First published in 1977, this book--from one of America's most famous and prolific agricultural writers--became an almost instant classic among homestead gardeners and small farmers. Now fully updated and available once more, Small-Scale Grain Raising offers a entirely new generation of readers the best introduction to a wide range of both common and lesser-known specialty grains and related field crops, from corn, wheat, and rye to buckwheat, millet, rice, spelt, flax, and even beans and sunflowers.

More and more Americans are seeking out locally grown foods, yet one of...

In his insightful new book, Holy Shit: Managing Manure to Save Mankind, contrary farmer Gene Logsdon provides the inside story of manure-our greatest, yet most misunderstood, natural resource. He begins by lamenting a modern society that not only throws away both animal and human manure-worth billions of dollars in fertilizer value-but that spends a staggering amount of money to do so. This wastefulness makes even less sense as the supply of mined or chemically synthesized fertilizers dwindles and their cost skyrockets. In fact, he argues, if we do not learn how to turn our...

The organic homestead means something deeper than either the nobility of work or the pleasantness of leisure. What it must provide -- if the homestead is to have true success -- is a shrine to tranquility, an island of calm sanity to which you can retreat each day from the hectic outside world. "

Gene Logsdon is uniquely qualified to write about homesteading -- his heart has never been far from the land. He was born and raised on his family s farm, and as an adult he established a two-acre homestead before moving on to operate a 32-acre farm of his own.

A prolific writer on a range...