Possum Living - A Book Review

Dolly Freed wrote Possum Living in the 1970s when she was a young woman.  The book details her adolescent life where she and her father used almost no money.  They survived on the food they caught and grew.  Surprisingly, she and her father were able to do this while living in suburbia on a very small plot of land.  They were able to keep up the appearance of relative normalcy to the outside world while keeping up a high and enjoyable standard of living.  This book is equal parts "how-to" and story telling with a bit of Philosophy included.  

There were a lot of great tips and thoughts from the book such as: Buying your grain whole sale from a feed mill ( I have not tried, but may in the future). And a lot of the things her family did was very time intensive.  However, she and her father would rather spend time doing things such as cleaning fish or gardening than in a job.  There were also some less than idealized parts of the book.  Her father (and presumably Dolly) would fish out of season, or take "justice" into their own hands.  The book outlines her reality, and while I don't like these parts of her reality, I appreciate that she included it in her story.  Later in her life, she wrote a forward to the book.  She states that she regrets and does not condone much of the unscrupulous activity about which she wrote.  

I recommend this book to anyone wanting to be more self-sufficient.  It was enjoyable and inspirational, even if I found some ideas less than moral.  I got this book from the library, but would actually like to add it to my home library at some point in time.

Barnheart - A Book Review

As you can see from the lower left-hand corner of the book, I got Barnheart from the library.  This is a wonderful memoir by a formerly local woman, Jenna Woginrich.  In her previous, book she mentioned she went to Kutztown University and in this book, she reveals she grew up in Palmerton, PA.

The book starts with Jenna uprooting her homestead in Idaho and moving to Vermont to start over due to job loss.  She moves into an old rental house with some acreage and starts to make her dream come true.  Vermont holds a lot of challenges for a starting farmer including the harsh winter and urban folks who only want "pretty farms" as neighbors.  Jenna ends up being forced from her rental property by her landlord when the landlord wants to reside in Jenna's current home.  Jenna takes you through her journey of reestablishment.  She rebuilds her farm twice throughout the span of the book.

The book is honest about her struggles.  She is introspective and inspiring.  When I was single, I dreamed of a homestead, but could never imagine accomplishing this without the help of a partner.  She threw caution to the wind, and chased her dreams.  She has more responsibility on her shoulders without a partner to lean on. Jenna shares her frustrations of being alone, but she has  dream and won't let anything stand in her way.

Jenna goes from nothing, to a full garden, a flock of sheep, chickens, and bees all while learning some lessons about farming along the way.

This quick read (under 200 pages) lets you share in her adventure.  I enjoyed reading about her passion for her lifestyle, although I did have to roll my eyes at the thought of Palmerton being suburban.  Palmerton does have a downtown, but it is about as small town as it gets and I would consider rural.  Palmerton is surrounded by farm and woods.  But it made for good reading when she described her sister's horror at the thought of eating a turkey Jenna raised herself.

I would recommend this book for light, fun reading.  It was an enjoyable read from someone who harbors the urge to homestead.  You can follow Jenna on her blog where she has added to her farm.

Carrots Love Tomatoes - A book review

Several years ago, when I began my backyard garden, I bought myself Carrots Love Tomatoes.  

This book outlines which veggies (and sometimes fruit) to plant together.  This is called companion planting.  The idea is that different types of plants in close proximity can benefit each other.  For example, planting your carrots near onions and leeks is beneficial for the carrots since the onions and leeks act as a repellent to the carrot fly.  

A gardener can also gain a higher yield per acre by integrating plantings instead of abiding to a mono-cultural method (i.e. rows and rows of carrots, followed by rows and rows of beets).  Planting rows which contain a kohlrabi - beet - kohlrabi pattern benefits both crops.  They both do best in the same type of soil and pull their nutrients from different levels.  Anytime you diversify your crops, you make it harder for critters to take out your entire patch.  

If there is a worm that just loves cucumbers, he and his buddies can easily demolish one plant, but if the next plant is a distance away from the one he destroyed, he must figure out how to get over to the new cucumber plant.  Chances are he won't make it the entire way, and your other plant is safe.  Or you have time to take protective measures.  But if all of your cucumber plants are close and hanging out together, it will be that much harder to save your plants.

The book also discusses which plants are detrimental to each other.  As well as the different ways to cope with certain diseases and pests and basic descriptions of each plant.  While this book is not exhaustive (and therefore NOT overwhelming), the array of plants it covers varies from vegetable and herbs to nuts and wild plants.  There are also chapters on gardening techniques, garden plans and pest control.  

This book is a wonderful resource that I have by my side when I'm planning my garden. Although of this information is easily accessible via the internet, having a small, easy to read book (that won't break if it get's wet or dirty) by your side makes life a lot easier.  I would recommend this book and have used it often and will continue to use it over the years.