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House & Garden
Easy-to-knit hats for easy-to-love babies
- 25 super-cute, simple-to-make hats for little heads - Cute-as-a-button projects showcased with stunning baby portraits - Perfect projects for beginning knitters make great baby gifts!
Whatever their activities, we think you'll agree: babies should wear hats. Mainly because they look so darned cute in hats! And they look really, really cute in Baby Beanies. Author and photographer Amanda Keeys designed these enchanting toppers for the babies who model for her, and her simple patterns use bright colors, lush textures, and quirky embellishments to rise to the top. Directions for basic stitches and techniques are included, so even beginning knitters can easily whip up a present for a special baby. Readers will enjoy the funny, engaging text and the hundreds of adorable photos. Go beyond blue for boys and pink for girl--make them something nice from Baby Beanies!
- 25 super-cute, simple-to-make hats for little heads - Cute-as-a-button projects showcased with stunning baby portraits - Perfect projects for beginning knitters make great baby gifts!
Whatever their activities, we think you'll agree: babies should wear hats. Mainly because they look so darned cute in hats! And they look really, really cute in Baby Beanies. Author and photographer Amanda Keeys designed these enchanting toppers for the babies who model for her, and her simple patterns use bright colors, lush textures, and quirky embellishments to rise to the top. Directions for basic stitches and techniques are included, so even beginning knitters can easily whip up a present for a special baby. Readers will enjoy the funny, engaging text and the hundreds of adorable photos. Go beyond blue for boys and pink for girl--make them something nice from Baby Beanies!
"When your garden contains lots of earthworms, your soil is good." This maxim may not sound familiar, but before the days of landscapers and lawn-maintenance companies, this type of knowledge was common. Gardening skills were passed down from generation to generation, and yards were personal places that flourished under the care of time-tested wisdom. Today the pace of life is faster, and modern advances make gardening tasks easier, but we can all benefit from the techniques and common-sense advice of the past to have beautiful, fruitful gardens now.
With Back to Basics: Traditional Garden Wisdom, anyone can:
Develop a dream, green garden without spending a fortune Grow an organic and eco-friendly garden with minimum fuss and maximum taste Discover how to collect and save seeds Make your own compost and learn "no-dig" gardening Make a cold frame and protect plants from frost Repel moles with castor oil, prevent mice with the right plants, and make herbal insect repellents Find out the best way to prune a hedge, tree, or climbing flower Know which gardening tasks to do for each season Raise a panel fence and use recycled materials for landscaping Plant raised beds and container gardens, and build a natural grape arbor Discover how companion planting can discourage harmful pests and encourage growth Back to Basics: Traditional Garden Wisdom has full-color step-by-step illustrated instructions that will bring new knowledge to gardeners of all levels. Soon you'll be adding fireplace ashes to the garden to give it a potassium boost and using your elbow to see if the soil is warm enough for planting. With this insightful book, you'll discover why sage advice never goes out of style.
With Back to Basics: Traditional Garden Wisdom, anyone can:
From the stone age to the new age, humans love to gather around a fire. But there have been updates since the golden age of the 1950s. The big brick backyard fireplace and grill of the atomic era has been replaced by clay chinimeas from garden centers and steel fireplaces that fit snugly into the new subcompact backyards. This little lifestyle manual covers all the basics of the backyard blaze. Part Boy Scout Handbook, part Martha Stewart Cooks with Sticks, this colorful and entertaining book teases out the inner pyromaniac. Here are expert fire-building techniques, tips for flavoring the fire with aromas like apple wood, and evocations of campfire culture complete with ghost stories and sing-alongs. Pie-Iron cookery, Peach Smores, Gypsy Popcorn, even haute treats such as gourmet hot dogs and Pan-Latin Creations using Pie Irons are among the dishes on display in this lively guide to the reassuringly retro outdoor fireplace scene.
Keeping chickens isn't just for farms! The backyard chicken revolution has coops popping up in neighborhoods all over. Home-raised chickens provide a great source of superior, organic eggs that are as close as your backyard. Chickens also make good pets and provide free fertilizer--and lots of fun. Backyard Chickens Guide offers plans and photos for 16 custom coops built by real chicken owners, (including three portable designs known as tractors). Read their stories and learn from their experiences, then head out to the backyard to start your own flock.
With the price of produce on the rise and growing concerns about the safety of commercially farmed food, The Backyard Farmer is the ideal solution for anyone who is interested in successfully growing their own food. This accessible and encompassing how-to guide clearly details every step required to transform that decorative lawn or clutter-filled backyard into a small-scale farm that yields everything from chard to chickens.
