Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance

This is the book for anyone who wants to become more self-reliant, from suburbanites with 1/4 of an acre to country homesteaders with several. The information is easily understood and readily applicable.

More than 150 of Storey's expert authors in gardening, building, animal raising, and homesteading share their specialized knowledge and experience in this ultimate guide to living a more independent, satisfying life.

Readers will find step-by-step, illustrated instructions for every aspect of country living including:

• Finding country land
• Buying, building, and renovating a home
• Developing water sources and systems
• Understanding wiring, plumbing, and heating
• Using alternative heating and energy sources
• Vegetable, flower, and herb gardening
• Traditional cooking skills such as baking bread and making maple syrup
• Preparing and preserving meat, fruits, and vegetables
• Building and maintaining barns, sheds, and outbuildings
• Caring for common farm and ranch animals, and pets

REDISCOVER THE BASIC SKILLS OF COUNTRY LIFE!

Whether it's making ice cream or sharpening an ax, cleaning a chimney or growing raspberries, you'll learn how to do it in this treasury of time-honored country wisdom. Illustrated step-by-step instructions will show you how to milk a cow, tap a maple tree, clean a fish, lead a horse, and build the best chicken coop. You'll find out how to heat your house with wood or by the sun and how to de-skunk a country dog. You'll learn the proper way to put in a water system, rewire an old house, stack a cord of wood, and grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Yearning for a more self-reliant life? You'll find the answers in Storey's Basic Country Skills.

Just in time for the millennial back-to-basics movement--more than 150 experts share their knowledge and experience in this ultimate guide to living a more self-sufficient, satisfying life. 1,200 2-color illustrations.

John Storey founded Storey Communications, Inc. with his wife Martha in 1983. He has three children and eight grandchildren. He lives in western Massachusetts and farm in Westport, New York.

YOUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

Your Country Home

Outdoor Spaces

The Water Supply

Plumbing

Heating Your Home

Electricity

Basic Home Improvements

The Home Interior

YOUR GARDEN, YARD & ORCHARD

The Vegetable Garden

The Herb Garden

The Flower Garden

Water and Rock Gardens

Improving Your Soil

Garden Pests and Diseases

Birds and Butterflies

Lawn Care

Berries and Fruits

Arbors and Trellises

Greenhouses

Sheds and More

COUNTRY COOKING & STOCKING UP

Classic Country Recipes

Fresh From the Dairy

Meat, Fish and Game

Preserving the Harvest

The Country Pantry

YOUR BARN, STABLE & FIELDS

Farm and Ranch Animals

Barns and Fences

Country Pets

Small-Scale Farming

Tools and Techniques

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

BOOKS

RESOURCES

INDEX

HARDINESS ZONE MAP