I keep hearing more and more about gluten allergies. In fact, I learned in Restoring Heritage Grains that over the past 60 years, gluten allergies and celiac disease have become at least four times more common. The book's author, Eli Rogosa became interested in this topic after learning to grow wheat crops in the Middle East. She was impressed by how well these crops grow in … [Read more...]
Book review: Plowing with Pigs
I was originally drawn to Plowing with Pigs and Other Creative, Low-Budget Homesteading Solutions because I am planning to raise pigs, but it turns out you really can't judge a book by its cover! While there is a chapter about pigs and the many ways they can help you around your homestead, this book is actually a collection of many different affordable homestead solutions. The … [Read more...]
Book review: The Permaculture Book of DIY
I recently moved and now have space for many more do-it-yourself (DIY) projects compared to my previous city apartment. Well, now I've added even more to my to-do list after reading The Permaculture Book of DIY. This book is a compilation of 23 different projects based on permaculture principles - meaning that they are designed to be "low impact, ecologically sound projects" … [Read more...]
Want to learn how to grow mushrooms?
I've been hearing more and more about homesteaders and farmers growing mushrooms and was curious to find out what all the fuss is about. Though I love to eat mushrooms, I hadn't seriously considered growing my own until I read Mycelial Mayhem by David and Kristin Sewak. Now, I feel like I have really been missing out by purchasing mushrooms from the supermarket as there are so … [Read more...]
Hatching & Brooding Your Own Chicks
To continue “Chicken Week” on the blog, I wanted to write about Hatching & Brooding Your Own Chicks by Gail Damerow. I read this book last spring as part of a Pastured Poultry course I took through the UMass Amherst Stockbridge School of Agriculture. For the class, we also read Harvey Ussery's The Small-Scale Poultry Flock and Joel Salatin’s Pastured Poultry Profit$, both … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Holistic Orchard
I’ll soon be moving to a new home where I’m planning to begin an orchard as part of my homestead. I understand that many types of fruit trees won’t start producing for at least a couple of years so I’m eager to get them in the ground as soon as possible. I was interested in reading “The Holistic Orchard” by Michael Phillips to find out what makes his methods “holistic” and how … [Read more...]
Book Review: Keeping a Family Cow
I’ve written previously about how I recently returned from two months traveling across the U.S. working on farms. On a farm I visited in Kentucky, the family had a family cow, and their teenage son was typically responsible for milking. I was really struck by how adept he was at milking the cow for his family as well as his confidence in helping me to learn how to milk too. … [Read more...]
Book review: Pig Tales
Pig Tales: An Omnivore's Quest for Sustainable Meat by Barry Estabrook gives you the inside scoop on all things porcine, from wild hogs to pastured domesticated hogs, and hogs that spend their entire life in a building. I won an advance reading copy in a drawing but ultimately wound up purchasing the audiobook and listening to it on a recent trip. The book starts out telling … [Read more...]
Book review: Soil Sisters
The holidays are coming up and Soil Sisters by Lisa Kivirist would be a perfect gift for any aspiring or experienced female farmer. One of the greatest features of this book is valuable stories and tips from the author as well as over 50 women involved in different aspects of sustainable agriculture. As Kivirist says (of women in the food system) “some farm, some cook, some … [Read more...]
Natural Cheesemaking book review
Have you been looking for a book on natural cheesemaking? Do you want to learn to make cheese without commercial starters, microbial rennet, or freeze-dried fungal spores? Ready to ditch the pH meter, plastic cheese form, and sanitizing solution? Want to say good bye to stainless steel vats and learn to make cheese like our ancestors? Then you need to check out The Art of … [Read more...]