Going well-beyond harvesting your own fruits and vegetables, this handy book delivers in-depth instruction on making the home self-reliant, installing renewable energy, raising livestock, and composting waste. In addition to practical farm facts, The Back Yard Farmer offers informative advice on increasing your backyard's biodiversity and sustaining your micro-farm for many years to come.
Going well-beyond harvesting your own fruits and vegetables, this handy book delivers in-depth instruction on making the home self-reliant, installing renewable energy, raising livestock, and composting waste. In addition to practical farm facts, The Back Yard Farmer offers informative advice on increasing your backyard's biodiversity and sustaining your micro-farm for many years to come.
Your Backyard Farming Experience Begins Here! A bountiful vegetable garden is a mainstay of the backyard farm; when done right, it can form the foundation for all your future farming successes. Whether you're aiming at self-sufficiency or just looking to add the freshest ingredients possible to your own kitchen table, starting your own backyard vegetable garden is the best possible first step. Backyard Farming: Growing Vegetables & Herbs is your guide to ensuring that your first garden is a success. Intended to serve as a comprehensive primer for first-time gardeners, detailed illustrations and informative photographs help to eliminate confusion and ease new homesteaders into the world of backyard farming. Growing Vegetables & Herbs takes you from start to finish: from planning out your garden, to planting and nurturing, to enjoying your first home harvest. Growing Vegetables & Herbs shows you:
- How to design the best gardening layout for your space
- The ins and outs of weeding, watering, and pest control to keep your garden fresh and healthy
- Ways to organize your plantings to take advantage of natural complements
- The equipment you will need to make your garden a success
- How to harvest your vegetables and prepare your garden for the coming winter
...and many more tips and tricks from experienced growers to help you avoid the most common mistakes. Join the growing movement of homemakers and homesteaders looking to make a return to a healthier, happier way of life--right in your own backyard. Growing Vegetables & Herbs will show you how. Backyard Farming is a series of easy-to-use guides to help urban, suburban, and rural dwellers turn their homes into homesteads. Whether planning to grow food for the family or for sale at the local farmers market, Backyard Farming provides simple instruction and essential information in a convenient reference.
- How to design the best gardening layout for your space
- The ins and outs of weeding, watering, and pest control to keep your garden fresh and healthy
- Ways to organize your plantings to take advantage of natural complements
- The equipment you will need to make your garden a success
- How to harvest your vegetables and prepare your garden for the coming winter
...and many more tips and tricks from experienced growers to help you avoid the most common mistakes. Join the growing movement of homemakers and homesteaders looking to make a return to a healthier, happier way of life--right in your own backyard. Growing Vegetables & Herbs will show you how. Backyard Farming is a series of easy-to-use guides to help urban, suburban, and rural dwellers turn their homes into homesteads. Whether planning to grow food for the family or for sale at the local farmers market, Backyard Farming provides simple instruction and essential information in a convenient reference.
Your Backyard Farming Experience Begins Here! Make beekeeping a part of your backyard farming experience: enjoy honey, beeswax and a more fruitful garden, as your bees will work as hard as you do to make your backyard farm a success! Backyard Farming: Keeping Honey Bees is your guide to successfully caring for your hive. As a comprehensive primer for first-time beekeepers, Keeping Honey Bees includes detailed illustrations and informative photographs that help to ease new homesteaders into the world of backyard beekeeping. Keeping Honey Bees takes you from start to finish: from planning out your bees' space in the yard and constructing/installing your hives, to feeding and nurturing your new colony, to enjoying your very own golden honey and more. With Keeping Honey Bees, you will:
- Learn the proper use of the equipment necessary to make your beekeeping a success
- Construct the perfect apiary to minimize your workload and ensure a productive colony
- Gather honey and beeswax for profit, or to include in your own self-sufficiency plan
- Use the freshest, fullest honey possible in a variety of delicious recipes
...and many more tips and tricks from experienced farmers to help you avoid the most common pitfalls you might encounter. Keeping Honey Bees is your first big step to joining the growing movement of homemakers and homesteaders looking to make a return to a healthier, happier way of life--and it starts right in your own backyard. Backyard Farming is a series of easy-to-use guides to help urban, suburban, and rural dwellers turn their homes into homesteads. Whether planning to grow food for the family or for sale at the local farmers market, Backyard Farming provides simple instruction and essential information in a convenient reference.
- Learn the proper use of the equipment necessary to make your beekeeping a success
- Construct the perfect apiary to minimize your workload and ensure a productive colony
- Gather honey and beeswax for profit, or to include in your own self-sufficiency plan
- Use the freshest, fullest honey possible in a variety of delicious recipes
...and many more tips and tricks from experienced farmers to help you avoid the most common pitfalls you might encounter. Keeping Honey Bees is your first big step to joining the growing movement of homemakers and homesteaders looking to make a return to a healthier, happier way of life--and it starts right in your own backyard. Backyard Farming is a series of easy-to-use guides to help urban, suburban, and rural dwellers turn their homes into homesteads. Whether planning to grow food for the family or for sale at the local farmers market, Backyard Farming provides simple instruction and essential information in a convenient reference.
