The cover: thinking about homesteading, no matter how small the plot
My newest book is the newly updated Living on an Acre. I was still a teenager when the USDA put together the original edition, then called Living on a Few Acres. Lyons Press (of Globe Pequot Press) has just published the second edition of the 21st-century version of this classic handbook on self-reliant living.
On Sunday, June 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., I’ll be selling Living on an Acre at the Chester Sunday Market in downtown Chester, Connecticut. The market brings together Connecticut farmers, bakers, and other food experts who sell fresh produce, bread, meat, fish, flowers, and more.
The first five to buy my book will receive a special gift. I will also be selling my other book, Energy Independence. Limited copies of Appalachia and Connecticut Woodlands, the magazines I edit, will be available.
I spent many dozens of hours researching modern figures to make Living on an Acre useful for modern back-to-the-landers. We have renamed it to reflect the shrinking size of the average country plot. I use much of what I learned from this book on my own seven-tenths-of-an-acre in Deep River, Connecticut.
Who hasn’t daydreamed at one time or another about selling produce at a farmer’s market, keeping chickens, or planting a small orchard? This book will help those looking to work more with the land (on any scale) to realize their dream. The USDA experts and I introduce you to: the benefits of rural versus urban life; what to consider when remodeling an old house; how to grow produce for self-sufficiency or profit; how to raise livestock; and how to protect your land from development.
