Books on farming and agricultural practices
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Barns of Maine by Don Perkins - local author -Signed! Although humble in their function, these carefully crafted barns have shaped the landscape of Maine for centuries. Built long before the days of plastic and plywood, the barns have survived for generations, each with a story to tell. In Bridgton, one barn offered comfort to a 16 year-old boy when his father was injured; another New Gloucester barn was so important to one family that its likeness was engraved on their headstones. Some owners said they would rather see their homes burn than their barns, and others have dedicated their lives and countless funds to restoring and preserving these buildings. From modest English to grand Victorian, Don Perkins examines the structures, origins, and evolution of Maine's barns, demonstrating the vital and precious role they play in people's lives. Features a section on the Shakers' Barn! Signed by the author Paperback, 128 pp The History Press; Illustrated edition 978-1609495268
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Can, Culture, Pickle, Freeze, Ferment, Dehydrate, Salt, Smoke, and Store Fruits, Vegetables, Meat, Milk, and More by Leda Meredith The ultimate guide to putting up food. How many ways can you preserve a strawberry? You can freeze it, dry it, pickle it, or can it. Milk gets cultured, or fermented, and is preserved as cheese or yogurt. Fish can be smoked, salted, dehydrated, and preserved in oil. Pork becomes jerky. Cucumbers become pickles. There is no end to the magic of food preservation, and in Preserving Everything, Leda Meredith leads readers, both newbies and old hands, in every sort of preservation technique imaginable. Countryman Press, 272 pages, paperback ISBN 978-1581572421
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A Treasury of Useful Plants for the Home and Garden by Jo Ann Gardner Every gardener will benefit from the author's intimate knowledge of herbs and their histories, growing needs, and uses in the kitchen and home. The wisdom she shares with vivid stories, a self-deprecating wit, and an infectious delight in the garden will be useful to herb growers living anywhere in the United States or Canada. Included in this practical guide is instruction on: -Planting, caring for, and propagating herbs indoors, outdoors, and in containers -Harvesting, drying, and preserving herbs, flowers, and seeds - Two dozen ways to use herbs in the home, from aromatherapy and infusions to vinegars and wreaths -Landscaping with herbs, with plans for a harvest bed, rose garden, and other themed gardens -The growing needs and unique uses of more than 90 herbs, along with favorite recipes Countryman Press, 288 pages, paperback ISBN 978-1581572292
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A User's Guide by Russell S. Powell This fascinating and helpful guide will offer practical advice about rare heirlooms and newly discovered varieties, chapters on the rich tradition of apple growing in New England and on the fathers of American apples Massachusetts natives John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) and Henry David Thoreau. Apples of New England will present the apple in all its splendor: as biological wonder, super food, work of art, and cultural icon. Apples of New England will be an indispensable resource for anyone identifying apples in New England orchards, farm stands, grocery stores or their own backyard. Photographs of the more than 200 apples discovered, grown, or sold in New England will be accompanied by notes about flavor and texture, history, ripening time, storage quality, and best use. Countryman Press, 214 pages ISBN: 978-1581572230
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How to Turn Apples into Alcohol by Jeff Smith Hard cider is far more than sweet apple juice with a kick. It is the fasted growing alcoholic beverage on the market today. After standing in the shadow of craft beer, hard cider is enjoying a much overdue renaissance. Craft Cider will uncover this unique beverage's history, the current state of cider in the marketplace, and recommend commercial ciders that represent the best in each style. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned brewer, Craft Cider will be the go-to book for all skill levels to learn new brewing techniques, explore recipes, and learn about the expansive history of this age-old drink. Countryman Press, 148 pages, paperback ISBN: 978-1581573138
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<b><strong>90 beautifully illustrated common and rare apples from the orchards of North America.</strong></b> by Roger Yepsen Roger Yepsen knows his apples. He should, as he is a seasoned orchardist as well as a talented writer and illustrator. Here he presents fascinating facts about 90 mainstay and unusual varieties of apples grown in the United States, from Red Delicious and Granny Smith to Knobbed Russet and Hubbardston Nonesuch. Each entry identifies the variety's harvest season, unique taste,and best uses, and Yepsen's beautiful and distinctive watercolors make identification a snap. This new edition has been updated with entries on Honeycrisp and other varieties that have becomes popular since the first publication of Apples in 1994. But this is not just a grower's catalog. Yepsen also includes a brief history of apples in North America, and recipes for pies, sauces, ciders, and more. Countryman Press, 288 pages, hardcover ISBN: 978-1682680193
