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Our food system is dominated by industrial agriculture, and has become economically and environmentally unsustainable. The incidence of diet-related diseases including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer and heart disease has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. Whether you have 40 acres and a mule or a condo with a balcony, you can do more than you think to safeguard your health, your money and the planet.

Homegrown and Handmade shows how making things from scratch and growing at least some of your own food can help you eliminate artificial ingredients from your diet, reduce your carbon footprint and create a more authentic life. Whether your goal is increasing your self-reliance or becoming a full-fledged homesteader, it’s packed with answers and solutions to help you:

• Take control of your food supply from seed to plate
• Raise small and medium livestock for fun, food and fiber
• Rediscover traditional skills to meet more of your family’s needs than you ever thought possible

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Aquaponics is a revolutionary system for growing plants by fertilizing them with the wastewater from fish in a sustainable closed system. A combination of the best of aquaculture and hydroponics, aquaponic gardening is an amazingly productive way to grow organic vegetables, greens, herbs and fruits, while providing the added benefits of fresh fish as a safe, healthy source of protein. On a larger scale, it is a key solution to mitigating food insecurity, climate change, groundwater pollution and the impacts of overfishing on our oceans.

Aquaponic Gardening is the definitive do-it-yourself home manual, focused on giving you all the tools you need to create your own aquaponic system and enjoy healthy, safe, fresh and delicious food all year round. Starting with an overview of the theory, benefits and potential of aquaponics, the book goes on to explain:

• System location considerations and hardware components
• The living elements — fish, plants, bacteria and worms
• Putting it all together — starting and maintaining a healthy system

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What’s the biggest problem facing gardeners? Drought, lack of sun, or the ever-present threat of disease? Nope, it’s deer. The beautiful animals immortalized in Disney's Bambi are also the garden’s biggest pests. Increased hunting regulations have caused the deer population to swell to more than 30 million. At the same time, suburban expansion has led to a loss of natural habitat. The result? Deer are looking for food and finding it in gardens all across the country.

50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants makes keeping deer away as simple as choosing the appropriate plant. Instead of the typical barriers and fencing, expert plantswoman Ruth Rogers Clausen has chosen the 50 most beautiful (and least palatable) annuals, bulbs, ferns, grasses, herbs, perennials and shrubs. Whether it's the charming snow crocuses that bloom each spring or the vibrant, long-blooming Texas Sage, these 50 plants provide gardeners a chance to design a deer-proof garden without sacrificing style. Each plant profile includes a deer-resistance scale, tips on growth and care, zone recommendations, and gorgeous color photos showing the plant up close and in the garden setting. Also includes dozens of companion planting ideas.

With the helpful and trusted advice in 50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants, gardeners can finally garden without fear of deer.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $24.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

"When your garden contains lots of earthworms, your soil is good." This maxim may not sound familiar, but before the days of landscapers and lawn-maintenance companies, this type of knowledge was common. Gardening skills were passed down from generation to generation, and yards were personal places that flourished under the care of time-tested wisdom. Today the pace of life is faster, and modern advances make gardening tasks easier, but we can all benefit from the techniques and common-sense advice of the past to have beautiful, fruitful gardens now. With Back to Basics: Traditional Garden Wisdom, anyone can:

• Develop a dream, green garden without spending a fortune
• Grow an organic and eco-friendly garden with minimum fuss and maximum taste
• Discover how to collect and save seeds
• Make your own compost and learn "no-dig" gardening
• Make a cold frame and protect plants from frost
• Repel moles with castor oil, prevent mice with the right plants, and make herbal insect repellents
• Find out the best way to prune a hedge, tree, or climbing flower
• Know which gardening tasks to do for each season
• Raise a panel fence and use recycled materials for landscaping
• Plant raised beds and container gardens, and build a natural grape arbor
• Discover how companion planting can discourage harmful pests and encourage growth

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A compregensive introduction to the "nectar of the gods."

With increasing numbers of people ditching drugs for natural healing, Honey: Nature's Golden Healer is a timely look at how the beehive can help us look and feel better. Highlighted with hundreds of vivid color photographs, the book explains how honey is made and describes the complex lives of honeybees, beehive architecture and the sophisticated social structure of beehives. Novice beekeepers will find enough reliable information to get started on a small scale.

Honey examines the beneficial properties of honey and other bee products, such as propolis, pollen, royal jelly and beeswax, and explains how to collect and use them. The book includes recipes for homemade remedies, luxurious beauty formulas and delicious treats.

• The critical role of honeybees in agriculture
• The many types and colors of honey
• Raw Honey
• How honey compare to sugar
• Preserving with honey
• Honey's antibacterial properties and how they work
• Honey as a neutraceutical (a foodstuff with medicinal properties)
• Bee sting therapy
• Super-honeys
• The benefits of propolis, bee pollen and royal jelly
• Honey in cooking and baking

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $24.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Don’t like spending money in garden centers? Think you can make it yourself for a fraction of the price or find a cheaper option? Dave Hamilton shows you how, by recycling and reusing materials creatively and making the most of what you have, you can gather all you need to grow your food on a budget.

• Shows how to go through the gardening year on a shoestring, from making your own raised beds to fixing broken tools and taking cuttings.
• Gives money-saving tips for every season plus occasional tips on the actual gardening!
• Is crammed full of projects from seed-saving and making your own plant feed to building a fence or garden shed.
• Gives step-by-step instructions, with easy-to-follow diagrams.
• Includes beautiful photos and quirky illustrations.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $18.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

How to save money, time, and the environment-on the urban frontier.

With The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading anyone can learn how to live sustainably and responsibly-and save money and time-in any urban environment. Expert urban homesteader Sundari Elizabeth Kraft shares her hands-on knowledge of: growing organic foods and preserving them; composting; raising small livestock and chickens; generating electricity and biofuels; and other ways to cut costs and live green. This book has all the information required to become a successful urban homesteader in any city.

• Practical advice on everything from composting to clean energy.
• Sundari Elizabeth Kraft is an expert in urban homesteading.

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Simple in its format, yet packed with information of many, many ways to prevent deer damage to your commercial crops or home garden. Explains how to use fencing and other barriers and visual and scent repellents. Also lists plants deer like and those they don’t like. Practical information from a true innovator who lives in deer country.

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Winter and early spring require a different kind of gardening than the summer months: Not a lot grows at this time, but a well-planned plot may nonetheless be quite full.

This book explains how to have plenty of vegetables to eat during the winter months, both stored and fresh. Through winter, soil is cool and transforms the plot into a large outdoor larder where many vegetables keep healthy and alive, ready for harvesting when needed.

In the pages of this book, you'll discover:

• How to grow your own food for the "hungry gap" from April to June
• How to store food for eating in winter
• A monthly sowing, planting and growing calendar
• Harvesting advice from garlic in July to spring cabbage and pea shoots in May
• Stunning photographs from the author’s garden

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This comprehensive guide to organic gardening will help you create a steady supply of organically grown fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers all year round. Includes the latest information on how to find, choose and grow plants that thrive without synthetic chemicals. Learn how to:

• Plant traditional varieties, known as heirloom plants, that were developed before the use of pesticides and fertilizers
• Select regional varieties adapted to your climate and location
• Increase your bounty by repurposing seeds from your own garden
• Discourage pests while encouraging beneficial insects and birds