The Weekend Homesteader by Anna Hess

Turn your homesteading dream into a reality one month at a time with manageable weekend projects.

As is hinted at by the title, this book is geared more towards someone who is starting out with homesteading and isn’t doing it full time. The 12-month guide to self-sufficiency line is a little misleading as you won’t be self-sufficient in 12 months even if you utilize all of the ideas in this book. It’s more of a guide to help you get started with some of the basics of homesteading. Projects are broken down into (for the most part) weekend-sized plans.

In addition, the book feels more geared towards someone in the city or suburbs rather than someone living in the country. Not all project ideas will work in every area which is true of most books as most authors will write about what they know. This book focuses on more mellow climates that experience mild winters with regular rainfall. The little quick hoops would be blown away by our windstorms and crushed by snowstorms in areas a little further north.

All that said, it’s still a good book for those starting out. It has a lot of great ideas. You just may need to ignore the months and go by what works in your area instead. It is an overview, so when you find an idea or plan that you like, you’ll want to find a more in-depth book to help you truly incorporate it into your homestead.

Book Description:

The Weekend Homesteader is organized by month—so whether it’s January or June you’ll find exciting, short projects that you can use to dip your toes into the vast ocean of homesteading without getting overwhelmed. If you need to fit homesteading into a few hours each weekend and would like to have fun while doing it, these projects will be right up your alley, whether you live on a forty-acre farm, a postage-stamp lawn in suburbia, or a high rise.

You’ll learn about backyard chicken care, how to choose the best mushroom and berry species, and why and how to plant a no-till garden that heals the soil while providing nutritious food. Permaculture techniques will turn your homestead into a vibrant ecosystem and attract native pollinators while converting our society’s waste into high-quality compost and mulch.

Meanwhile, enjoy the fruits of your labor right away as you learn the basics of cooking and eating seasonally, then preserve homegrown produce for later by drying, canning, freezing, or simply filling your kitchen cabinets with storage vegetables. As you become more self-sufficient, you’ll save seeds, prepare for power outages, and tear yourself away from a full-time job, while building a supportive and like-minded community.

You won’t be completely eliminating your reliance on the grocery store, but you will be plucking low-hanging (and delicious!) fruits out of your own garden by the time all forty-eight projects are complete.

About the Author:

Anna Hess enjoys writing about her adventures, both on her blog at www.WaldenEffect.org and in her books. Her first paperback, The Weekend Homesteader, helped thousands of homesteaders-to-be find ways to fit their dreams into the hours leftover from a full-time job. Hess is also the author of The Naturally Bug-Free Garden, Trailersteading, and several ebook-only titles. She lives with her husband in the mountains of southwest Virginia.

Book Details:

• The Weekend Homesteader: $17.95 MSRP
• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing; 1 edition (November 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616088826
• ISBN-13: 978-1616088828
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 7.1 x 10 inches