Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance

by M. John Storey

This is the book for anyone who wants to become more self-reliant, from suburbanites with 1/4 of an acre to country homesteaders with several. The information is easily understood and readily applicable. More than 150 of Storey's expert authors in gardening, building, animal raising, and homesteading share their specialized knowledge and experience in this ultimate guide to living a more independent, satisfying life.

Readers will find step-by-step, illustrated instructions for every aspect of country living including:


Finding country land
Buying, building, and renovating a home
Developing water sources and systems
Understanding wiring, plumbing, and heating
Using alternative heating and energy sources
Vegetable, flower, and herb gardening
Traditional cooking skills such as baking bread and making maple syrup
Preparing and preserving meat, fruits, and vegetables
Building and maintaining barns, sheds, and outbuildings
Caring for common farm and ranch animals, and pets

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Gardening, How To, Survival, Food, Nature

576 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

M. John Storey was a publisher. He began his publishing career at Time Life International and then the Hearst Corporation. He then and his wife Martha founded the “Practical Gardner’s Newsletter” that eventually blossomed into “Storey’s Books for Country Living,” (Storey Communications, Inc./Storey Books). He published four books on entrepreneurship, "The Insider Buyout," "Starting Your Own Business," "Inside America’s Fastest Growing Companies," and "Taking Money Out of Your Corporation."

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more like a series of articles by different experts than a front-to-cover book. I was hoping that in reading this, I would be able to do a lot of things I still can't do, like build a wall. But at least now I understand the process. It's really a farm reference, explaining how to lay out a farm, how to wire your house, how to grow vegetables, make preserves, etc. I'm not really a hands-on kinda girl, but I still plan to make my own Adirondack chairs someday and this book will show me how!

[Carolyn McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great book! Some chapters cover a lot, like gardening for example. You can learn how to build a rose arbor, learn about beneficial insects or how to rotate your garden beds. (Obviously, I'm only skimming the surface here) You can also learn about essential oils, cleaning your home with less corrosive methods, you can learn about attracting butterflies, the plumbing system in your home, basic home improvements, greenhouses, preserving all kinds of food, barns, fences, tools you may need, recipes, all about cheese, how to make hard cheese, (apparently it's not as hard as I thought), how to make yogurt, the basics of butter, how to butcher, how to brine, how to smoke meat correctly, how to build a smoker. How to grow grasses as a cash crop, Beekeeping, how to tell the queen from the rest, how to harvest honey, and did you know they ship bees in the mail?!? There's also info on herbs, including starting a herbal business, horse info and even how to make your own root beer. If there are only five homesteading books you get, make this one of them. It is worth every cent you'll pay.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has everything you need to know about living in the country, and some things that city folks could learn about too.

There are sections about repairing your home, cultivating your garden, cooking in the country kitchen, and caring for your barn, livestock, and fields. Those sections are divided into smaller chapters with detailed information about installing windows and plumbing, cleaning rugs, harvesting vegetables, composting, keeping rabbits out of your garden, how to build a shed, how to keep chickens and dairy cows, and how to butcher your own meat and freeze it properly. These are only a few of the things included; there are dozens more with excellent advice and instructions.

There are recipes for saltwater taffy, homemade ice cream, and homemade cheese. All the dozens of recipes look so good! There are even instructions for canning and freezing your own produce, and tapping maple trees for your own maple syrup.

My very favorite chapter is the one with detailed instructions on how to build a treehouse! I always wanted one when I was a kid. I was forever climbing trees with an apple and a book in hand.

I love how this book is designed with illustrations, graphs, and lists that help you to navigate all the information and visualize the final results of your labor. There are drawings that can help you identify plants and insects, follow a blueprint for construction, or hang up your curtains at the right height.

The sections and chapters make it easy to find exactly what you are looking for, and that's good because this book is huge! It's really quite heavy and full of good information.

I'm just amazed at all the things you can do with the help of this book from making your own soap to sheering sheep.


