There are two kinds of homesteading books: Those offering some practical info, but also heaps of inspiration for further research, like The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It and Self-Sufficiency for the 21st Century. The other type of homesteading book focuses more on how-to advice, like The Backyard Homestead.
Until now, when asked to recommend the most practical homesteading book, I suggested only Backyard Homestead. But now I'll recommend both Backyard Homestead by and Backyard Homesteading by David Toht.
Backyard Homesteading is designed primarily for those living in the suburbs, although city and country dwellers will find lots of good, practical information in it, too. In comparing it with Madigan's book, I have to say I find hers most thorough. However, Toht's book offers a different outlook and quite a bit of different information. For anyone seriously wanted to homestead in the suburbs, both books are worth referencing.
Toht begins at the beginning by covering municipal regulations and basic homestead planning. He briefly covers topics like rooftop gardening and water supply, then delves right into the heart of the book: Growing edibles. Here, he offers advice on choosing vegetables, preparing the soil, improving the soil, and timing plantings. He briefly covers seed saving, dealing with weeds, and basic requirements for common vegetables and herbs. Illustrations show what a typical suburban garden might look like during the various seasons, while others show what a generous urban homestead might look like compared to a suburban homestead and a mini-farm. Fruit trees, nuts, and berries are covered in a separate chapter, with all the basics covered, including concerns about pollination, maintenance, pruning, and general care requirements. The entire section on gardening is not, in my opinion, as comprehensive as Backyard Farming's, but it does offer some different information.
There is also a chapter on raising chickens, including information about city codes, choosing breeds, caring for chicks, and general care. I notice the author makes the common assumption that backyard eggs are more expensive than store bought, but as I wrote about recently, this isn't always the case. There is helpful information on getting the most eggs from your hens, making your own feed, chicken health, and cleaning dirty eggs. Only two pages are devoted to raising meat birds, and a few basic recommendations for butchering are given. The author also very briefly covers ducks, geese, turkeys, and quail.
There's also a chapter on raising goats, which covers everything from housing to milking. Cows, sheep, and pigs are given only a few paragraphs, making these sections not very useful. Bees are given an entire chapter. Next, canning is covered, as well as making sausage, dehydrating, smoking, and freezing. The basics of beer, wine, and cider making are covered, and there's a useful chapter on root cellaring (hint: even a garbage can will do the trick). All in all, this is a useful book, especially for those just starting out in homesteading.
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