(Image via The New American Homestead)

The New American Homestead, Sustainable, Self-Sufficient Living in the Country or in the City is a lifestyle guide written by John H. Tullock, an advocate for sustainable living and biodiversity preservation.  Chock full of the essentials, the guide introduces the principles of permaculture and provides handy call-outs featuring resources and more information in gray boxes throughout the book. Tullock includes chapters on Earth-Friendly Gardening Basics (composting), Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, Foods from Animals, and In the Homestead Kitchen.  The later half of the guide focuses on how to kitchen-related directions for everything from how to dry fruits to how to make specific relishes, such as Pickled Peaches.

In the last section, Putting It all Together, Tullock suggests creating a lifescaping plan, a plan that “will guide readers into developing a homestead that is well integrated into the local ecology and able to generate the maximum possible share of your family’s needs from the space you have available.”  The author also touches on water to help readers determine their water needs, install rainwater collection systems and manage site drainage.

The New American Homestead, Sustainable, Self-Sufficient Living in the Country or in the City is a true guidebook, the kind that you will reference time and again.  It’s worthy of an easily accessible shelf location in the kitchen, rather than being hidden with the reference books.  This may not be the right guide for you if you’re looking for in-depth information about a specific part of your permaculture as this book is an overall guide.