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Putting Up Small-Batch Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Chutneys, Relishes, Spices and More
by Janet Cooper Home Canning and Preserving instructs readers how to make small-batch preserves, pickles, and more, whether in the summer or winter months, even when fresh produce is not as readily available. Janet Cooper, who has spent a lifetime finessing the art of small-batch preserving, provides you with step-by-step instructions on how to put by some of your favorite canned and jarred goods. With color photographs and 100 recipes, including orange marmalade, fig jam, six fruit chutney, apple sauce, green tomato relish, and hot mustard, this is the definitive guideand the perfect giftfor gardeners and home cooks. Skyhorse Publishing, 208 pages, paperback ISBN: 9781616083557 -
The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Making, and Eating Fine Cheese
by Jody M. Farnham Here is an easy-to-understand, beautifully illustrated guide to making cheese. It includes a basic overview of cheese manufacturing and aging, from the raw ingredients to the final product, and much more. With clear instructions, gorgeous photographs, and a glossary, this comprehensive guide will teach readers all about the fascinating processes that produce different kinds of cheese. This mouthwatering guide also includes a chapter profiling America’s great contemporary artisanal cheesemakers and training programs. If you are drawn to the tradition of homemade and homegrown food, this book is for you. After you’ve made your own delicious cheese from scratch, this book will even show you how to pair it with complementary foods, drinks, and flavors. Impress friends, guests, and family members with your delicious new hobby! Skyhorse Publishing, 256 pages, paperback ISBN: 9781632204660 -
And How to Use It
by Harry C. Ramsower This classic guide presents practical information on virtually every aspect of farm equipment, machinery, and organization. Originally published in 1917, Handy Farm Equipment and How to Use It surveys every topic of importance to the challenge of equipping a successful and fully functional farm, including lighting the farm home, establishing sources of water, and arranging for sewage disposal for the farmhouse. Additional sections provide detailed discussions of such indispensable examples of farm equipment as tillage tools, seeding machinery, manure spreaders, grain binders, and corn harvesters. Fully illustrated throughout with drawings, diagrams, plans, and photographs, Handy Farm Equipment and How to Use It will prove as interesting to the current farmer for its still-prudent advice on the timeless problems of farm management as it will to the history buff who wishes to catch an image of what the American farm was like at the beginning of the twentieth century. It provides a lovely foray into the rich legacy of American agriculture and will appeal to anyone who has ever been interested in the nuts-and-bolts of farm life. Skyhorse Publishing, 344 pages, paperback ISBN: 9781626364103 -
How to Prepare the Soil, Choose Your Plants, Care For, Harvest, and Use Your Herbs
by Melissa Snyder The consummate beginners guide for anyone interested in starting an herb garden. This book will explain, in simple terms, everything you need to know about choosing the site, preparing the soil, choosing the plants, caring for them, dealing with pests and diseases, and what to do with the harvest at the end of the summer. Included will be actual easy-to-follow garden plans, lots of helpful tips, expert advice, and useful figures. Countryman Press, 272 pages ISBN: 978-1581573121 -
by Patricia Turcotte This sensible, hands-on guide includes hundreds of practical tips and answers to commonly asked questions for the enthusiastic backyard gardener. Part One details how to evaluate and work with the soil, light, and moisture conditions in your backyard. Turcotte then introduces the principles of garden designthe use of line and form, light, color, and the placement of drifts and specific plantsto help you create a garden for every situation. A chart of flower colors and bloom times makes it easy to coordinate plant combinations for the most striking effect. Part Two profiles the 108 most popular backyard perennials, grouped by height and each accompanied by a color photograph and a description. Each profile also includes common and botanical names, family, hardiness zones, cultivation tips, bloom times, and interesting historical or mythological information. Now back in print with a beautiful new photographic cover, this book includes a practical and easy-to-use 48-page color insert guide to 108 popular perennials and biennials. Will appeal to both beginning and experienced gardeners. 108 color photographs, 28 black & white photographs, 24 b/w illustrations, 1 map, appendixes, index of plant names. Countryman Press, 238 pages ISBN: 978-0881502817
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Simple Salves, Teas, Tinctures, and More
