Reddit reviews The Resilient Farm and Homestead: An Innovative Permaculture and Whole Systems Design Approach

Nitrogen fixing plants. Nitrogen is notoriously hard to get from the atmosphere into a usable form for plants. Industry solves this with fossil energy. Legumes have the ability, with a symbiotic bacteria, to make it available at the root level to adjacent plants. You can practically throw a dart at this list and get fertility.

Sign up and get more woodchips than you can ever handle. Your mulch should be 5, 6, 7 inches deep (less so around the trunks, obv) and you can spread a new layer on every year. I do encourage you to leave a patch as grass just to compare to.

The Resilient Farm and Homestead will be a good primer for Permaculture thinking as it applies to homesteading.

If you're able to spend a lot of time watching videos, Edible Acres is a wonderful resource. The author is thoughtful, realistic and concise with a wealth of knowledge.

If you have an hour to kill (in the car or while mowing all that grass or spreading wood chips) listen to this presentation by soil scientist Elaine Ingham. Ingham is well-respected and, if you can make the information she provides in this presentation your fundamental understanding of what makes dirt work the way it does, you're off to a great start. It's heady, so don't expect to be chugging down facts, but if you can keep afloat, it might be worth a second or third listen.

Several months ago I was thinking about how relatively slow (i.e., for the Frugalwoods) you have been to many aspects of homesteading. I quickly read some of your relevant posts, and see that you've done much more I thought. Also, I understand there is probably many things on the to-do list, and the homesteading goal is more of a long term project.

Along those lines, have you planned to plant any fruit/nut trees? I'm especially interested in nut trees (e.g. hazelnuts, chestnuts) as they are a great source of protein/fat.

And if you need any homesteading project inspiration, here is a great book from a guy that homesteads in Vermont. He likely addresses some of those issues with the short growing season.

Not really that hard to get information and there are a plethora of free videos on Youtube that cover everything you need to know.
Some things to get you going on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/permacultureVOICES
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOSGEokQQcdAVFuL_Aq8dlg
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL_r1ELEvAuN0peKUxI0Umw
https://www.youtube.com/user/urbanfarmercstone
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzWccp_i_qzC34-a0tmYoEg
https://www.youtube.com/user/survivalpodcasting
https://www.youtube.com/user/wholesystems

Some good books:

Essentially a textbook: https://www.amazon.com/Permaculture-Designers-Manual-Bill-Mollison/dp/0908228015/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479709226&sr=8-1&keywords=bill+mollison

Cold Climate Info: https://www.amazon.com/Resilient-Farm-Homestead-Innovative-Permaculture/dp/1603584447/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479709474&sr=8-1&keywords=ben+falk

Keep in mind that with the move into electronic media, the books and whatnot that had to be paid for, moved as well. I would want to make something for my time and effort as I am sure you would as well.

However, I do disagree with asking money for something someone else came up with if you don't have something significant to add.

I dare say, I hope it is not a fad considering the 40 year history of the system as well as the time and effort I am putting in on my 5 acres.

I really like Putting Food By for preservation guidance.

If you are looking for less how to, Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal Vegetable Miracle is a wonderful read.

This isn't so much of a homesteading book, but Sara Stein's Noah's Garden is one of my favorites. It's about rethinking the way we garden so that we are doing it in harmony with ecology and nature.

I've been a fan of Ben Falk for a long time and he put out his first book not that long ago, The Resilient Farm and Homestead which is awesome particulary if you live in a colder climate. I have a feeling he will be putting out a new edition though soon given how he wrote the first one so you might want to wait on a purchase of that one.

Again, if you are a cold climate person, almost anything by Elliot Coleman is really great. He does a lot of extending the season kind of stuff that is good for shorter season growers.

Edible Landscaping is more for people with yards (as opposed to acreage I guess....) but I think the book is brilliant and well written and very inspirational with lots of resources.

Just finished reading this. One of the few I've read cover to cover. A bit wordy in places, but a lot of thought provoking ideas.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Resilient-Farm-Homestead-Permaculture/dp/1603584447

my favorite

https://www.amazon.com/Resilient-Farm-Homestead-Innovative-Permaculture/dp/1603584447