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The Complete Compost Gardening Guide: Banner Batches, Grow Heaps, Comforter Compost, and Other Amazing Techniques for Saving Time
Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin turn the compost bin upside down with their liberating system of keeping compost heaps right in the garden, rather than in some dark corner behind the garage. The compost and the plants live together from the beginning in a nourishing, organic environment. The authors' bountiful, compost-rich gardens require less digging, weeding, mulching, and even less planting. And here's one of the best parts -- no more backbreaking slogs from compost bin to garden. The authors even identify the plants that benefit most from compost and how the elements of a composted garden work together. A natural Six-Way Compost Gardening System provides the ruling principles for successfully improving every garden with healthy compost. Readers will learn how to: 1. Choose labor-saving sites that keep gardens and compost piles as close to one another as possible. 2. Work with the compostable riches produced at home. Every yard and kitchen produces plenty of material -- easily identified with at-a-glance charts -- for a great start. 3. Help composting critters do their work by balancing ingredients, adding high-nitrogen meals when needed, and keeping the compost moist. 4. Reuse recycling bin items, such as large plastic buckets and cardboard boxes, as composting equipment. 5. Keep diversity in the mix. The magic is in the variety of the components and how they work together to create "gardener's gold." 6. Customize composting to suit specific garden needs, always concentrating first on soil care. Adhering to these guidelines, Pleasant and Martin bring readers on a thorough, informative tour of materials and innovative techniques, leading the way to an efficient and rewarding home gardening system. Their methods are sure to help gardeners turn average vegetable plots into rich incubators of healthy produce, bursting with fresh flavor, and flower beds into rich tapestries of bountiful blooms all season long.
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The Joy of Keeping Chickens: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit
Finally backyard farmers who want to keep a few hens for eggs have a bible that's attractive enough to leave out on the coffee table, and inexpensive enough to purchase on a whim. This comprehensive guide, written in charming prose from the perspective of an organic farmer, will appeal to readers who are interested in raising chickens, or simply want the best knowledge about how to cook them. With this in mind, farmer and animal expert Jennifer Megyesi discusses all the basic details of raising the birds-general biology, health, food, choosing breeds, and so on-and she cuts through the smoke to identify what terms like "organic," "free-range," and so on really mean for poultry farmers and consumers. No chicken book would be complete without information on how to show chickens for prizes, and this is no different, but The Joy of Keeping Chickens also stresses the importance of self-sustainability and organic living, and the satisfaction of keeping heirloom breeds. Readers will appreciate the comprehensive nature of this readable, informative guide, and Megyesi's enthusiasm about keeping chickens. Coupled with Geoff Hansen's gorgeous full-color photographs, this text makes for an instant classic in the category.
Composting for Dummies
Discover how easy it is to master composting Whether you're an avid gardener or simply want to reduce the amount of materials you send to the landfill, "Composting For Dummies" shows you how to turn household food waste, yard clippings, and more into free, nutrient-rich compost and mulch. From building and working with traditional compost bins to starting an indoor worm-composting operation, "Composting For Dummies" makes these often intimidating projects easy, fun, and accessible. If you've ever said to yourself, "I should start composting," this book will help you get the job done. You'll get expert tips and helpful advice on which materials to compost (and materials to avoid), whether to turn or not to turn your pile, how to achieve the right balance of materials in your pile, and more Building plans for a variety of compost bins How to make and maintain a compost pile Up-to-date container trends" "With the helpful guidance of "Composting For Dummies, "you'll discover a back-to-basics skill that will benefit the earth and your wallet
Homesteading: A Backyard Guide To: Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal
Who doesn't want to shrink their carbon footprint, save money, and eat homegrown food whenever possible? Even readers who are very much on the grid will embrace this large, fully-illustrated guide on the basics of living the good, clean life. It's written with country lovers in mind-even those who currently live in the city. Whether you live in the city, the suburbs, or even the wilderness, there is plenty you can do to improve your life from a green perspective. Got sunlight? Start container gardening. With a few plants, fresh tomatoes, which then become canned tomato sauce, are a real option. Reduce electricity use by eating dinner by candlelight (using homemade candles, of course). Learn to use rainwater to augment water supplies. Make your own soap and hand lotion. Consider keeping chickens for the eggs. From what to eat to supporting sustainable restaurants to avoiding dry cleaning, this book offers information on anything a homesteader needs-and more.