The Frugal Homesteader

John Moody is an award-winning homesteader and farmer. He is the founder of Whole Life Services and CEO of Steader, an online video-based learning platform that brings the best practitioners to guide and inspire those who find the joy in raising and growing their own food. John speaks and presents at homesteading conferences and events, and is a contributor to numerous magazines, journals, and websites. John and his wife, along with their five children live, farm, and homestead on 35 acres in Kentucky.

Foreword by Joel Salatin
Preface

Introduction
     Money in the Yard
     A Few Tools to Rule Them All: A Basic Tool Box
     Wheelbarrow or Garden Cart?
     Holidays, Birthdays, and Achieving a Homestead

1. In the Garden
     Small Starts Lead to Success: Garlic in Boxes
     Perennial Cardboard Plant Protectors
     Easy Raised Beds with Slab, Scrap Wood, Straw Bales, or Concrete Blocks
     The Mess of Hay, Straw, Manure and Compost
     Fencing and Mulching with Sheet Metal
     Mineral Tote Growing Bins
     Growing Up Instead of Out: Plant Cages, Trellising, and More
     Safety First
     Turn Your Homestead Work into Wages
     Pallet Propagation and Drying Tables
     Compost Underneath the Tables
     Compost
     Extending the Seasons and Excluding Pests: Low Tunnels
     Multi-Use Makes a Big Difference
     Simple Garden Gate
     Plastic Baggies and Pantyhose
     Don't Underestimate the Danger of Drift
     Information Box: Turn a Trampoline into Almost Anything
               Basic Conversion
               Where You Can Go from Here

2. For Your Animals
     Fencing
     Keeping Them Fed and Watered
     Kid-Sized Infrastructure
     Keeping Animals Warm and Dry
     Brooding, Roosting, and Bedding
     Keeping the Bugs at Bay
     Winter-Time Light and Water
     Information Box: Climbing Rope
               Tire Swing
               Bale Toppling
               Snow Cleaning
               Load Securing


3. In the Barn and Workshop
     Low-Cost Shelves, Quick Shelves
     Tool Storage
     "Oiled Sand" to Stop Rust and Protect Your Tools
     Storing All Your Stuff
     Let There Be Light
     Information Box: The Many Uses of IBC Totes
               Storing Kindling and Small-Sized Wood Scraps
               Baker's Green Acre's Animal Feed Storage
               Worm Compost
               Animal Shelter or Chicken Brooder
               So Many Other Uses
               IBC Tote, Plastic Barrel, and Other Material Safety Concerns
               What About a Cage With No Tote

4. Outfitting Your Home
     Trading Time for Money
     Making Your Own Cleaning Supplies
     Storing Your Surplus: Sloped Bucket Storage from Scrap Wood
     Can You Store What You Grow?
     Turning Trash into Treasure
     Pieces of Scrap Pipe to Move Heavy Objects
     Cinder-Block Shelves
     Two Pairs of Shoes
     Paint Your Entire House for Under a Hundred Bucks?
     Cutting the Cost on Good Clothes
     Finding Appliances and Furniture
     Other Great Places to Grab Furniture — If the Amish Don't Come a-Calling
     Information Box: Greenhouse Plastic
               Covering Wood Piles
               Solarizing Weeds
               Low Tunnels
               Cold Frames and Hot Boxes

5. Becoming More Self-Sufficient
     Food
     What is the Best Animal?
     Learn Plant Propagation
     Truly Free Food: Foraging from the Homestead
     Eat Your Yard Out: The Benefits of Edible Landscaping
     Medicine
     Cooking When it Counts
     Water
     Heat
     Community
     Information Box: Combining Pieces and Projects
               Pallets Plus Cattle Panels: Andy Buchler's Animal Shelter
               Sheet Metal or Greenhouse Plastic + IBC Tote Cages for Wood Storage
               Simple Outdoor Storage
               Speeding Up Wood Seasoning
               Caleb's Composite Bow

6. Sourcing and Resources
     Construction Sites and Construction Supply Stores
     Libraries
     Craigslist
     You Have Not Because You Ask Not
     Freecycle
     Facebook and Facebook Marketplace
     Friends
     Barter Makes Friendships Better
     Salvage and ReStores
     Pawnshops and Similar Businesses
     Salvage and Tear Down
     Estate Sales, Auctions, and Farm Auctions
     Online Auctions
     Thrift Stores
     Roadsides and Parking Lots
     Your Local Landfill or Recycling Center
     Automated Online Shopping

Acknowledgements
Final Note
Index
About the Author
About New Society Publishers