Are you intereted in all things self-sufficiency and homesteading? These are my top books for the homesteaders of 2022!
2022 is a year for knowledge and learning. It is a year for hard work and growth. If there is anything we can take away from the turmoil of the past few years, it is that not everything will work according to plan and not every system is meant to last forever.
In fact, the majority of the systems we rely on are fragile and can crumble easily.
That is why I am dedicating this year to learning new skills, growing old ones and putting them into place around our homestead. What better way to learn new skills than through books?
Here are a few of the books on my to read list for the year.
Simply Living Well by Julia Watkins
I have seen this book floating around my Instagram on and off for quite and I finally decided to add it to my reading list. Simply put, this book is every Pinterest and Instagram lovers dream. This book is beautifully put together. The photographs and each individual page have been put together with great thought.
This guide is for those looking to dip their toes in the producer world. With simple recipes and tutorials for everything from cleaners to seed saving, this is perfect for those wishing to do a little more this year.
You can find it here.
Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway
If a practical guide to permaculture is something you are looking for, this is a great option. If you are a person who likes to collect their information in small bits at a time, this book has amazing tables, diagrams and charts that make the information easier to digest.
I’m especially looking forward to diving into the chapter about water conservation and ponds to learn how to make our pond work harder for us!
You can find it here.
The Market Gardener by Jean-Martin Fortier
This book came into my posession via a recommendation from a friend.
A quick look on Amazon will show a recommendation from Joel Salatin and the words “low tech” and “better not bigger”. All things that I value in my own life. This book will guide you through micro-farming and making your small farm as profitable as possible!
You can find it here.
Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll
Name a skill that says self-sufficiency better than making your own cheese.
I cannot think of one skill that makes me think more of homesteading than making your own cheese. Two years ago my husband began learning how to make homemade mozzarella and now it is my turn to join him in the cheesemaking frenzy!
You can find it here.
The Prairie Homestead Cookbook by Jill Winger
I have been a big fan of Jill Winger’s podcast for quite some time and I was even more excited to get my hands on a copy of her cookbook!
While I am positive that every recipe in this book will be just as wonderful as I am imagining it, it’s the musings from her homestead nestled in between each section of the book that I am most looking forward to reading. With pages about the cost of raising your own animals and a laid out debate on which dairy animal is better, cows or goats, the knowledge that can be passed down from one homesteader to another is invaluable.
You can find it here.
The Encylopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery
Last but definitely not the least, The Encylopedia of Country Living. As suggested in the name, this encylopdie is the A to Z of all things homestead. If you are planning to get into homesteading, you need this book. For 50 years this book has been the essential guide to living the homesteading country lifestyle.
This book is a must in every homestead minded individual’s book collection and you can find it here.
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