Home & Garden Highlight: Backyard Homesteading

Historically, homesteading involved cultivating a plot of land assigned by the government.  In modern times, it has evolved to mean living a lifestyle that is self-sufficient and sustainable.  Homesteading skills include growing and preserving food, raising chickens and other small livestock, and creating natural home products.  Although true self-sufficiency may be difficult to achieve, striving to adopt a more natural lifestyle can reduce your environmental impact and improve your quality of life.

Listed below are recommended readings that can help you create and maintain your own backyard homestead.

Recommended Reading

The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading, book cover

The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading by Lisa Lombardo

Learn how to create an action plan for your backyard homestead, calculate expenses, and set accessible goals for every step in the process with easy-to-follow templates, checklists, tables, and step-by-step instructions. From testing your soil to figuring out how many crops you can plant in your backyard homestead, this is the most comprehensive guide for planning, visualizing your farming projects, and making the most efficient use of your space.



Backyard Homesteading: A Back-to-basics Guide for Self-sufficiency, book cover

Backyard Homesteading: A Back-to-basics Guide for Self-sufficiency by David Toht

Teaches readers how to raise and process their own homemade food and other goods, from vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees to eggs, goat milk, and soap. Includes tips for designing homesteads and building simple backyard projects.



 The Homesteader's Herbal Companion, book cover

The Homesteader's Herbal Companion by Amy Fewell

The Homesteader's Herbal Companion is a beautiful guide for the modern day homesteader. From learning how to incorporate herbs and essential oils around your home, to learning how to enhance your family's health and well-being, this book is the go-to resource for those wishing to live a more natural homesteading lifestyle.



The Backyard Homesteader: How to Save Water, Keep Bees, Eat From Your Garden, and Live a More Sustai, book cover

The Backyard Homesteader: How to Save Water, Keep Bees, Eat From Your Garden, and Live a More Sustai by Alison Candlin

The essential beginner's manual on living a greener, healthier, and more self-sufficient lifestyle. Easy-to-follow advice on planning, establishing, and maintaining a small-acre farm or a backyard garden. With step-by-step instructions, photographs, andillustrations, this book is a practical and comprehensive guide to living off the land.



The Modern Homestead Garden, book cover

The Modern Homestead Garden by Gary Pilarchik

Filled with easy-to-employ ideas and lessons for improving your food self-sufficiency no matter how much land you have, The Modern Homestead Garden focuses on planting, growing, harvesting, and preserving food.



Additional Reading

Homesteading, book cover
Modern Homesteading, book cover
Urban Homesteading, book cover
 Family Homesteading, book cover
The Essential Book of Homesteading, book cover
Chickens for the Backyard Homesteader, book cover
The Woodland Homestead, book cover
The Doable Off-grid Homestead, book cover
The Homesteader's Guide to Growing Herbs, book cover
The Weekend Homesteader, book cover
 The Urban Homestead, book cover
The City Homesteader, book cover
The Homestead Canning Cookbook, book cover
 So You Want to Be a Modern Homesteader?, book cover
The Backyard Homestead Guide to Kitchen Know-how, book cover