Some things to study and work on implementing as time and seasons allow:
http://www.tenthacrefarm.com/2013/10/front-yard-rainwater-catchment/ and http://www.tenthacrefarm.com/2014/02/using-swales-in-the-landscape-part-2/ (and really probably just browse the "water catchment" tag in that whole blog)
http://brinkoffreedom.net/homesteading/how-to-plant-a-cherry-tree-guild/ and http://midwestpermaculture.com/2013/04/plant-guilds/ - that second one especially, tho it will need to be translated to PNW climate needs
I threw out my back this last weekend trying to lift too many bricks at once, so of course this is a good time to ponder building earthworks. Our seasonal rainfall pattern, though, it is a menace.
Showing posts with label resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resources. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
a quick book rec
Okay, two books, really.
All the books on modern homesteading, traditional skill preservation, raising food, etc., have their own spin, and like the techniques they outline, they're a very YMMV business. The ones that are really working for me? The Urban Homestead and its follow-up Making It, by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen (find them online at Root Simple). The authors are very clear on the YMMV aspect and stress flexibility in their suggestions, and they offer a lot of practical project advice for growing food in limited space, making the most of your resources, decreasing your dependence on outside resources—and they make it sound like it'll be fun and an adventure, like you don't have to get everything perfect to succeed (which was an attitude that really put me off an otherwise-helpful garden book for my region recently). I keep wanting to recommend them to friends for one project or another—the potato-growing tower made of used tires, or the chapter on urban foraging, or the explanation of how to decipher esoteric beer recipes and not be intimidated by the snobs of the homebrew world.
If you get the same kind of mileage I do, basically, these books could take you places.
All the books on modern homesteading, traditional skill preservation, raising food, etc., have their own spin, and like the techniques they outline, they're a very YMMV business. The ones that are really working for me? The Urban Homestead and its follow-up Making It, by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen (find them online at Root Simple). The authors are very clear on the YMMV aspect and stress flexibility in their suggestions, and they offer a lot of practical project advice for growing food in limited space, making the most of your resources, decreasing your dependence on outside resources—and they make it sound like it'll be fun and an adventure, like you don't have to get everything perfect to succeed (which was an attitude that really put me off an otherwise-helpful garden book for my region recently). I keep wanting to recommend them to friends for one project or another—the potato-growing tower made of used tires, or the chapter on urban foraging, or the explanation of how to decipher esoteric beer recipes and not be intimidated by the snobs of the homebrew world.
If you get the same kind of mileage I do, basically, these books could take you places.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)