Off-the-wall solutions for real farmstead problems
Fueled by a failing economy and a passionate desire for a return to simpler times, a new wave of homesteaders is seeking the good life and the kind of true satisfaction that can only be built, not bought. Many of these modern pioneers are cash poor, but rich in energy and creativity. Plowing with Pigs and Other Creative, Low-Budget Homesteading Solutions offers them a set of fresh ideas for achieving independence through sweat equity and the use of unconventional resources.
This highly readable and entertaining guide brings together answers to common problems faced by homesteaders young and old, urban, suburban, and rural. Traditional knowledge is combined with MacGyver-style ingenuity to create projects that maximize available resources, including:
- Animal management strategies for the yard, garden, and field
- Pole building and construction techniques from woodlot materials
- Replacing farm machinery with homemade hand tools and implements
- Leveraging increased self-sufficiency into a home-based business
Whether you are a dreamer or a doer, Plowing with Pigs will inspire, challenge, and enable you to do more with less (and have fun doing it).
Oscar H. (Hank) Will III is a farmer, scientist, and author, known for seeking and implementing creative farmstead solutions. The editor of Grit magazine, Hank has published hundreds of articles and five books on a range of topics including antique farm machinery.
Karen K. Will is editor of The Heirloom Gardener magazine and author of Cooking with Heirlooms: Seasonal Recipes with Heritage-Variety Vegetables and Fruits . She operates Prairie Turnip Farm with her husband Oscar H. Will III.
Autorentext
Oscar H. Will III is a farmer, scientist, and author, known for seeking and implementing creative farmstead solutions. His commercial agricultural production experience includes alfalfa sprouts, hay, beef cattle, free-range poultry (meat and eggs), native perennial plants, trees, cut flowers and vegetables. The editor-in-chief of Grit Magazine , Hank has published hundreds of articles and 5 books on a range of topics including antique farm machinery.
Karen K. Will is editor of The Heirloom Gardener magazine and operates Prairie Turnip Farm in Osage County, Kansas with her husband Oscar H. Will III. She is a freelance writer, photographer and blogger, and the author of Cooking with Heirlooms: Seasonal Recipes with Heritage-Variety Vegetables and Fruits .
Inhalt
Acknowledgments
Introduction
SECTION 1. Animals
Chapter 1. Free-Range Fowl
Chapter 2. Plowing with Pigs
Chapter 3. Collecting Solar Energy with Ruminants
SECTION 2. Bounty in the Woodlot and Hedgerow
Chapter 4. Fencing and Fences
Chapter 5. Building What You Need
Chapter 6. You Can Build It
SECTION 3. Gym Membership That Pays
Chapter 7. Row Crops You Can Grow by Hand
Chapter 8. Handmade Hay and Other Forages
Chapter 9. Small Grains, Big Benefit
SECTION 4. Home(Stead) As a Production Center
Chapter 10. Cooking from Scratch
Chapter 11. Organic, Handmade Kitchen Upgrade
Chapter 12. Home-based Food Business
Afterword
Photo Credits
Index
About the Authors