements in the 20 century began to use the concept to cityand suburban locations known as urban homesteading. It incorporates smallsustainable farming and homemaking. In homesteading, government and socialsupport coordination are frequently given a wide berth to favor self-reliance andkith and kin deprivation, so as to maximize self-reliance and self-determination.The degree of autonomy happens along a spectrum, with a lot of homesteadersproducing foodstuffs or trades to fascinate high-end niche consumers in order tocover financial requirements. Some homesteaders turn in to this lifestylefollowing fruitful careers which make available the funding for electricity,generators, land, farm equipment, housing, solar panels and taxes.Contemporary government rules in the form of structure codes, food welfareprograms, zoning guidelines, minimum salary and social security for seasonallabor force. And town committee limits on landscaping and animal custody hasimproved the marginal expense of home production of sustenance.Combined with the late rewards of forming a viable farming site, this increases

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the hardship of establishing an independent homestead from the ground,particularly for those of meager income. Actual monetary savings fromimplementing a homesteading existence appear most strongly related to inferiormaterial subsistence standards and upkeep of purchased means such as foodstuff,electricity, water and fertilizer rather than decrease costs of existence.Economies of measure in modern farming and opportunity cost of physical laborinhibit home-raised food items from being a cost-effective choice. Manyhomesteaders however, show deep approval with their standard of existence andfeel that their way of living is healthier and better rewarding than otherconventional forms of living.Below is a partial listing of homesteading abilities that hopefully may inspirenew homesteaders to study. This is highly recommended for young peoplewho want to dare finding a new approach to life. Each skill that you acquirewill be a step nearer to a life of better self-reliance and autonomy.Fundamental homesteading skills consist of learning how to:Bake bread;Butcher small livestock such as chicken and rabbits;Caponize a chicken;Choose a location for a vegetable garden or orchard;Cook 10 basic meals from scratch on a cook stove;Crochet;Cut and glaze glass;Determine an animal’s age by its teeth;Dig and properly use a shallow well;Do basic sewing; and home canning and food preservation;Dub a chicken;Dye cloth or yarn from plants;Entertain yourself and live without electronic media;

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Fillet and clean a fish;Graft baby animals onto a foster-mother;Grind wheat into flour;Grow a vegetable plant and everyday kitchen herbs;Haggle like a horse trader;Hand thresh and winnow oats, wheat and other small grains;Hang clothes on a clothesline;Hatch out chicken, duck or other poultry eggs;Knit;Know the differences between trees and the unique properties of varioustypes of wood; how and when to use hybrid seeds; how and when to prunegrapes and fruit trees; when winter is over; and healthy plants and animalsfrom those which are not healthy;Lay basic brick or build a stone wall;Learn when it is more economical to buy something ready-made or when tomake it yourself along with basic plumbing and how to sweat copper pipesand joints;Light a fire both indoors and outdoors;Live within your financial means;Make hard or soft cheese; butter; sausage; paper and ink; candles; soapfrom wood ashes and animal fat; fire starters from pinecones or corn cobs;make and use a hot bed or cold frame; and long-term plans for the futuresuch as plan for an orchard or a livestock breeding program;Create your own wine;Manage human urine and feces without plumbing;Pasteurize milk;Plant a tree;

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Properly use a handsaw, measuring tape; hammer & nails, wire cutters andscrew driver;Read the weather, an almanac, the moon and the stars;Recognize your own mental and physical skill limits;Refinish furniture;Reload ammunition;Safely use a chainsaw;Save open pollinated seeds;Put bait traps for unwanted vermin and predators;Sew your own underwear;Sharpen any edge tool such as a chisel, knife, hoe or axe;Spin wool, flax or cotton into yarn or thread with a drop spindle or on aspinning wheel;Swap, network and barter with like-minded people;Tell the time of day by the sun;Thaw out frozen pipes without busting them;Use a hoe, garden shovel or spade without hurting your back, a wash tub,washboard and hand wringer; a non-electric lighting; a treadle sewingmachine; a scythe; a pressure cooker; a wood stove and how to bank a fire;electric netting or fencing; and a pressure tank garden sprayer, an awl anddo basic leather repair;Weave cloth and a basket; and,Witch for water with a bend metal hanger or forked branch.These skills are but a few of the original homesteading skills that a personshould possess. The focus herein is on urban homesteading which refers to ahousehold that produces for consumption a significant portion of their food in