Homesteading is small-scale intensive farming. Since 1970 a surge in the homesteading movement has taken place, and as countless city and suburb dwellers seek self-sufficiency in the rural life, the need for an up-to-date and comprehensive manual has become apparent. Written in simple and direct language, The Owner-Built Homestead contains volumes of information about the various aspects of settling and farming the land, including vegetable gardening, raising animals, maintaining a fish pond, harvesting trees, and building a greenhouse. The book encourages the postmodern way of country living, a life of self-reliance and at least partial economic self-sufficiency, and will appeal not only to agrarians and full-time homesteaders, but to backyard gardeners, weekend country folk, and city-bound ecologist as well. The book begins with a discussion of the frame of mind essential to successful homesteading, and there follow over 20 chapters, fully illustrated, of directions and advice for organized, sensible farming operations. The subjects includes selecting and laying out a homestead site, with instructions for building roads, fences, a shop, and a pit greenhouse; developing and managing water and soil resources; planting crops (sod, forage, and hay, as well as row crops); tree and woodland production; and fish care, including how to use animal products; sanitation; and finally solid and important information about nutrition. Believing in the enduring value of the homestead way of life, Ken and Barbara Kern share their own experiences in a book that can be put to good use by anyone who shares their belief.

ISBN: 0684149265