Good Reads

Since it is winter, I'm catching up on reading some books that have been on my shelf for a little while.  I finally finished paging through this particular one:

While I must admit to knowing quite a few of the "square inch" tricks to gardening throughout a small yard already, I was excited to read the author's technique of making a homemade, large sized, self-watering container.  I'm thinking that it might just working great for growing a crop of Blue Jade corn in the backyard this summer...unless, of course, I decide to make a hugelkulture bed or two instead.

Well, that's an option I suppose, but I think the self-watering containers will be useful, even if I don't do the other.

There's also some nice advice on fermenting (which references a lot of Salvador Katz' work) and sprouting, both of which are good activities during the winter months.  Since I can't be outside planting corn, it's always nice to grow at least a little green stuff.  Or happy microbes, in the fermenting bit.

There's even a section on beekeeping, which I found interesting--not really for the information, but for the author's candid admission that this is an area that he, himself, is still learning.  While I do read these books to get an "expert's viewpoint", it is refreshing when that expert finally admits that perhaps he or she is NOT the expert on EVERYTHING.  Whew.  That makes me feel so much better in my own pursuit of homesteader perfection (ha ha).

I'm rather glad that I decided to purchase a copy of this book.  It might not be the greatest volume on my bookshelf, but it does have some good, solid information to offer and it's a very good read.