This selection of homesteading books that inspired my move to the country is where my education began and continues as an ongoing reference.
Starting your life in homesteading is really nothing to be frightened of. It may seem daunting if you have never thought about becoming self sufficient, but when you do it, you will wonder why you weren’t doing it all along. Take it from me, I made the decision to make my homestead dream a reality and I was able to do so by doing some very thorough research from a number of helpful books. The books below give a lot of great examples and tips to help you get your homestead started on the right foot. I am so grateful I found them when I was on my journey because they gave me such great advice that I continuously use to this day and I like to pass it on to other people who may have questions as well. Being well informed is one of the first steps to making the dream of homesteading successful. Just believe me, I did it, and so can you.
The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Pest and Disease Control: A Complete Guide to Maintaining a Healthy Garden and Yard (Click Here to Buy Here)
Getting rid of pests in your garden is going to be tough, especially if you want to avoid using any type of chemical. In this book, they teach you natural ways of keeping pests off of your plants and keeping your food toxin free. Full of great photos that illustrate everything, this books is a must have for starting your garden.
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (Click Here to Buy Here)
Canning and preserving your produce is a great way to not let anything go to waste, and it allows you to have a say in what things are being put into your food. No more nasty chemical preservatives here. Ball’s book is great at giving instructions on canning your own food, while also providing a number of new recipes for you to try out.
Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide: 33 Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use (Click Here to Buy Here)
Growing herbs to use for medicinal purposes is a great way of avoiding hospitals and medical fees. This book has a number of different remedies for common ailments, such as poison ivy relief, stress relief, and digestion problems. This book shows you what herbs to grow, how to harvest them, and how to later use them.
Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century (Click Here to Buy Here)
This book is great for getting you started in the homesteading life. It gives you tips on everything you need to know from plant and animal identification, how to produce less waste, and how to depend less on certain things. This is a must have for people looking to homestead in this modern age.
Storey’s Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance (Click Here to Buy Here)
This is a great book for those folks who want to understand everything there is to know about homestead living. They talk about everything from plumbing to gardening and even touch on tips and tricks for cooking. It also teaches you how to care for the certain animals you will end up having on your farm.
The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve-Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency (Click Here to Buy Here)
This book is perfect for people starting out that need a month by month guide on what to do and when to do it. According to certain months, it will tell you when the best time to do a certain thing is and it will also give you tips on how to set up your homestead properly. It’s very nice for dipping your feet in the water without making you feel like you are drowning in all the work.
Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre (Click Here to Buy Here)
If you have a small amount of space but you would still like to have a farm, this book will work wonders for you. It teaches you how to make the most out of the land you have and it shows you just what crops to grow on it. They also touch on things like chicken family and other homestead activities like canning, sewing, and cooking.
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 40th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual of Living off the Land & Doing It Yourself (Click Here to Buy Here)
Helping modern day homesteaders start off right, this book gives you tips on how to buy land, cultivate that land, cook, raise animals, and more. It is an all inclusive encyclopedia of everything you need to know about homesteading. Right now, it is one of the strongest voices for new families wanting to homestead.
Fresh Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens…Naturally (Click Here to Buy Here)
This book covers everything you need to know about chickens and how to raise them. It touches on everything from how to keep them physically and mentally healthy, where to allow them to live, how to feed them, and more. It also teaches how to gather eggs, and makes sure you know how to let them live hormone free.
Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer (Click Here to Buy Here)
This book is particularly different, in that it is not a how to book. This memoir is about a lovely lady who one day decides she wants to become self sufficient. She takes herself out into the world and starts up her own farm from just a few small supplies to begin with. It follows her story of how she grew her farm into something a little more than what it started as. It’s full of humor and education, so it’s a must read for new homesteaders who may feel alone in this new world.
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