Homegrown and Handmade: a Practical Guide to More Self-Reliant Living

290 Pages·2011·5.257 MB·English

by  Niemann, Deborah

Advance Praise for
Homegrown and Handmade
Homegrown & Handmade a smart book for today’s
modern homesteader. In this book, Deborah Niemann promises
practical guidance for a more sustainable and inspirational lifestyle.
From growing and using your own vegetable and fruit crops
to creating and managing your own dairy, raising
backyard poultry, and harvesting your own fiber,
Homegrown & Handmade more than delivers!
Niemann offers compelling reasons for becoming active
in understanding the foods (and chemicals) that families are
consuming unchecked everyday. Homegrown & Handmade puts
you in the control seat of what is considered fresh and healthy
food by offering detailed explanations on providing food
and fiber in their purest form for yourself. 
Homegrown & Handmade is simply the right book
at the right time — a book after my own heart.
— Chris McLaughlin, micro-farmer and author of
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Heirloom Vegetables and
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Small-Space Gardening.
Deborah Niemann has penned the book that will turn
home steading dreamers into doers. From sustainable gardening
to animal husbandry, she’s got the farm covered. Homegrown &
Handmade explores, illuminates, excites, and inspires.
— Ashley English, author of the Homemade Living book series
and the voice behind small-measure.blogspot.com
Deborah and her family were a great inspiration on my own
journey from urbanite to homesteader, and over the years I’ve
turned to her often for guidance. Homegrown and Handmade is a
wonderful collection of her wisdom, and when it’s not propped
next to the stove or the milk stand, this approachable reference
belongs on the shelf with the homesteading classics.
— Margaret Hathaway, author of
The Year of the Goat and Living with Goats
Deborah Niemann has written a straight-forward, down-to-earth
book to get us back to our nation’s independent, self-reliant roots.
It covers all the bases — from the soil to the supper table,
and from birth (or hatch) to butchering. This is the perfect
book for the conscientious omnivore, or for anyone seeking
a practical map to a sustainable, delicious future.
— Terra Brockman, Founder and Board President of
The Land Connection, Author of The Seasons on Henry’s Farm,
speaker, food and farm advocate.
There’s never been a more practical guide written
for making the “simple” life simple.
— Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, founders of
Beekman1802.com

