Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Book 1: Creating a Garden 5 Chapter 1: Planning Your Garden 7 Determining Location and Size 8 Deciding On a Layout 15 Thinking Outside the Garden Bed 19 Keeping Critters Out 26 Assembling Tools 33 Chapter 2: Deciding What to Grow 41 Understanding Veggie Varieties 41 Deciding How Much to Grow 43 Succeeding with Vegetables 45 Planting Other Small-Scale Crops 58 Growing Herbs for and in the Kitchen 62 Chapter 3: Preparing to Plant 65 Razing Your Garden Spot 66 Analyzing and Improving Your Soil 69 Turning Your Soil 77 Looking Ahead at Watering Options 79 Fencing It In 86 Planning for Pathways 94 Chapter 4: Planting 95 Timing Your Planting Wisely 96 Choosing Seeds or Transplants 102 Deciding on Your Seeding Method and Decoding a Seed Packet 103 Starting Seeds Indoors 104 Transplanting Indoor Seedlings and Starter Plants 112 Sowing Seeds Directly in Your Garden 116 Planting Guidelines 120 Chapter 5: Growing Your Garden 125 Introducing Your Inner Gardener to the Watering Basics 126 Digging Into Composting 128 Fertilizing Your Vegetable Garden 135 Keeping Your Plants Cozy and Weed Free with Mulch 140 Surveying Some Cool Farmer Techniques 145 Knowing When to Harvest 151 Chapter 6: Dealing with Weeds and Pests 155 Fighting Weed Wars 156 Keeping Good Bugs Nearby 158 Battling Bad Bugs 159 More Methods of Attack 164 Chapter 7: Extending Your Season 171 Covering Your Rows 172 Using Cold Frames 173 Going with Greenhouses 175 Getting Your Feet Wet with Hydroponics, Aquaponics, and Aeroponics 178 Book 2: Preserving the Harvest 181 Chapter 1: Canning Basics 183 Starting Successful Canning 183 Gathering Your Canning Gear 185 Putting Safety First 191 Chapter 2: Water-Bath Canning 197 Water-Bath Canning in a Nutshell 197 Gearing Up for Water-Bath Canning 198 Water-Bath Canning Step-by-Step 200 Adjusting Your Processing Times at High Altitudes 206 Canning Fresh Fruit (Yes, That Includes Tomatoes) 207 Fresh Fruit Canning Recipes 211 Jam, Chutney, Relish, and Salsa Recipes 223 Chapter 3: Pressure Canning 231 Understanding the Fuss about Low-Acid Foods 232 Choosing a Pressure Canner 232 Pressure Canning Step-by-Step 238 Pressure Canning at Higher Altitudes 242 Canning Vegetables 243 Vegetable Canning Recipes 246 Chapter 4: Pickling 269 Perusing Pickling Ingredients 269 Brining Education 272 Adding Crunch to Your Food 274 Pickling Equipment and Utensils 275 Pickled Vegetable Recipes 275 Chapter 5: Freezing 291 Focusing on Freezing 291 Giving Fruit the Freeze 295 Frozen Fruit Recipes 298 Blanching Perfect Vegetables 303 Frozen Vegetable Recipes 304 Freezing Fresh Herbs 316 Chapter 6: Drying 319 Opening the Door to Successful Food Drying 319 Choosing a Drying Method 320 Protecting the Life of Your Dried Food 324 Snacking on the Run: Drying Fruit 325 Dried Fruit Recipes 328 Drying Vegetables for Snacks and Storage 338 Dried Vegetable Recipes 340 DIYing the Drying of Herbs 350 Chapter 7: Root Cellaring and Storage 357 Finding the Perfect Place for Cold Storage 357 Following Simple Storage Rules 362 Preparing Foods for Cold Storage 364 Book 3: Making Your Own 369 Chapter 1: Brewing Beer 371 Setting Up Shop to Brew 372 Getting to Know Your Ingredients 374 Brewing Your First Batch 377 Taking Hydrometer Readings 380 Bottling Your Brew 383 Chapter 2: Fermenting 389 Getting Familiar with Fermentation 389 Fermenting Essentials 390 Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Sterilizing 392 Fermenting Vegetables (including Sauerkraut and Kimchi) 393 Starting Sourdough 401 Mooving On to Dairy 405 Raising a Glass to Fermented Beverages 416 Chapter 3: Baking Bread 425 Understanding Yeast Breads 425 Mixing and Kneading Breads 428 Encouraging Bread to Rise 430 Shaping and Baking the Loaves 431 Yeast Bread, Quick Bread, Muffin, and Biscuit Recipes 432 Chapter 4: Making Candles and Soap 441 Igniting Your Candlemaking Hobby 442 Rolling Beeswax Candles 444 Making Molded Candles 445 Taking a Dip with Tapers 447 Cleaning Up with Homemade Soap 450 Book 4: Raising Animals 455 Chapter 1: Introducing Beekeeping 457 Breaking into Backyard Beekeeping 458 Choosing the Right Hive 461 Gearing Up for Beekeeping 467 Chapter 2: Caring for Your Bee Colony 473 Busying Yourself with Bee Activity 474 Holding Out for Honey 481 Harvesting Your Honey 485 Swarming and Absconding 496 Playing Doctor: Fighting Disease 498 Battling Varroa Mites 502 Colony Collapse Disorder 506 Chapter 3: Introducing Backyard Chickens 509 Thinking Through Chickenkeeping 510 Chicken Breeds 516 Analyzing the Anatomy of a Coop 525 Chapter 4: Raising Your Chicken Flock 529 Feeding Your Flock 529 Raising Baby Chicks 536 Pests and Predators 544 Expecting Eggs (for Eating) 549 Chapter 5: Opting for Other Animals 553 Raising Rabbits 554 Getting Your Goats 555 Figuring Out Fowl: Ducks, Geese, and Turkeys 556 Goin'' Fishin'' 558 Book 5: Building It Yourself 559 Chapter 1: Starting Small with Garden Projects 561 Making an A-Frame Trellis 562 Crafting the Ultimate Tomato Cage 563 Building Raised Garden Beds 565 Constructing a Cold Frame 567 Elevating Your Rain Barrel on a Stand 568 Organizing Made Easy with a Tool Wall 570 Creating a Compost Bin (or Two) 573 Whipping Up a Walk-In Hoop House 578 Chapter 2: Building a Backyard Beehive 581 Choosing Materials 582 Protecting Your Hive with Paint and More 586 Building the Kenya Top Bar Hive 587 Chapter 3: Building a Chicken Coop 603 Choosing Materials 604 Selecting the Right Coop for Your Flock 611 Constructing the Alpine A-Frame Coop 616 Index 631.