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

by John Storey (Author), Martha Storey (Author) "Living in a Brooklyn apartment, we dreamed of owning a few acres, an old farmhouse, a garden, a stream, and a pond..." (more)
Key Phrases: great soil, raising chickens, healthy lawn, United States, Getting Started, Martha Storey (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Basic Country Skills lives up to its billing, although why "country" is chosen might be debated by any delighted city gardener who receives this almost 600-page tome as a gift. Over a third of the book concerns gardening, pure and simple, but the home maintenance and cooking sections are of value, also." -- The Toronto City Gardening Monthly Newsletter, December 1999

"Edited by Deborah Burns, subtitled "A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance," this encyclopedia is big enough for the coffee table but better suited to the tool shed. In addition to providing bushels of advice on gardening, it's a manual for everyday survival in rural America. Come to think of it, "BCS" may be required reading between Christmas and Y2K. Some skills you might pick up: how to build a garden shed, caring for pet llamas, techniques for building a stone wall and making your own preserves. Even if you only use 1 percent of the information in it, BCS is fascinating reading." -- The Boston Herald, Andy Tomolonis 12/19/99

"From Fighting Flu to Cleaning Your House...What Country Folk Know that You Don't." Now your audience can learn all the wisdom and secrets that have been passed down from generation to generation of folks living in the country. Tips on how to use rubbing alcohol, lighter fluid and vinegar when cleaning, and how to plant a cold and flu garden to make your winter healthier and happier." -- Radio-TV Interview Report, Mid-January 2000

"I could easily spend my whole column on this complete, modern encyclopedia to the art and science of country living...I wish I'd had Storey's Basic Country Skills 25 years ago!" -- The Patriot News, November 30, 1999

"Since 1983 the publisher (Storey) has produced more than 500 titles about country living. Now, it has boiled down this vast library of knowledge and placed it in one giant 3 pound, 576 page book. Even if you are a city dweller, without chickens or sheep, you will find a wealth of information about maintaining a home and garden." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer 11/26/99

Product Description
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 and buying 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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580172024
• ISBN-13: 978-1580172028
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,993 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #12 in	Books > Home & Garden > How-to & Home Improvements > Reference
  #12 in	Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > Reference
  #16 in	Books > Home & Garden > How-to & Home Improvements > Household Hints

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

152 of 153 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The bible (small-b) of rural living, February 29, 2004

By	Greg Perry (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We bought this tome just a few weeks before moving from the city where we'd lived our entire lives to a 20-acre rural country place miles and miles from any city limits.

For the first year especially, we kept this book out. You would be astonished at its contents. It describes the pros and cons of water wells, reusing dirt, planning land for gardens and barns, chicken problems, keeping goats, arranging around weather, tanning leather, insect control, tree problems to watch out for and their solutions, energy in places where the lines don't run, getting water from point A to B, storing grains and other foods, and... you NAME IT!

This made our lives so much better. We didn't even use all the advice we read simply because one family can only do so much the first year they move into the country for the first time but this book was our comfort book in knowing that if we had problems, we'd find the solutions here.

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little bit of EVERYTHING!, August 24, 2005

By	DMB "bona fide bibliomaniac" - See all my reviews

If you are looking for one book to serve as a comprehensive guide to nearly every aspect of living in the country and fending for yourself, then you atleast owe it to yourself to browse through this book atleast once; at a minimum, you should borrow it from the library for a peek. This book takes you from start to finish; dawn to dusk; season to season. It may not be as detailed in some areas as you may prefer but you can always find a book dedicated to areas in which you require more information. As a general resource, this book won't be perched on your bookshelf long enough to collect dust since you'll be picking it up on a regular basis.

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing lack of detail, August 7, 2007

By	hummerfriend "hummerfriend" (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this book because of the high review rating, and for the first time was very let down by a highly rated book. I already have a whole bookshelf of books dedicated to small farming/homesteading/sustainable living and thought this would be a comprehensive addition. Unfortunately, this would be an excellent book for someone who has grown up in the city, never been to a working ranch/homestead, and has absolutely no knowledge of the subject. If you already have such knowledge and/or experience you will find this book woefully deviod of useful information. It has a WIDE range of topics (most of which I was not interested in, such as how to install hardwood floor and how to build a treehouse) and each topic is only touched on in the most superficial way. For example, the chapter on treehouses only shows you how to build one kind, assuming that's the only kind you would want to build, and the whole chapter is 4 pages. I suppose the best use for this book would be for a novice to purchase in order to BEGIN a library on the subject, and then use this book to decide what topics to invest in more books on so as to get better information and more detail. If you are looking for real information on specifics such as how to keep a healthy and productive meat flock of chickens, or detailed food preservation techniques, find a specific book on the subject.