Your Backyard Farming Experience Begins Here! Whether for eggs, meat, fun, or profit, chickens are the perfect addition to any new backyard grower's farm. Backyard Farming: Raising Chickens is your guide to successfully caring for your flock. As a comprehensive primer for first-time chicken farmers, Raising Chickens includes detailed illustrations and informative photographs that help to ease new homesteaders into the world of backyard chicken farming. Raising Chickens takes you from start to finish: from planning out your chickens' space, to hatching and raising new chicks, to keeping your birds happy, healthy, and well-fed, to enjoying your very own farm-fresh eggs and more. With Raising Chickens, you will:
- Find the ideal breed of bird for your needs
- Construct a coop to minimize your workload and maximize your enjoyment
- Gather eggs for food, profit, or to hatch your own birds to add to your flock
- Use the freshest eggs possible in a variety of delicious recipes
...and many more tips and tricks from experienced farmers to help you avoid the most common mistakes. Raising Chickens is your first big step to joining the growing movement of homemakers and homesteaders looking to make a return to a healthier, happier way of life--and it starts right in your own backyard. Backyard Farming is a series of easy-to-use guides to help urban, suburban, and rural dwellers turn their homes into homesteads. Whether planning to grow food for the family or for sale at the local farmers market, Backyard Farming provides simple instruction and essential information in a convenient reference.
- Find the ideal breed of bird for your needs
- Construct a coop to minimize your workload and maximize your enjoyment
- Gather eggs for food, profit, or to hatch your own birds to add to your flock
- Use the freshest eggs possible in a variety of delicious recipes
...and many more tips and tricks from experienced farmers to help you avoid the most common mistakes. Raising Chickens is your first big step to joining the growing movement of homemakers and homesteaders looking to make a return to a healthier, happier way of life--and it starts right in your own backyard. Backyard Farming is a series of easy-to-use guides to help urban, suburban, and rural dwellers turn their homes into homesteads. Whether planning to grow food for the family or for sale at the local farmers market, Backyard Farming provides simple instruction and essential information in a convenient reference.
The essential beginner's manual on living a greener, healthier, and more self-sufficient lifestyle.
Absolutely all you need to know to provide you and your family with homegrown food throughout the year. Alison Candlin offers easy-to-follow advice on planning, establishing, and maintaining a small-acre farm, an allotment, or a backyard garden. She also includes essential tips for selecting, housing, and looking after chickens, goats, pigs, bees, and other animals. Learn how to collect and recycle water, compost your leftover scraps, and generate renewable energy for your own home in order to save money and minimize your impact on the environment. With step-by-step instructions and more than 350 photographs and charming illustrations, this book is a practical and comprehensive guide to living off the land.
Backyard Medicine is a beautiful book, packed with nearly 300 color photographs and over 120 herbal remedies that you can make yourself. It gives a fascinating insight into the literary, historic, and world-wide application of the fifty common plants that it covers. It is the sort of book you can enjoy as an armchair reader or use to harvest and make your own herbal remedies from wild plants. Anyone who wants to improve his or her health in the same way that human-kind has done for centuries around the world, by using local wild plants and herbs, will find this book fascinating and useful.
Margaret Roach has been harvesting thirty years of backyard parables-deceptively simple, instructive stories from a life spent digging ever deeper-and has distilled them in this memoir along with her best tips for garden making, discouraging all manner of animal and insect opponents, at-home pickling, and more.
After ruminating on the bigger picture in her memoir And I Shall Have Some Peace There, Margaret Roach has returned to the garden, insisting as ever that we must garden with both our head and heart, or as she expresses it, with "horticultural how-to and woo-woo." In THE BACKYARD PARABLES, Roach uses her fundamental understanding of the natural world, philosophy, and life to explore the ways that gardening saved and instructed her, and meditates on the science and spirituality of nature, reminding her readers and herself to keep on digging.
Does your backyard or garden look bleak and boring? Has your spouse ever told you that you need your own work building? Are your children's toys overflowing into the neighbor's yard because you have nowhere to put them? Have you ever thought about investing in a two-car garage or a small barn? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this is the book for you.
We all know that hiring a contractor or builder to take care of backyard projects can be costly and aggravating. In Monte Burch's BACKYARD STRUCTURES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM, you will be shown how to undertake these projects yourself, saving time and money, and still end up with beautiful new outbuildings. More than two dozen attractive and practical building plans to improve your yard, farm, or homestead are fully presented in this book. Many of the structures are known as pole buildings, which require no foundation excavation, only limited grading, and fewer materials. They also allow for the use of sites not suitable for other types of construction, and offer excellent structural integrity and wind resistance.
