Fall at the Fair! Books for the Urban Farmer

Enjoy this list of books about gardening and urban homesteading that follows the theme for our SweetBean Reading Challenge in August!

Updated July 3, 2024
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Ball canning back to basics : a foolproof guide to canning jams, jellies, pickles, and more
Paper Book
Can it, pickle it, and store it with confidence.  If you can boil water, you can make your own delectable jams and jellies, try your hand at fresh-pack pickling, and jar savory sauces. Ball Canning Back to Basics focuses on the building-block...
Can it, bottle it, smoke it : and other kitchen projects
Solomon, Karen.
Paper Book
Have you ever wanted to . . . Bottle your own soda? Press your own tofu? Smoke your own cheese? Boil your own bagels? Ferment your own miso? Can your own tomatoes? Roast your own coffee?nbsp; Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It walks you through a slew of satisfying...
Cheesemaking
Ash, Rita.
Paper Book
Whether it's moving to the country and starting over on a whim or just making city- living a little simpler and easier, the "Green" movement is changing the way we live our day- to-day lives. Skyhorse's Self-Sufficiency handbooks are meant to help--offering advice on what to do, how to do it better,...
Epic homesteading : your guide to self-sufficiency on a modern, high-tech, backyard homestead
Espiritu, Kevin
Paper Book
Followed by millions @epicgardening, Author Kevin Espiritu has built a modern, high-tech homestead on a modest urban lot. In Epic Homesteading, he teaches you how to do the same, wherever you live. As Kevin has proven--thanks to his enthusiasm and willingness...
Farming while Black : Soul Fire Farm's practical guide to liberation on the land
Penniman, Leah
Paper Book
Recipient of the 28th Heinz Awards for the Economy: Leah Penniman James Beard Foundation Leadership Award 2019: Leah Penniman Choice Reviews, Outstanding Academic Title "An extraordinary book...part agricultural guide, part revolutionary manifesto."--VOGUE Named a...
The Homesteading Handbook A Back to Basics Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More
Gehring, Abigail R.
Paper Book
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...
Mini farming : self sufficiency on a 1/4 acre
Markham, Brett L.
Paper Book
Go back to basics--compost, raising chickens, water and irrigation, dealing with pests, and much more--with this unique, full color bestseller (over 400,000 sold). Mini Farming describes a holistic approach to small-area farming that will show you how to produce 85 percent...
Saving the season : a cook's guide to home canning, pickling, and preserving
West, Kevin
Paper Book
The ultimate canning guide for cooks--from the novice to the professional--and the only book you need to save (and savor) the season throughout the entire year "Gardening history, 18th-century American painters, poems, and practical information; it's a rich book. And unlike other...
Self-sufficiency for the 21st century
Strawbridge, Dick.
Paper Book
Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century includes something for everyone, from urban apartment dwellers to suburbanites to countryside residents.  With step-by-step guidance and techniques, Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century teaches you how to reduce waste,...
The self-sufficiency garden : feed your family and save money
Richards, Huw
Paper Book
Eat homegrown food all year round and save money on your weekly shop by following a simple plan for self-sufficiency. Huw Richards and Sam Cooper have spent the past two years planning and trialing their very own self-sufficiency garden in a 10x12.5m plot and now they've worked...
Self-sufficiency handbook
Bridgewater, Alan
Paper Book
Worried about ever-rising fuel bills and longing for the day when you can be off-grid and independent? Anxious about the quality of the food you eat and planning to go organic? Yearning to get back to the way it was but don't know where to start? This book will show you how to achieve the eco...
Self-Sufficiency: A Complete Guide to Baking, Carpentry, Crafts, Organic Gardening, Preserving Your Harvest, Raising Animals, and More!
Gehring, Abigail
Paper Book
Now, more than ever, people across the country are turning toward simpler, greener, and quieter ways of living--whether they're urbanites or country folk. Following in the footsteps of Back to Basics and Homesteading, this large, fully-illustrated book provides the entire family with...
Step-by-step projects for self-sufficiency : grow edibles, raise animals, live off the grid, do it yourself
Cool Springs Press
Paper Book
Learn how to be self-sufficient across multiple interest areas, including: gardening, raising animals, alternative energy, storage and preservation, and much more.
The Urban Homestead
Coyne, Kelly
Paper Book
The celebrated, essential handbook for the urban homesteading movement shows readers how to grow and preserve their own food, clean the house without toxins, raise chickens, gain energy independence and much more. Step-by-step projects, tips and anecdotes will help readers get started homesteading...

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