Do you know my friend Ashley English? She of the Small Measure blog, author of five (soon to be seven!) books, forest dweller, beekeeper, chicken mama, and hippie homemaker after my own heart. If there ever was a face for the homemade movement, Ashley English should be it. After all, she churned out a stack of some of the best beginner books on the subject: Canning & Preserving
, Home Dairy
, Keeping Chickens
, and Keeping Bees
, all of which are part of the “Homemade Living” series by Lark Books.
I finally had a chance to thumb through her books a couple weeks ago and found them full of useful info for anyone aspiring to a more self-sufficient life, indoors or out. If that “anyone” might be you, here’s your chance to win the whole series!
Ashley’s books serve as great getting-started guides, interspersing how-to sections with simple recipes and profiles of local homesteaders. She shares a lot of her own personal experiences in each of these subjects, and writes in a tone that’s personable and easy to read.
Even if you don’t know the first thing about honey-harvesting (or cheese-making or chicken-feeding), you’ll be led through the process painlessly with plenty of pictures and instructions to reference. I don’t keep bees or make dairy at home (yet), but reading about them makes me want to add to my own homesteading skills. Who knows, maybe next year?!
A few of my favorite things from her books: seasonal checklist for maintaining your beehive, complete plans for building a chicken tractor, step-by-step instructions for both beginner cheeses and advanced cheeses (homemade gorgonzola aged for four months? … one can only dream!), and all the luscious photographs of vegetables and fruits, jellies and pickles (home-canned goods are eye candy to me).
Just in time for Christmas, I have all four books boxed up and ready for shipment to one lucky reader! And, they are all signed by Ashley herself! Whether you want to give them as gifts or keep them for yourself, they’re a thoughtful addition to any bookshelf. One winner will receive the complete “Homemade Living” series, with each book signed by the author (a $70 total value).
How to enter: Leave a comment below and tell me which of the homemade crafts (chicken-keeping, beekeeping, canning, or dairy-making) you’re most interested in learning or improving in the new year. To receive an additional entry, follow @theGardenBetty on Twitter, and leave a second comment below indicating your Twitter username. You have two chances to win!
The giveaway will end at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on Friday, December 13, 2013. Winner will be drawn at random and announced the following week. Good luck!
Giveaway Rules
- Giveaway begins December 9, 2013 and ends December 13, 2013.
- No purchase is necessary. To enter, leave a comment on this blog post.
- Only US residents ages 18 and older are eligible to enter.
- Two entries allowed per person.
- Odds of winning are based on number of entries received.
- Winner will be drawn at random.
- If winner does not respond within 48 hours after time of contact, that entry will be forfeited and a new winner will be drawn.
Lark Books is providing the books for this giveaway. No compensation was received for this post.
Update: A big thanks to everyone who entered!
This giveaway is now closed. The winner is Laurie from Texas.
“@thegardenbetty If you’re into chicken-keeping, beekeeping, dairy-making or canning, these books are worth the read http://t.co/VDocj8u35q“
Bees! Took my first beekeeping course with my husband this year. His Christmas gift is a two hives w supers. We are putting in our order for ouw own bees very soon.
I’m giving away a signed set of @ashley_english’s “Homemade Living” books! Enter on my blog to win: http://t.co/6mAmqbyVlV
I found your blog thru Ashley’s and would love to read all her books. Canning & preserving will be the first one! Thanks for a chance to win her books!!
Love your blog and all the info you post here. Your chicken keeping info has been of great help to me in deciding to get chickens next year.
We’re making the move to Colorado (from Sin City) in the Spring. I think chickens will be first on the list but I keep googling terms related to bees so that would be a great score for me.
If you’re into chicken-keeping, beekeeping, dairy-making or canning, these books are worth the read! Enter to win: http://t.co/NO6q4yVQ8W
We’ll be building our first chicken coop this after the first of the year so we can enjoy and know where our eggs are coming from as we already do about our home grown/ organic veggies. Thanks for all the great info and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
I’d be interested to learn more about canning.
Beekeeping is something I am very interested in. Great Blog Thanks
for your efforts.
