The Urban Farm Handbook Giveaway
When my friend Annette Cottrell from Sustainable Eats asked me to read through her new book Urban Farm Handbook: City Slicker Resources for Growing, Raising, Sourcing, Trading, and Preparing What You Eat I gladly accepted. There’s nothing I love more than giving my friends a hand, especially when it means that I get a free copy of the book to give away to one of you!
I expected this book to be like most of the other homesteading books that abound these days. It seems everyone wants to relearn some of the skills that have been lost throughout the last couple generations, so homesteading books are flooding the market. Thankfully, this book is different. Anette’s personal style brings the information to life, unlike many other books of this genre that I’ve read. She’s passionate about why she does what she does and it comes through. Her directions/explanations are in depth enough but still simple. You won’t be overwhelmed with information and feel like it’s unattainable for you to incorporate these changes into your current lifestyle.
The book covers everything from keeping chickens and grinding grain, to growing your own vegetables and making cheese. She makes these tasks seem achievable by anyone who sets their mind to it and takes away some of the mystique that surrounds them. If you’ve ever considered dabbling in keeping goats, chickens, making your own cheese, grinding grains, growing your own vegetables and all other kinds of self-sufficient things, this will be a fabulous reference guide to keep on your bookshelf.
Annette’s book is a great resource for the newbie, especially those of you that live in the Pacific Northwest. She lives in that area provides many resources that she knows about first hand. Reading about all the wonderful groups she’s a part of made me wish I had something similar here in NE Ohio.
If you’d like to win a copy of this book for your library, comment below. I’ll choose a winner next week.
What is one area of homesteading that you’d like to learn a bit more about and possibly incorporate into your life this year?
We have a winner – Congrats to Andres from Stell Homestead.
Anette is having a year long Urban Farm Handbook Challenge on her blog if you’re interested in joining. Each month a different area is featured, it’s the perfect way to work on incorporating changes into your life slowly without feeling overwhelmed.
In case you missed it, the winner for the Victory Garden Poster winner is Chicago Mike.
Filed under Books | Comments (129)
This book looks fantastic, I would love to win it. I’m most interested in learning more about vegetable gardening, and cellaring/long term storage of crops.
to Sara's comment
Oooh… to start: vertical gardening, fermenting and other preserving, natural pest control.
to Dee's comment
Would love to learn more about cool-weather gardening.
to Lisa's comment
I’d love to have chickens, but I can’t where I am. My neighbor has some though, so I *do* get the benefits! I’ve another neighbor with goats, that I get to goat-sit for sometimes… Not sure if I’d get them myself, I think I’d rather have sheep.
I’d like to work on my gardening skills. While I get plenty of lettuce, basil, and some tomatoes, my potatoes, and onions are usually small. And my carrots look like wet thread. *sigh*
Then, I’d like to learn how to preserve stuff other than just jams.
to Karen's comment
Raising chickens is my goal, but I need to wait until I have a more stable living situation. But this year, I would like to try grinding my own grains. And expand my cheese making capabilities.
to Kaytee's comment
I’d like to learn more about tools to help with timing garden crops better. Perhaps succession planting techniques?
to Kelly's comment
Sounds like a great book, I’ll have to give it a read. My family is always laughing at my because my nose is always in a gardening book of some kind!
to Rick's comment
I love reading and dreaming of homesteading here at home! This sound like a great book! Thank you for the chance to win.
to cynthialeigh's comment
This would be a great addition to my resource library. If I am not the winner I will gladly find it at the book store!
to April's comment
Ahhh…Looks like another great book to have on hand…You can never …ever.. have to many!
to Jennifer Maltba's comment
I plan to start a root cellar, and also to start making cheese.
to Pamela's comment
This book looks very intriguing! I like that it seems to have something for every aspect of the changes we’re all trying to make in even the tiniest ways.
to Jaye Whitney's comment
Chickens! After spending the past two years getting our garden started, we’d really like to add a small flock to the mix.
to Dixie's comment
I’ve always wanted to learn how to keep bees. We have chickens and they are doing well… I think bees would be a fun new adventure for our suburban garden.
to June's comment
I really want to get chickens, and expand the vegetable garden again. My cool weather crops did well this winter, since it was so mild. I’m going to have to accelerate plans to get more cold frames in before next winter
to Annette's comment
I’d love to have some chickens, but my city won’t permit it. Not yet, anyway!
to Melanie's comment
I’d love to learn to make cheese. One of my favorite foods.
to Holly L's comment
where to start… cold weather gardening, vertical gardening, cultivating miushrooms, and beekeeping just to name a few.
to Fred's comment
I’ll be adding this to my list of books to get/read!
to deedee's comment
I’ve now tried making ricotta and would love to try making more cheese!
to Erin's comment
I would love to raise chickens, but as that is against county regulations, I am going to have to wait (at least until I have a fence to obscure the garden….). I would also like to learn more about incorporating permaculture into my kitchen potager, to create more self sufficient gardens.
to Andres's comment
I have really been enjoying your posts on sugaring! I also look forward to hear more about your bees as their season starts to approach.
to Lozy's comment
Please enter me in the giveaway. I would like to learn about grinding grain and making cheese.
Blessings
Diane
to Diane's comment
I would love to raise my own chickens. Currently my area doesn’t allow it, but there is a large group of people trying to get that changed this year. Hopefully that works!
to Kat's comment
I continue to read info on getting the most produce out of an urban front yard and love to need to learn more about extending my growing season with hoop houses and coldframes.
to Evelyn in Canada's comment
I already garden, but would love to learn some more efficient ways of gardening.
to bonnie's comment
What a cool sounding book! I live in Oregon and recently had to move away from where I had the space to raise goats and chickens. I want to be able to continue to ‘homestead’ on the smaller area where I am now. While I miss my goaties, I am currently looking to having chickens again and making cheese. And gardening. And food preservation. And, and, and :)
to Deairdre Miller's comment
I intend to start raising some hens this summer and would love added resources as well as other things to increase productivity of by back lot. thx
to Sheri's comment