Halcyon Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 We are moving in less than a month to our new home with 2 acres (hooray!) i want to start vegetable gardening, canning, and other homesteading activities, and would like reca for books and websites that can help me learn more. The only ing we cant have is chickens, so we will co tinue to buy eggs from a local farmer. Thanks! Ps. We are in Florida, which i know limits what we can grow.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 My personal favorites are Square Foot Gardening, Storey's Guide to Country Living, and this http://www.amazon.com/The-Backyard-Homestead-Produce-quarter/dp/1603421386/ref=pd_sim_b_18. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Vegetable gardners bible great info, about common pests too, companion plantings, etc. http://www.homesteadingtoday.com. I'm a member there and most people there are very helpful. There is a ton of archived info too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah_in_GA Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 (edited) Hands down...... Carla Emery's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COUNTRY LIVING. http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-10th-Edition/dp/1570615535/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335373099&sr=8-1 May likely even be at your library. It's a must have. Edited April 25, 2012 by Leah_in_GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 check your local county extension office to see what grows in your area and when. Get to know some local gardeners and see what works for them, check out local seed exchanges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 another vote for The Backyard Homestead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Hands down...... Carla Emery's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COUNTRY LIVING. May likely even be at your library. It's a must have. :iagree: and the Backyard Homestead. but the Emery book is the BEST! \ Homestead.org has plenty of fun informational articles too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma2Many66 Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 5 acres and Independence is another favorite book in our home and old issues of Countryside Magazine (available on ebay) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 Thank you all! I am so excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Your county extension is a free resource and probably well underused unfortunately. Mine will even test my canning gauges for free. Takes no time at all and I feel safe knowing my canner is running correctly. Carla Emery's book is great. I also enjoyed the others mentioned. Trial and error will happen, but that's a learning experience too. Don't get discouraged your first time around (or your second) and you don't need alot of fancy tools and gadgets to get started. A good tiller (if you have decent ground), some manure or compost if you don't (check around at local horse farms or put an ad on craigslist), a hoe, rake and some gloves...some old fencing works to trellis things and some tall thin saplings cut or bamboo works for beans to climb upon. Right away build (atleast) two compost bins. They are important and unless you have chickens or pigs to feed ;), then most of your kitchen scraps should be tossed into there along with grass clipings, leaves, manure, dirt, etc. You can even make some with pallets (that's what mine are made from). I actually have to build another bin because I have some sort of fall type squash growing in mine (from last years garden) and some tomatoes (which are to be removed tomorrow to eventally be put into the garden). :D Ultimately, enjoy the experience. Its amazingly satisfying to take a piece of land and turn it into food to eat. Oh and learn to start things from seed. It's so much cheaper that way. The kids love to see what pops up. We've used the seed starting for percentage math lessons, lol. Oh and many times we use styrofoam egg cartons to start them in. They work quite well and then they can be recycled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 We are moving in less than a month to our new home with 2 acres (hooray!) i want to start vegetable gardening, canning, and other homesteading activities, and would like reca for books and websites that can help me learn more. The only ing we cant have is chickens, so we will co tinue to buy eggs from a local farmer. Thanks! Ps. We are in Florida, which i know limits what we can grow.... Having moved to coastal Georgia 2+ years ago (from the Pacific NW), I have to beg to differ. I think the SE is nearly limitless in what you can grow!!! :) :) :) I have whiplash from the year-round vegetable growing activity. There's no rest around here! 12-month growing season? No problem! Fruit trees that require excessive chill hours are out, but there are so many fruit trees one can plant that are low-chill. And eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, and melons all grow like crazy. Mid-summer many things kind of fizzle out for a few weeks, but we have two growing seasons... so who cares? :) I have a blog here w/garden stuff: http://habershamcorner.blogspot.com/ On the right hand side is a list of the 106 varieties of fruits and vegetables we are currently growing on our 10,000 square foot lot. Now, my longtime favorite book is John Jeavons' How to Grow More Vegetables. And my new favorite is Mini-Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre by Brett Markham. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 And another vote for the county extension agent. His office is right next to my husband's building, so he drops in all the time. They've been hugely helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Back garden self sufficiency by Carleen Madigan is a very good book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 I really like Vegetable Gardening for Dummies and Composting for Dummies, and Worms Eat My Garbage. These are great jumping-off points if you are new to gardening. Square Foot Gardening is great too. I would also suggest starting small and building up. ie, don't try to convert your entire 2 acres to cultivated land in one year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 Thanks so much for all these suggestions! I am hitti g the library this weekend with my list! And i will be checking out the blogs also. Thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSinNH Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Hands down...... Carla Emery's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COUNTRY LIVING. http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-10th-Edition/dp/1570615535/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335373099&sr=8-1 May likely even be at your library. It's a must have. :iagree: totally!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Living on a Acre A practical guide to self-sufficiency by Woodside The new Seed Starters Handbook by Bubel Saving Seed by Alexander Garden Primer by Damrosch Preserving Summer's Bounty by McClure The Joy of Hobby Farming by Levatino These magazines are all about organic/sustainable living: Organic Gardening (both magazine and website) Mother Earth News magazine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Another book I refer to a lot is Stocking Up. Lots of info on preserving your fruits and veggies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Don't forget soulemama. A wealth of info on this wonderful blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 I used to love the old Mother Earth news magazine and a great book called Putting Food By is a staple here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5forMe Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch...my most used book! My copy is dirty and dog eared from me having it out in the garden with me. Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte...a bit anecdotal but I love it. The Organic Gardner's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control...my go to for an insect that I find on my plants (is it beneficial bug or not?, what are these spots on my plants? and how do I get rid of it?). Oh and after you get settled....BEEKEEPING! I love beekeeping. Robbing the Bees by Holley Bishop is about a beekeeper in Florida. Sue Hubbell's book A Book of Bees is awesome! These are not "technical" how to books, but more like a biography of the author's experiences with beekeeping. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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