Projects for Self-Sufficiency

353 Pages·2017·116.636 MB·English

by  coll.

STEP-BY-STEP
Projects for
Self-Sufficiency
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
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© 2017 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
First published in 2017 by Cool Springs Press, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc., 400 First
Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.
Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone]
quartoknows.com
Visit our blogs at quartoknows.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the
copyright owners. All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the
artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of
copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure
that credits accurately comply with information supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have
occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.
Cool Springs Press titles are also available at discounts in bulk quantity for industrial or sales-promotional use.
For details contact the Special Sales Manager at Quarto Publishing Group
USA Inc., 400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.
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ISBN: 978-1-59186-688-6
Digital edition: 978-0-76035-755-2
Softcover edition: 978-1-59186-688-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cool Springs Press, issuing body.
Title: Step-by-step projects for self-sufficiency : grow edibles, raise
animals, live off the grid, DIY.
Description: Minneapolis, MN : Cool Springs Press, 2017. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016045690 | ISBN 9781591866886 (hc)
Subjects: LCSH: Agriculture--Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Self-reliant
living--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC S496 .S747 2017 | DDC 635--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016045690
Acquiring Editor: Mark Johanson
Project Manager: Alyssa Bluhm
Art Director: Cindy Samargia Laun
Cover Designer: Simon Larkin
Layout: Simon Larkin
Edition Editor: Eric Smith
Photographer: Tracy Walsh
Photo Assistance: Ian Miller, Susan Storck
Illustrator: Christopher R. Mills Illustration (pages 30, 96, 118, 200)
Printed in China
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Contents (continued)
SECTION 3: GARDEN PROJECTS
14 Starting & Transplanting Seedlings 102
15 Potato-Growing Box 106
16 Octagon Strawberry Planter & Cover 110
17 Vertical Planter 116
18 Clothesline Trellis 122
19 Teepee Trellis 128
20 Raised Bed with Removable Trellis 132
21 Pallet Planter 136
22 Raised Beds 140
23 Container Gardening 146
24 Cold Frame 156
25 Jumbo Cold Frame 162
26 Planting Trees 168
SECTION 4: FOOD PREPARATION & PRESERVATION
27 Preserving Your Bounty 174
28 Solar Dryer 182
29 Solar Fruit Dryer 186
30 Herb-Drying Rack 192
31 Root Vegetable Rack 198
32 Root Cellar 204
33 Cider Press 214
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22 34 Solar Oven 220

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SECTION 5: HOMESTEAD AMENITIES
35 Firewood Shelter 230
36 Frame Loom 236
37 Solar Still 242
38 Manual Laundry Washer 248
39 Solar Heat 254
40 Wine Racks for Winemakers 264

SECTION 6: OUTBUILDINGS & FENCES
41 Greenhouse 280
42 Hoophouse 290
43 Metal Kit Shed 300
44 Pole Barn 308
45 Post-and-Board Fence 328
46 Split-Rail Fence 334
47 Chain-Link Fence 340
Resources 348
Credits 348
Index 349
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building a
self-sufficient life
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INTRODUCTION
building a
self-sufficient life
Living a more independent lifestyle is a
rewarding goal. By learning to do more things
yourself, you gain control of the how and when
and what of modern life.
The projects in this book are designed to help you reach the goal of self-sufficient
living. The best part is that you don’t need to sell your townhome and move to 80 acres
in the mountains to make use of these projects. Pick off a few here and there, and you
can participate in the self-sufficient way of being without making the sacrifices required
when living off the grid.
Building a greenhouse is a great way
for gardeners to jumpstart the growing
season, or to introduce new, sensitive
plants to your garden. See page 280.
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The homestead may look very different today than in the pioneer days. But what we
may lack in acreage, we can compensate for with creativity. Growing edibles in containers
on a balcony is just one way to pursue your self-sufficient goals in an urban setting.
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INTRODUCTION
Home arts like weaving may seem obsolete, but participation in them is Hard or soft, apple or pear, homemade cider is pure goodness. But you
growing. If you really want to let your self-sufficiency flag fly, don’t just just can’t make it efficiently without a cider press. See pages 214 to 219
learn to weave: build your own frame loom (see pages 236 to 241). for an easy, DIY press you can make.
Why aspire to self-sufficiency? Because the pace of modern life can be overwhelming.
All too often, the amazing technology that was supposed to free us and make life better
and better instead becomes a drain on our money, time, and joy. As we’ve tried to improve
our lives through progress and efficiency, we have ironically moved further and further
from many of the things that make life healthy, rewarding, and fulfilling. It’s just a matter
of cause and effect. Medical advances that allow for gene therapy are used to create
GMO foods of unproven safety. An ever-ready energy supply has ensured that our lives
are more comfortable and convenient than ever before; but our environment pays for
that convenience in the fallout from fracking, the pollution of coal-fired power plants,
and the occasional devastating oil spill. All the while, modern life seems to demand
that we move faster, do more, make more, and consume more. Along the way, we’ve
become less able to do for ourselves, and more in the habit of buying everything we need
regardless of the environmental and personal consequences.
And make no mistake, there are consequences. As we continue to fill landfills at an
alarming rate, see our water tables and well water increasingly become contaminated,
and learn more about how corporate farming is creating a less diverse food-supply chain, T
the global and environmental benefits of what’s come to be known as “self-sufficient 2

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STEP-BY-STEP PROJECTS FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY
living” become more relevant and more apparent. By saving water, raising food that
doesn’t involve long-distance transport (and all the fuel and pollution that transportation
entails), and finding new ways to create what we need using only the energy in our
bodies, we’re not only helping ourselves, we’re helping the world.
Those upsides are attracting growing numbers of people to the self-sufficient lifestyle.
The fact that you’re reading this book means that, chances are, you’re one of those people.
Slowly but surely, we’re learning that quantity, speed, and convenience are not always
equal to quality, wholesomeness, and satisfaction. People across the country are realizing
that highly processed food, produced and packaged on an industrial level, is often not as
truly good tasting or as good for you as simpler food grown in your own backyard. People
are reconnecting with animal husbandry, from raising two or three chickens to a small herd
of goats. They are finding the pleasure in working with living things that create resources,
such as food and fertilizer, and rediscovering the simple joy of hand-woven textiles made on a
loom they built themselves. They are realizing that there is a way to live that is gentler on the
ecosystems of which we are so much a part. On a more pragmatic level, they are saving money
with what they grow and produce and what they no longer need to buy.
Solar panels that collect and heat air
to warm cold spaces in your home are
mechanisms you can build yourself and
duct in to your home’s existing ductwork.
Learn how on page 254.
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