Monte Burch's backyard structures include:
OSmall and Big Hay Bale Barns
ORecreational Vehicle Shelter
OMobile Home Cover
OWoodshed
OTwo-Car Garage
OWorkshop
OPlayhouses
OTreestands
OGrape Arbors
OAnd many more
From storage shed to swimming-pool deck surround, Burch's fresh ideas offer something for everyone. Better still, the simplicity and ease of construction make them ideal for the first-time builder.
We all know that hiring a contractor or builder to take care of backyard projects can be costly and aggravating. In Monte Burch's BACKYARD STRUCTURES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM, you will be shown how to undertake these projects yourself, saving time and money, and still end up with beautiful new outbuildings. More than two dozen attractive and practical building plans to improve your yard, farm, or homestead are fully presented in this book. Many of the structures are known as pole buildings, which require no foundation excavation, only limited grading, and fewer materials. They also allow for the use of sites not suitable for other types of construction, and offer excellent structural integrity and wind resistance.
Monte Burch's backyard structures include:
OSmall and Big Hay Bale Barns
ORecreational Vehicle Shelter
OMobile Home Cover
OWoodshed
OTwo-Car Garage
OWorkshop
OPlayhouses
OTreestands
OGrape Arbors
OAnd many more
From storage shed to swimming-pool deck surround, Burch's fresh ideas offer something for everyone. Better still, the simplicity and ease of construction make them ideal for the first-time builder.
A rollicking yarn about a home-improvement project that took a man and his family to hell and back. In 1993, after Chicago lost many of its residents to the suburbs, Ed Zotti and his family gambled their future by fixing up a dilapidated Victorian home in a dicey neighborhood. Where most saw a shabby façade, the Zottis saw promise?even when it dragged and drained every resource. ?The Barn House? had a collapsed ceiling, wiring that shorted, and oak floors painted red, white, and blue. Unsettling discoveries included a box of .38 caliber bullets?with five missing?and the mere fact that the house was built on a bed of sand. Alternately harrowing and hilarious, this is a classic account of one family's private urban renewal project, featuring burglars, irate neighbors, and a lively cast of workers. From its grim beginning to its unexpected outcome, The Barn House is the inspiring story of what it means to live (and totally rewire) the American Dream.
In the vernacular vocabulary of America, the barn stands proud, a hulking icon in the agricultural landscape. Unlike a house, the barn is chaste. For this is a place for work--a space rubbed by livestock and worn by labor. The repeating patterns of the posts and beams, now considered impediments to efficient farming, mask the very intricacy that gives old barns their intrinsic character. Many of these splendid spaces now lie empty, festooned with cobwebs, awaiting collapse, but there is a growing recognition that these honestly framed buildings can lend themselves to transformation and a new purpose. In the decade-plus time since BARN: The Art of a Working Building was published, there has been a remarkable growth in the different ways that barns can be preserved and reinvigorated. There are many great barns that may not survive, and many problems with others still standing that remain with their integrity intact, but action is being taken. BARN: Preservation & Adaptation chronicles and expands upon the progress being made, emphasizing the variety of imaginative uses that can revive these beloved structures. With more than 400 exciting photographs, drawings, and plans, and a lively text by the same team of expert barn restoration practitioners who brought you BARN The Art of a Working Building, here are accounts of barns as retreats, studios, shops, meeting places, inns, restaurants, galleries, and museums--even sheltering swimming pools--showing the conversion to domestic use, and barns as barns again. The story, rich in historical detail, covers the problems of reinterpretation and barn culture informatively and critically, yet with great optimism and enthusiasm. The true companion to its highly successful predecessor, this book will delight all those who love and want to explore these grand monuments.
Each technique illustrated with color photosDetails on what and what not to compostSuggested uses for finished compostThis lavishly illustrated guide contains everything the beginner needs to know about creating useable compost--described in clear, step-by-step detail that eliminates all of the guesswork that too often creeps into how-to books. Experts share their knowledge of the proper tools and techniques the novice needs to compost successfully in rural, suburban, or urban settings. Traditional bin systems and an unconventional approach using worms are explained fully. Includes a fascinating look at the science behind the composting process, as well as clear instructions for building a variety of composting bins for the backyard.
Interesting, whimsical, & easy-to-accomplish ideas for decorating a balcony or yard, with 150 favorite plants.
For anyone looking to remake a bathroom - from the tiny guest restroom to the luxurious master bath - this work provides both inspiring examples and the necessary know-how to maximize space and create a beautiful oasis in the home.