The New Homesteader

Starting with the Kitchen Garden, Nick and Bella Ivins discuss designing and planning a plot then move on to choosing and planting fruit and vegetable crops. Next, in The Orchard, they explain how to plant and tend an orchard as well as soft fruit. Animals covers the topic of livestock, including bees, chickens and other small poultry and rearing lambs and pigs. The Garden shows how to make any additional outside space productive by planting a wildflower meadow, a small woodland and even a nuttery. Following on, The Outbuildings takes a closer look at the places at the heart of a successful homestead - the barn, the woodyard, the workshop and the store, where summer produce is stored to keep the homestead going during the lean winter months. Finally, in The Farmhouse, Nick and Bella move on to the hub of the homestead, the backdrop for day-to-day farm life. The farmhouse kitchen is the place where produce is preserved, bread is baked and dairy products are produced. Other sections address homestead housekeeping with natural cleaning products.