Copyright © 2011 by Deborah Niemann.
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Diane McIntosh.
Eggs, © iStock (Mona Makela); Poultry, Strawberries, © iStock
(Johnnysoriv); Wool, Lamb, Preserves, Katherine Boehle.
Printed in Canada. First printing September 2011.
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-86571-702-2
eISBN: 978-1-55092-490-9
Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Homegrown & Handmade
should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below.
To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America) 1-800-
567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com
Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:
New Society Publishers
P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada [phone]
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Niemann, Deborah
Homegrown & handmade : a practical guide to more self-reliant living /
Deborah Niemann.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-86571-702-2
1. Self-reliant living. 2. Sustainable living. I. Title.
II. Title: Homegrown and handmade.
GF78.N54 2011 640 C2011-904935-X
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Contents
Acknowledgments .................................................................................xi
Foreword ................................................................................................xiii
Introduction .............................................................................................1
Health ...................................................................................................2
Safety ....................................................................................................6
Quality ................................................................................................11
Ethics ..................................................................................................14
Sustainability .....................................................................................18
Frugality .............................................................................................20
Entertainment ...................................................................................21
Personal pride ...................................................................................22
Getting started ..................................................................................22
Part one: The Sustainable Garden
Chapter 1: Planning the Sustainable Garden ...............................29
What do you need? ..........................................................................29
What will you grow? ........................................................................34
How much will you grow? ..............................................................38
Chapter 2: Growing the Sustainable Garden ................................41
Composting .......................................................................................43
Vermicomposting .............................................................................46
v
vi HOMEGROWN AND HANDMADE
Vertical gardening ............................................................................50
Organic solutions .............................................................................51
Seed saving ........................................................................................54
Growing herbs indoors ...................................................................56
Growing sprouts ...............................................................................56
Extending the tomato harvest .......................................................58
Winter gardening..............................................................................58
Chapter 3: Cooking from the Sustainable Garden ...................63
Tomatoes ...........................................................................................63
Freezing tomatoes ............................................................................63
Drying tomatoes...............................................................................67
Recipe: Creamy Heirloom Tomato Soup .......................................67
Canning tomatoes ............................................................................68
Recipe: Gazpacho .............................................................................68
Step-by-step canning .......................................................................72
Recipe: Pizza Sauce .........................................................................76
Recipe: Canned Salsa .......................................................................78
Peppers ...............................................................................................78
Recipe: Pickled Peppers ....................................................................79
Drying peppers .................................................................................80
Green beans .......................................................................................80
Recipe: Pickled Green Beans ...........................................................82
Herbs ..................................................................................................82
Recipe: Iced Lemon Spearmint Tea ................................................84
Root cellar vegetables ......................................................................84
Recipe: Homemade Ginger Ale .......................................................85
Part two: The Backyard Orchard
Chapter 4: Planning the Backyard Orchard ..............................89
What do you need? ..........................................................................89
What will you grow? ........................................................................91
Chapter 5: Growing the Backyard Orchard ..............................93
Planting ..............................................................................................93
Contents vii
Watering .............................................................................................94
Mulching ............................................................................................95
Pruning ...............................................................................................96
Chapter 6: Cooking from the Backyard Orchard ..................101
Freezing berries ..............................................................................102
Canning fruit ...................................................................................103
Recipe: Caramel Apple Butter .......................................................103
Recipe: Canned Pears.....................................................................104
Part three: The Backyard Poultry Flock
Chapter 7: Planning the Backyard Poultry Flock ..................107
What do you need? ........................................................................108
What will you raise? ......................................................................113
Chapter 8: Raising the Backyard Poultry Flock .....................121
Brooding ..........................................................................................121
Coop management ........................................................................126
Laying ...............................................................................................127
Feeding .............................................................................................128
Injury prevention and treatment .................................................129
Chapter 9: Raising the Backyard Poultry Flock for Meat .....131
Chickens ..........................................................................................131
Turkeys .............................................................................................134
Ducks and geese .............................................................................139
Chapter 10: Cooking from the Backyard Poultry Flock .......141
Eggs ...................................................................................................141
Recipe: Quick Quiche .....................................................................142
Recipe: Crème Brulee Pie ...............................................................143
Recipe: Mayonnaise........................................................................143
Recipe: Brioche ...............................................................................144
Recipe: Noodles...............................................................................146
Meat ..................................................................................................146
Recipe: Chicken soup .....................................................................147
Recipe: Turkey stroganoff ..............................................................149
viii HOMEGROWN AND HANDMADE
Part four: The Home Dairy
Chapter 11: Planning the Home Dairy ...................................153
Cows .................................................................................................154
Goats .................................................................................................156
Sheep ................................................................................................161
Herd animals ...................................................................................162
Pasture or dry lot ............................................................................163
Bedding ............................................................................................164
Feeding .............................................................................................164
Minerals and supplements ...........................................................167
Breeding males ................................................................................168
Babies ...............................................................................................170
Veterinary care ................................................................................170
Milking equipment ........................................................................171
Breeds ...............................................................................................173
Buying dairy animals .....................................................................175
Chapter 12: Managing the Home Dairy .................................179
Natural dairy management ...........................................................179
Training a milker ............................................................................181
Milking by hand .............................................................................183
Milking by machine .......................................................................185
Health basics ...................................................................................185
Natural parasite control ................................................................189
Birthing ............................................................................................190
Pasteurization .................................................................................193
Chapter 13: Producing from the Home Dairy .......................195
Butter ................................................................................................195
Buttermilk ........................................................................................197
Yogurt ...............................................................................................198
Cheese ..............................................................................................199
Recipe: Chevre ................................................................................199
Recipe: Queso Blanco .....................................................................200
Recipe: Ricotta ................................................................................201