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me awhile to chew through, mostly because there is just so much information. Sure, it's beginning level information for the most part, but that's explicitly stated in the title. The book is composed of articles written by different authors, introduced by the Storeys. This book has so much information covering so many topics by different authors it's hard to really do a strict review, so I'll just sum up my overall impression: Wow! Granted, it's just dipping a toe into the topics, but the volume alone is worth it. As a suburbanite, my main interest was in the gardening and food preservation sections, but all the articles continued to entertain, inform, enthrall and instruct me. It's a useful reference, a source of country wisdom and a how-to manual on providing basic necessities for the beginner.

5 stars, heartily recommended.

[Inder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. Practical advice on selecting your farm property, building a farm house (even how to wire it and renovate furniture for it!), and of course, everything else you need to know. Vegetable gardening/farming for self-sufficiency, livestock, etc. Several sections of the book are really articles written by various authors on the topic, and they vary a little in quality. But if you're looking for the maximum practical information for your penny (and minimum self-righteous puffery), this book rocks. I checked it out from the library, but it's worth buying if you're serious about this stuff.

[cellomerl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really decent, and a nice overview of many different topics. Not as cute as John Seymour’s similar book on self sufficiency, but with better explanations. Because this is written from many different contributors, some of the chapters are more comprehensive in their content than others. This is the second book of its type that I’ve read, and they are basic overviews, enough to get you going, but to really learn about a practical subject you need to range further in your sources, talk to people with expertise, and just do stuff.

[Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took an approach to instruction that was both clear and entertaining. It addresses a great many nuances of country life, from building a stone wall to when to plant the basil to how to butcher a hog. I intend to add a copy to my collection when circumstances allow, as a writing resource if nothing else.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This book has it all. if you are interested in self sufficiency, living back to the earth, animal care, gardening, whatever, just open this book. I highly recommend this book to everyone. I went out and purchased a copy after borrowing an issue from my local library

[Lollipopwater · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this gigantic book out of hopes of becoming a bit more self-sufficient. And I've found that I adore this book. While some of the chapters would never apply to me, they are still interesting to read.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts off strong with information on building a homestead. Contains a rather large section of recipes which seems like a waste of space/paper. My guess is if you aren't already in possession of a cornbread recipe you aren't ready to build your own house, chairs, etc.
This is very good for its genre but could be a bit more focused. I'd've probably bought it if there was more gardening tips and less recipes

[Laurla2]

huge book! covers a little of everything. took all three renewals to get thru this one. less info on animals, more on gardening and buildings. tons more interesting books listed in the back.

[Pamela Owens]

skills

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loaded with information!

[Breann Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough and useful. I initially borrowed this from the library, but I can see that it is definitely worth purchasing!

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one to add to your homesteading or self reliance library.

[Christopher Archibald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must have for every homeowner.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I'm currently trying to hone my green thumb skills, the gardening section of this book held the most interest for me. The most important concept that I took away from this informative collection of country wisdom is that I have a lot to learn if I ever want to buy some land, set up a small farm, and be more self-reliant.

[Meryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this book really covers everything. I'm putting it on my "to buy" list for the food preservation chapter alone! I keep thinking of how handy this book would have been for the two characters in Into the Forest .

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much an all-inclusive basic guide to urban homesteading--covers animals (from their care to how to butcher) to beekeeping, planning your garden and/or orchard, and everything else a "would-be country dweller needs to know."

[Ady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This is a pretty all inclusive book with a lot of valuable life skills in them. It starts with advice on choosing and buying a home, goes into plumbing and electrical, includes recipes and info on livestock, and is just an incredibly useful hodgepodge of information.

[Ites · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on homesteading.

[Abbie G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to make cheese.

[PJ]

Goes along with "Country Wisdom" and "Encyclopedia of Country Living," just got all three since they were inexpensive and each pack a wallop of great info.

[Lilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-have reference manual for anyone in a rural setting or who wishes to be more self-sufficient. I will continue to use this over and over through the years as I build our homestead.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

a book every human should own.

[CR · Rating 4 out of 5]

yes

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful and interesting information on a wide range of topics. Highly recommended.

[Leila Elkington-Brasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative. Lots of basic information to give you a starting point.

[Hollis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to rate books like this.

Very thorough covering of, well, basic country skills. One idea per set of pages with photos.

[Beret Brenckman · Rating 4 out of 5]

we need to buy land before this book becomes useful.