The Backyard Homesteader: How to Save Water, Keep Bees, Eat from Your Garden, and Live a More Sustainable Life

The Backyard Homesteader

From preparing the land and nurturing soil, to planting vegetables and fruit, and raising animals like bees, chickens, and goats — each chapter is filled with clear instructions, seasonal guidance, troubleshooting tips, and beautiful photographs. You’ll also explore wild foraging, preserving your harvest, and adopting renewable energy and water-saving systems to make your home more self-reliant.

You’ll begin by planning, clearing, and enriching land; learn to work with seasonal cycles and garden rotations; establish fruits, vegetables, and herbs; care for animals such as pigs, goats, chickens, and bees; forage wild foods; preserve what you grow; and adopt energy- and water-saving practices. You’ll also encounter resources for troubleshooting pests, diseases, and building sustainable infrastructure.

Topics include:

• Planning, clearing overgrown land, and preparing soil
• Composting, improving drainage, and soil amendments
• Tools, greenhouse use, cloches, and growing calendars
• Seasonal tasks: spring, summer, fall, and winter routines
• Vegetable cultivation: crops like tomatoes, roots, legumes, greens
• Growing fruit: trees, berries, grapes, figs
• Pest, disease, and plant problem diagnosis
• Raising animals: pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, bees
• Wild food harvesting: herbs, nuts, mushrooms, fishing, foraging
• Preserving produce: canning, pickling, jams, meat, goat milk
• Water and energy conservation: rain capture, solar power, efficiency
• Alternative energy sources, recycling systems, and self-sufficiency