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The 104 Homestead

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By Jessica Lane | Last updated on February 17, 2017

My Favorite Homesteading Books

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We know that backyard chickens have been talked about all over the news lately (both favorably and negatively). Homesteading and self-sufficiency is on the rise and for so many great reasons. With this rise comes a great supply of reading materials dedicated to we non-traditional farmers that live in non-traditional places.

Some of my favorite homesteading books to get you inspired and start you on your homestead journey. These are my top 9 books to get you started.

There are many great books out there, but I have a few that have become staples in my library.

Gardening

Some of my favorite homesteading books to get you inspired and start you on your homestead journey. These are my top 9 books to get you started.The Garden Primer

This book is like the bible of gardening. Author Barbara Damrosch gives you a mix of modern ideas and the old-fashioned ideas that still apply today. This book gives you amazing step-by-step instructions for every plant you can imagine. She also shows you how to maximize your harvest by using different spacing techniques. I think my favorite part of this book is that she describes some of the popular varieties of each vegetable so you’re not overwhelmed with all the options.

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Some of my favorite homesteading books to get you inspired and start you on your homestead journey. These are my top 9 books to get you started.Mini Farming (Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre)

This book certainly covers growing produce, but author Brett Markham focuses a lot on the other stuff like improving soil, composting, buying and saving seeds and processing your bounty. This book also touches on a few additional topics that might interest the backyard homesteader, such as raising poultry and selling excess produce. I love that they discuss organic options.

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Some of my favorite homesteading books to get you inspired and start you on your homestead journey. These are my top 9 books to get you started.Maximizing Your Mini Farm

Brett Markham has blown me away with this book. I hate to pick favorites, but if I had to, this one is a winner hands-down. Not only does it feature every vegetable, fruit and seed that could go in the ground in my area, it makes growing a garden idiot-proof. Super fabulous bonus: The end of each section has several processing recipes for each food mentioned. Lemon-garlic asparagus anyone?

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Livestock & Poultry

Some of my favorite homesteading books to get you inspired and start you on your homestead journey. These are my top 9 books to get you started.The Backyard Homestead: Guide to Raising Farm Animals

Gail Damerow wows me with this book (and another further down the list) by giving me just enough information so I feel informed, but not enough to make me feel swamped. All the basics about keeping livestock are in this book. Check out some of my other favorites for more specific information.

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Some of my favorite homesteading books to get you inspired and start you on your homestead journey. These are my top 9 books to get you started.Storey’s Guide to Raising…

Storey’s guides are the bibles of livestock care and management. They are updated regularly so you are always kept up to date with any changes their might be in the animal world. Whether its choosing a breed, building housing, or keeping your animal healthy, these books have you covered.

Pigs   Honey Bees   Poultry   Miniature Livestock   Dairy Goats   Rabbits   Turkeys   Chickens   Sheep   Ducks   Beef Cattle   Meat Goats   Llamas   Horses

Chicken Hot Topics discusses some of the backyard chicken owner's most controversial subjects and it lays out the facts so you can decide what is right for you and your flock.Chicken Hot Topics: Controversial Husbandry Practices

Is it completely shameless of me to add my own book to the list? It’s important to me to do the absolute best by my chickens. I don’t take advice at face value. I like facts. I have saved you the trouble of weeding through research documents and I’ve done the legwork for you.

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General Homesteading

Some of my favorite homesteading books to get you inspired and start you on your homestead journey. These are my top 9 books to get you started.The Five-Year Guide to Self-Sufficiency

I’m not sure I agree completely with the “five-year” aspect, but Amelia Barrows does cover some great ideas for becoming more self-sufficient. She covers a little bit of everything and might inspire you to start projects you hadn’t considered before. Each year is broken down into a plan that accounts for the number people in your home. It’s a unique way for a homesteading book to be written.

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Some of my favorite homesteading books to get you inspired and start you on your homestead journey. These are my top 9 books to get you started.The Backyard Homestead

As far as a well rounded book, this book covers the most topics for the backyard homesteader. It covers not only growing produce, but small livestock and poultry care, drying herbs, making beers and wines, milling grains and more. I like that it talked about foraging. Honestly, that hadn’t crossed my mind until reading this book.

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Some of my favorite homesteading books to get you inspired and start you on your homestead journey. These are my top 9 books to get you started.Backyard Farming on an Acre (More or Less)
Of course this one had to make my list of must-have books. I was friends with the author for almost a year before I made the connection that she wrote one of my favorite homesteading books. Angela England covers all aspects of homesteading and gives you ideas you can implement no matter what size lot you live on.

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So grab your library card, head to Books-a-Million, pull out the credit card and hop on Amazon. These are some books that you’ll be glad to have in your arsenal. The internet may have loads of information, but on a snowy day you want to curl up with a good book and imagine spring. Happy reading!

Some of my favorite homesteading books to get you inspired and start you on your homestead journey. These are my top 9 books to get you started.

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Jessica Lane

I am a non-traditional homesteader. What is a non-traditional homesteader? I'd like to think we are the people who don't fit the mold. I am a busy mom on a small bit of property with not a lot of financial resources, but I am figuring out how to live the life I want. A homesteader's life.
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Latest posts by Jessica Lane (see all)

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Filed Under: Inspiring Homesteads Tagged With: More Inspiration, Reviews

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Comments

  1. Leilani says

    January 19, 2018 at 11:25 pm

    This is a great list and I have already worked through several. Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Lisa Lynn says

    October 7, 2017 at 3:48 pm

    I have several of those, but see a couple I need to add to my Christmas list!

    Reply
    • Jessica Lane says

      October 16, 2017 at 11:25 am

      You can never have too many books 🙂

      Reply
  3. Tammy says

    December 31, 2015 at 9:55 am

    Thanks for these book suggestions!

    If you haven’t already read it, “Making it: Radical Home Ec” by Kelly Coyne is also really good.

    Reply
    • Jessica Lane says

      December 31, 2015 at 1:01 pm

      I’ll have to add that one to my winter reading list.

      Reply
  4. Inge says

    December 29, 2015 at 12:21 am

    I’m not a Homesteader but The Backyard Homestead, that sounds actually like a book that I would enjoy too.

    Reply
    • Jessica Lane says

      December 30, 2015 at 11:10 am

      It’s a good one that is jam-packed with good stuff.

      Reply
  5. Andrea says

    December 16, 2015 at 10:26 am

    I have several of these, but a few I have never seen. I usually have to buy from Amazon, and they have never popped up. I also like Eliot Coleman’s Four Season Harvest which got me into winter gardening.

    Reply
    • Jessica Lane says

      December 16, 2015 at 10:42 am

      Four Season Harvest is a great one. I think I’ve got it somewhere on my book shelf.

      Reply

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My name is Jessica Lane. I live a nearly self-sufficient lifestyle with my three beautiful children on 5 1/2 acres in Maine. We raise Nigerian Dwarf goats, ducks, and chickens, and we grow as much food as we can. What we can’t grow or produce ourselves we barter for. If we can homestead where we live, what’s stopping you?

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