by Katolen Yardley
This back-to-nature reference guide details effective herbal medicines and natural remedies for digestive complaints, sore muscles, wound healing, teenage acne, allergic reactions, and much more. This book is packed with herbal wisdom, traditional use, and just the right amount of science. Gain confidence and understand how to use plant medicine in your home. Dive into the alchemy and art of herbal medicine preparations, receive safety tips, and perfect the techniques to create your own elixirs at home using the numerous recipes provided for delicious foods, herbal teas, tinctures, poultices, liniments, fomentations, herbal vinegars, salves, and oils. Scattered throughout are reflections on how bodies heal and the natural world's role in facilitating healing through connection to spirit and building community. Author Katolen Yardley has more than twenty years of experience as a Medical Herbalist and teaches courses in herbal medicine and naturopathy. Here she offers a simple, straightforward, and beautiful guide to natural remedies that will help you take charge of your health using nature’s own medicine. Skyhorse Publishing, 192 pages ISBN: 9781680991574 -
Housing, Feeding, Shearing, Spinning, Dyeing, and More
by Janet Garman
A comprehensive and inspiring full-color guide to small-scale fiber farming and wool crafting—from selecting and raising sheep and alpacas to shearing, sorting, combing and spinning. Fiber crafts—such as knitting, weaving, and crocheting—continue to surge in popularity, with sites like Ravelry (a social media community for the wool obsessed) gaining more than six million members. Artists are seeking quality raw materials in greater numbers. The cottage industry of supplying not only raw fleece, but handcrafted yarns, is strong. Janet Garman has a small fiber flock (including Pygora fiber goats) and shares her expertise, as well as interviews, tips, and advice from fiber farmers and craftspeople across the country. She offers the basics of properly raising sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, and rabbits, with tips on selecting animals, feeding, housing, breeding, and healthcare. From there, instructions are provided for shearing, sorting, skirting, washing, picking, carding, combing, and spinning the wool. Enthusiasts will also find recipes and instructions for natural, plant-based dyes and advice for selling your finished yarn. The proper care of fiber animals leads to a superior yarn product. Lapses in good care can show up in the fleece. As the demand for quality yarn and fiber grows, more people are becoming concerned with the animals’ treatment and care. Give your animals a good home and a happy life and enjoy superior fleece and yarn products for your own homestead or to sell. Skyhorse Publishing, 176 pages ISBN: 9781680994049 -
Secrets of the Hive, Stories from the Field, and a Practical Guide That Explains It All
by Dede Cummings
Beekeeping is nothing newthe ancient Egyptians were well versed in the benefits of living with beesbut in recent years, there has been a surge of folks struck with the desire to build and nurture a hive of their own. Beekeeping has become the passion of farmers in rural Vermont, urbanites with rooftops in LA, and thousands of people in between. This book is for beginners and experts alike, with all the basic information you need to get started, as well as stories and tips that will inspire and instruct the most seasoned beekeeper. In this guide, you will learn how to: Choose a spot for your hive Build a hive with simple tools and materials Buy bees or attract them to your hive Harvest the fruits of the bees’ labor Make beeswax candles and lip balm Utilize honey, wax, and propolis for medicinal purposes And much more! Cummings offers readers something truly uniquea book that comes alongside you like a wise friend, offering sage advice as well as humorous anecdotes and fascinating interviews with beekeepers across the country. Equally good for reading while curled up inside during the long winter as for carrying with you to the hives mid-summer, this will be a welcome addition to any bee enthusiast’s library. Skyhorse Publishing, 160 pages ISBN: 9781680990591 -
by Department of the Army Now outdoorsmen and survivalists can own the official US Army guide to edible plants. Whether you are a stranded soldier, a wilderness hiker, or you just want to know which plants growing in your backyard are edible, this is an invaluable resource. Anyone who has spent serious time outdoors knows that in survival situations, wild plants are often the only sustenance available. The proper identification of these plants can mean the difference between survival and death. This book describes habitat and distribution, physical characteristics, and edible parts of wild plants—the key elements of identification. Hugely important to the book are its color photos. There are over one hundred of them, further simplifying the identification of poisonous and edible plants. No serious outdoors person should ever hit the trail without this book and the knowledge contained within it. Skyhorse Publishing, 160 pages ISBN: 9781602396920
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The Beginner's Guide to Collecting Safe and Delicious Mushrooms
