What should I write next?
I
enjoy spending chilly mornings writing in front of a fire, and once I
finish up my stockpiled projects from earlier in the year, the question
becomes --- what to write next? I probably won't start any new projects
until the first of next year since I'm currently cleaning up old covers
(what do you think of Growing into a Farm version 3?), finishing the expanded manuscript of Trailersteading
for my publisher, and generally getting all of the things I let slide
during the summer back into shape. But it's good to start ruminating,
and I'd love your opinion on which of these books you'd most like to
read:
Eating the Working Chicken expansion --- The short ebook that currently goes by this name
is very basic, with concise butchering advise and a small amount on
cooking. But since writing the first edition, I've learned at least half
a dozen delicious ways to cook tough, old hens without ending up
gnawing for hours on stringy meat. So an update seems to be in order.
Gardening in a Wet Climate
--- This new ebook would be just what the title suggests. We've
definitely learned a lot about how to make gardens thrive when it rains
all the time and when your soil is so waterlogged you have to garden in
knee-boots, so I'd love to share the results of our experiments. But
perhaps this is too much of a niche subject since most people probably
didn't get seven inches of rain during the first two weeks of October?
Permaculture Cliff Notes --- I give away Best Books For Homesteaders to anyone who joins my email list.
But I was thinking of adding in page-length summaries of each
recommended title so you could, conceivably, get quite a good education
in just an hour of reading.
Keeping Deer out of the Garden
--- Mark and I have certainly experimented with this topic like mad
over the last eight years, and I have a lot of permaculture tips to
share on the topic. However, my advice is pretty non-mainstream --- I
think that working with deer's behavior is the long-term solution rather
than purchasing repellents. So people in search of a quick fix might be
disappointed.
Even though I sell my
ebooks on the open market, my blog readers are the ones I really write
for. So I'm putting it up for suggestions --- does one of these ebooks
speak to you more than others? Or is there something else you'd really
like to hear about instead? Please leave a comment and let me know!
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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Hello, I have recently come across your website. Love it. It has taught me a lot already. I thank you for that. I am answering your question about what to write next. Being new maybe I have missed something you might have already wrote about. I would be interested in herbs and wild plants. I understand you try to live off the grid but what do you do when you get the common cold or have allergies. You just don't run to the store? Do you drink teas? eat herbs? do you apply creams to your cuts while working on the farm? what are they made from? We get a lot of minerals in herbs parsley basil chives etc. Do you use these in cooking? I am hoping this is a topic you are interested in or would research it and become interested in it. The older I get (my Husband too) the more we enjoy the idea of living off the land. Thanks for listening. Sue
Hi Anna and Mark,
It seems to me that help and cooperation between those nearby is what really helps us succeed. And it is what makes life meaningful.
IIRC you get horse manure from someone nearby. What do you do for them?
You get hay also.
So maybe a book talking about that sort of thing: advice given and received, favors given and received,
On another subject; I would also like from you a list of your favorite links.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
John
Thanks to everyone for your votes --- keep them coming!
Sue --- Mark and I are relatively young and very healthy, so we honestly don't use many herbs (other than for flavoring). Instead of waiting for things to break, we instead boost health with copious servings of fruits and vegetables, especially pushing garlic and leafy greens. We also swear by broth from homegrown chickens and by pastured meat. Seems to be working so far....