For all of those who think they want to raise goats for all the obvious great reasons or advantages, please find a goat farmer or dairy near you and go volunteer some time working with these animals first. After putting in a lot of hours at a local goat dairy my wife and I decided that as much as we loved the goats, the smell of the boys was not for us. Also, goat cheese is really good, but the milk still smells like goat. This is a good thing to find out before you invest time and money into a very intelligent and sometimes downright personable animal. It would suck to have to get rid of your goats after the glamor wears off and the goats have accepted you as part of their herd…
Different goat breeds are more ‘goaty’ than others. I’ve been told the Nubians are less goaty and their milk tastes more like cow milk.
If you live in the city limits you are most likely unable to have goats. I was hoping to be able to have a couple in my very large yard, but they are against the law to keep. Thankfully I can keep chickens. 🙂
Thanks for the opportunity to win some great books, Linda. My wife and I stared a small mini permaculture farm in the high mountains of New Mexico about three years ago. Each year it becomes a little more reality and a little less imagination only. Love your blog. By the way, could you change the hyper links to dark blue. The soft or turquoise blue links are hard for older eyes to see… 😀
Yeah, keen to learn more about dairy and make my own cheeses and stuff! Preserves a VERY close second 😉
I’d love to try my hand at cheese making. What a great addition these would be to my library. Thanks!
Canning!
Would love to do all of the above
We are beekeepers, chicken farmers, canners, but would love to become a goat keeper and cheese maker!
Love your blog! Keep up the great work!
I need the canning book. I am still nervous about it.
Aspiring to a more self-sufficient life? Get started with the “Homemade Living” books – enter to win them on my blog! http://t.co/JCv8nmfAbm
bee keeping!
I would like to read them all!
Now that I have chickens and ducks, looking to add some bees to the yarden
I am hoping that when we move we will have space to have chickens. Otherwise, I am super interested in the dairy stuff too.
I am looking to learn about cheese making in the new year. To quote (and slightly change) a lyric from a Door’s song – I eat more cheese than a man ever seen!
I have chickens, but the silly girls still think I have things to learn! And I MUST have ammunition to convince my husband to try beekeeping. What better than a great book? I also have a few sheep, but they’re voting for someone else to win, as they do NOT want me to learn to milk them!
Dairy making and chicken keeping! I already do all my own bread but always loved the thought of the other two as well.
I have been dreaming about raising chickens for a while now, but haven’t been sure where to start. The Keeping Chickens book would be perfect!
Since I’m not allowed to have either chickens or bees in my city, canning is what I could use to most pointers with.
Perfect! All things I’m interested in! Would love to win this.
Sign me up – all for the canning (hoping to have a functioning little plot by next season). Am now following too – @batroski
I want to get better at canning! We pickle, jam, etc. but nothing that requires long-term storage bc we are chickens! A handy book would help!
I follow you on twitter! @taylortroost
Canning is my next endeavor next year. My family and I have the growing food down, now it’s just a matter of being able to preserve all of that food we grow! (Although, I will say that beekeeping is a close second!)
Aww man! I would have loved these books as I’m starting a sustainable food school and it would be great to have some reference material to recommend. Bees are next on our list of backyard farming.
What if I offered to pay for the postage??? Pretty please?
@modern_nanna
We live in Canada and can’t enter but I wanted to mention that we have the keeping chickens one and it’s excellent! Love the layout and ‘feel’ of her books. We’re still day dreaming of some nigerian dwarf milk goats.
I’ll be exploring cheese making this year as I move beyond yogurt and basic dairy items…would love this wonderful collection! After that, canning! Thank you for the opportunity. Your blog is fantastic!
We got chickens this past spring so I can always use more knowledge about chicken-keeping. Canning intrigues me as my garden gets larger each year.
Just in time for Christmas… Enter my giveaway for @ashley_english’s “Homemade Living” series on homesteading! http://t.co/D3KFPL2QBG
I already have some basic resources about canning, beekeeping, and chicken-keeping (although the only one I actually do is canning and preserving), but I’d love to learn more about home dairy.
I follow! @disqus_QCQqugyD4Y:disqus rsfancher