By Alexander Schwab
Is it safe or not? What gourmands and nature lovers need to know to harvest your own. Advice, with photographs, from an expert! Novices eager to collect tasty wild mushrooms will find this unique guide invaluable. Unlike others, it focuses only on those types that are both safe to eat and delicious. Most importantly, it presents the eight rules of mushroom gathering in a straightforward fashion, including, "Never, never take a mushroom with gills" and "If a mushroom smells rotten, it is rotten." Among the mushrooms covered are the cep; the red-cracked, larch, bay, and birch boletes; hen of the woods, chanterelle, trumpet chanterelle, hedgehog fungus, common puffball, horn of plenty, and cauliflower mushroom. Each is identified with several photographs and identification checklist, and there's also information on mushroom season, handling, storage, and cooking, complete with recipes. Skyhorse Publishing, 128 pages ISBN: 9781602391604 -
Safe to Pick, Good to Eat by Barbro Forsberg and Stefan Lindberg Wandering the woods in search of mushrooms is one of life’s great pleasures. But be careful to pick the right ones! With Edible Mushrooms in your backpack, you’ll know to pick only the safest, most delicious chanterelles, truffles, morels, and more. Author Barbro Forsberg presents forty edible species and reveals how, when, and where to find themknowledge gained over the course of four decades spent mushrooming in the woods. Discover such aspects of mushrooming as: Characteristics of edible mushrooms, per species Cooking, cleaning, and drying the day’s bounty Edible, inedible, or toxic? Photographs and descriptions for what to pick and what to avoid Poisonous varieties and how to recognize them All content has been verified by a professional mycologist. Plus, nature and educational photographs illustrate how mushrooms grow, the environments where you can expect to find them, and the ways in which the same species may vary from one sample to the next. So whether you’re an experienced mushroom hunter or a novice to the art, with Edible Mushrooms you can confidently recognize, pick, and eat the tastiest wild mushrooms. Skyhorse Publishing, 224 Pages ISBN: 9781628736441
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Turn This Book Into a Beehive! And 19 Other Experiments and Activities That Explore the Amazing World of Bees By Lynn Brunelle The Real Buzz on Bees What a promise! Actually, promises. First, here’s a book that teaches kids all about the fascinating world of bees. Second, fun exercises, activities, and illustrations engage the imagination and offer a deeper understanding of bee life and bee behavior. Third, by following a few simple steps including removing the book’s cover and taping it together, readers can transform the book into an actual living home for backyard bees. Fourth, added all together, Turn This Book Into a Beehive! lets kids make a difference in the world—building a home where bees can thrive is one small but critical step in reversing the alarming trend of dwindling bee populations. Written by Lynn Brunelle, author of Pop Bottle Science, whose gift for making science fun earned her four Emmy Awards as a writer for Bill Nye the Science Guy, Turn This Book Into a Beehive! introduces kids to the amazing mason bee, a non-aggressive, non-stinging super-pollinator that does the work of over 100 honeybees. Mason bees usually live in hollow reeds or holes in wood, but here’s how to make a home just for them: Tear out the perforated paper—each illustrated as a different room in a house—roll the sheets into tubes, enclose the tubes using the book’s cover, and hang the structure outside. The bees will arrive, pack mud into the tubes, and begin pollinating all the plants in your backyard. Twenty experiments and activities reveal even more about bees—how to smell like a bee, understand the role of flowers and pollen, learn how bees communicate with each other through “dance,” and more. It’s the real buzz on bees, delivered in the most ingenious and interactive way. Workman Publishing, paperback, 192 pages. ISBN 9781523501410
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By local author Ann Hobart This is a beautiful book written and illustrated by our friend, Ann Hobart. Morganfield Mouse makes friends with Grace, the Monarch caterpillar, watches her grow, change to a chrysalis, and then emerge as a Monarch butterfly. Gannett Books, 1985. 48 pages, illustrated. Signed by author.
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An Honorable Harvest: Shakers and the Natural World by Dr. Carl Benton Straub A 166 page soft covered book on the story of how religious movements initiated in Europe became American through taking seriously the land. In the Shaker ways of looking at the world, there is a basic religious unity between what is going on in history - "in the course of human events" - and what is at work in nature. The essential Shaker response to the land and the varied communities of life entwined with the land - wild and domestic - is the translation through interpretation and labor of nature's variables into patterns of meaning which reflect Shaker interest in religious community. Shaker Press, 2009. Soft covered, 166 pages.
