The Nourishing Homestead

March is when the promise of spring seems to be in our thoughts and with that promise of spring comes thoughts of gardening.  I am an avid gardener and this is one of my very favorite books.  While it is very informative, it is also an interesting and entertaining account of one family’s farming and gardening history.

Published in 2015, this book full of basic homesteading/gardening/animal husbandry and personal history is still very relevant.  Ben and Penny Hewitt had lived up in Cabot, Vermont since 1998, raising two sons and creating a healthy homestead out of raw land.  This process is so well documented in this book with words and photographs.  Hewitt also has a regular column in Yankee Magazine, sharing tales of their unique lifestyle.  Even if you’re not interested in the full homesteading idea, there are so many great tips and tricks for gardening.  Now is the time of year to add a bit more research and just curl up with an interesting book that will benefit efforts at creating this year’s planting and possibly inspire some to try out foraging, basket making or fermenting food for storage for the first time.  In any case, this one is worth a peek as I believe just about anyone can take away some kernel of wisdom from this family’s experiences up in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.