Homesteading in the 21st Century: How One Family Created a More Sustainable, Self-Sufficient, and Satisfying Life
This thorough and readable volume will prepare you for living with fowl, working soil the old fashioned way, and successfully growing berry and orchard crops. Unlike some of the competing homesteading books, this is not a political screed or a master's thesis. George and Jane tell you how to grow it, prepare it and perserve it. They are back-to-the-landers so expect to learn lots of low-tech tips for getting good results in the garden without investing in a lot of newfangled gadgets and such. "--The Vancouver Sun""Homesteading in the 21st Century "tells the story of a couple who cut their teeth of self-sufficiency in the 1970s on the "Whole Earth Catalog." After growing Christmas trees (George) and becoming a doctor (Jane), moving to sunbelt states and then back East, the couple now live on a Vermont homestead and raise vegetables, berries, eggs, meat and fuel...Whether planting an organic garden, designing a workable kitchen and mudroom or caring for chickens, the couple keep a sense of humor and perspective that serves the reader well in grasping the time, skill, labor and resolve it takes to live life off the grid. "--The Seattle Times"Homesteading is hot stuff these days, but it's frustrating. Many how-to manuals seem to be written by relative newbies who are glamorously photographed tending chickens and harvesting vegetables on their spotless new farms. It's refreshing, then, to read "Homesteading in the 21st Century "(Taunton Press, $24.95), cowritten by George Nash and Jane Waterman, whose photos reveal them to be unadorned, middle-aged folks doing real work...If you're serious about self-sufficiency, to any degree, this book is a valuable resource. "-The Philadelphia Inquirer"Written with humour and experience, the husband and wife team penned a primer on country living that communicates their love for homesteading without whitewashing the hard times. That the two persevered speaks volumes about their tenacity. The self-proclaimed hippies ind