Holistic Homesteading: A Guide to a Sustainable and Regenerative Lifestyle

by Roxanne Ahern

Overview

Learn to Live Holistically, Sustainably, and Intentionally

Make healthier life choices to heal yourself and the environment through self-sufficiency. The Happy Holistic Homestead by Roxanne Ahern provides the tools for living slowly, intentionally, and better through permaculture, edible gardening, and organic farming.

Live the Homestead Life. Ahern’s book guides new and seasoned homesteaders in improving personal and environmental health. The Happy Holistic Homestead is geared toward people who are interested in pursuing intentional lifestyles and organic farming methods. It is both for those who have access to land and those who are interested in retrofitting urban and suburban lifestyles and landscapes to shift towards sustainability.

Utilize Sustainable Organic Farming Techniques. Learn about permaculture design, holistic nutrition, and sustainable farming in rural and urban settings. The Happy Holistic Homestead covers how to use organic soil and zero chemicals to grow the best vegetables and fruits, responsible and humane animal husbandry that improves the ground and carbon sequestration, as well as the best canning and preserving techniques. Ahern also provides tips on safely foraging for flowers and mushrooms.

Read The Happy Holistic Homestead and learn:

• Permaculture practices that can be used in rural and urban spaces 
• How to get the most out of your food through holistic nutrition
• The best techniques for canning and preserving your fruits and vegetables
• How to bake sourdough bread and how to create your own sourdough culture

If you enjoyed books such as The Modern Homestead Garden, The Encyclopedia of Country Living, and Beginner's Guide to Preserving, your next read should be The Happy Holistic Homestead.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642509960
Publisher:	Mango Media
Publication date:	04/09/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	134
Sales rank:	446,806
File size:	21 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Roxanne Ahern is a writer, homesteader, holistic nutritionist, and permaculture designer. She consults with clients on nutrition, edible gardening, homesteading, and farming.

Table of Contents

Introduction 11

Chapter 1 Planning a Regenerative Future 20

Ideas for Generating Income on a Homestead or Farm 25

Planning a Business 31

Chapter 2 Choosing Your Homestead: Site and Scale 38

Scale 42

How to Choose a Location and Land 46

Chapter 3 Gardening for an Abundant Food Supply 54

Research Natives or Bio Regionally Appropriate Plants 56

Planning a Garden 59

What Is Permaculture? 69

What Is a Guild? 76

Growing Food without Chemicals 81

Growing Mushrooms 100

Retrofitting Urban and Suburban Areas for Food Production 106

Chapter 4 Foraging 118

Foraging Ethics/Etiquette 123

A Few Forages 126

Make Wild Violet Tea 135

Chapter 5 Food Preservation 138

Canning 138

Fermentation 146

Freezing 159

Freeze Drying 159

Dehydration 162

Curing 162

Root Cellaring 167

Chapter 6 Baking and Cooking with Sourdough Culture 170

Making a Starter Culture 171

Sourdough Bread 175

Crackers 178

Tortillas 180

Biscuits 184

Waffles 186

Pancakes 188

Pasta 192

Dutch Baby Pancake 194

Shortbread Cookies 196

Sage's Special Honey White 198

Conclusion 203

Additional Resources 212

Acknowledgments 217

About the Author 219

Editorial Reviews

If you want to live off the land and grow a regenerative homestead, this book is a great primer into essential steps: from siting your garden and understanding design principles to wild foraging and home preserves. Roxanne is full of good advice!”
—Zach Loeks, director of the Ecosystem Solution Institute and author of The Permaculture Market Garden and The Edible Ecosystem Solution

“In Holistic Homesteading, Roxanne Ahern lays out the why and the how of living a more grounded and meaningful existence through the simple, beautiful, everyday acts of home production. It was once commonplace for our ancestors to mark the days and the seasons through the production happening in the home: the flush of the summer garden, the work of storage in autumn, the renewal and abundance of spring, the simple dance between human culture and animal husbandry and the delicate care of the plant world. Holistic Homesteading invites us back in to participate in this most essential and meaningful of human tasks: the work and joy of making a living from the land and reveling in its abundance.”
—Dr. Ashley Colby, environmental sociologist, director of Rizoma Field School, and author of Subsistence Agriculture in the US: Reconnecting to Work, Nature and Community

“Holistic Homesteading offers a wide array of information on finding land, starting a homestead, and enjoying the rhythms of a land-based lifestyle. Filled with practical tips and important things to consider along the way, it’s a perfect book for inspiration at any point in your homesteading journey.”
—Tao Orion, Resilience Permaculture Design, LLC, author of Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Approach to Ecosystem Restoration

“For those interested in living off their land and starting a homesteading lifestyle, this book does a great job providing practical tips, recipes, and inspiration to get started on a sustainable path.”
—Loni Wetherell, Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/01/2022

A small percentage—less than two percent—of Americans are farmers, which has changed dramatically from the last 100 years. Skills that were once common knowledge, such as gardening and food preservation, are now a thing of the past for a large portion of adults in the United States. Ahern is a homesteader, holistic nutritionist, and permaculture designer, and she utilizes that background in this book. It emphasizes why it's important to get back to being homesteaders and working toward self-sufficiency in growing one's own food, preserving it, composting, seed saving, foraging, and baking and cooking with sourdough culture. She focuses on holistic homesteading by describing sustainable and regenerative practices in agriculture that do not use pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers so that the environment is protected for future generations. VERDICT For those interested in living off their land and starting a homesteading lifestyle, this book does a great job providing practical tips, recipes, and inspiration to get started on a sustainable path.—Loni Wetherell

Library Journal