Storey’s Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance

1323 Pages·1999·33.87 MB·English

by  John Storey

Storey’s Basic Country Skills
Storey’s Basic Country Skills
A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance
John and Martha Storey
Edited by Deborah Burns
The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing
practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with
the environment.

Editorial services provided by Greg Linder, Linder Creative Services, Mankato,
Minnesota
Contributing Editors: Gwen Steege, Charles W.G. Smith, Dan Callahan, and
Deborah Balmuth
Cover design by Meredith Maker
Cover photograph by Giles Prett
Cover illustrations by Linda Holt Ayriss/©Artville
Part opener and Foreword photographs by Martha Storey
Text design and production by Carol Jessop, Black Trout Design
Illustrations edited by Ilona Sherratt
Technical direction by Leslie Noyes
Additional text by Greg Linder, Nick Noyes, Jim Sherratt, and Gail Damerow
Production assistance by Elizabeth Collier, Susan Bernier, Jen Jepson, and Erin
Lincourt A list of illustrators appears on page 542.
Indexed by Susan Olason, Indexes & Knowledge Maps
© 1999 by Storey Publishing, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written
permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief
passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may
any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or other—without written permission from the publisher.
The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our
knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the
author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in
connection with the use of this information. For additional information please
contact Storey Publishing, 210 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247.
Storey books are available for special premium and promotional uses and for
customized editions. For further information, please call 1-800-793-9396.

Printed in the United States by Versa Press
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Storey, M. John, 1943–
Storey’s basic country skills : a practical guide to self-reliance /
John and Martha Storey; edited by Deborah Burns.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-58017-202-8 (pbk.)
1. Home economics, Rural. 2. Country life. I. Storey, Martha, 1944–
II. Burns, Deborah. III. Title.
TX147.S86 1999
640'.9173'4—dc21 99-35895
CIP
DEDICATION

A number of our authors started writing about their passions forty or more
years ago. Some of them are gone now, but many are still working and writing.
Over the years others have joined us, offering new techniques and new solutions
to the challenges of country life. Collectively, they have inspired millions of
readers to do things for themselves, whether it’s home building, animal
husbandry, growing and preserving food, composting, soap making, or countless
other practical skills.

To this group of talented and inspiring authors, this book is respectfully
dedicated.
CONTENTS

FOREWORD BY JOHN AND MARTHA STOREY

PART 1 : YOUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

1. YOUR COUNTRY HOME

2. OUTDOOR SPACES

3. THE WATER SUPPLY

4. PLUMBING

5. HEATING YOUR HOME

6. ELECTRICITY

7. BASIC HOME IMPROVEMENTS

8. THE HOME INTERIOR

PART 2 : YOUR GARDEN, YARD & ORCHARD

9. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

10. THE HERB GARDEN

11. THE FLOWER GARDEN

12. WATER AND ROCK GARDENS
13. IMPROVING YOUR SOIL

14. GARDEN PESTS AND DISEASES

15. BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES

16. LAWN CARE

17. BERRIES AND FRUITS

18. ARBORS AND TRELLISES

19. GREENHOUSES

20. SHEDS AND MORE

PART 3: COUNTRY COOKING & STOCKING UP

21. CLASSIC COUNTRY RECIPES

22. FRESH FROM THE DAIRY

23. MEAT, FISH, AND GAME

24. PRESERVING THE HARVEST

25. THE COUNTRY PANTRY

PART 4 : YOUR BARN, STABLE & FIELDS

26. FARM AND RANCH ANIMALS

27. BARNS AND FENCES

28. COUNTRY PETS
29. SMALL-SCALE FARMING

30. TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
BOOKS
RESOURCES
INDEX
HARDINESS ZONE MAP
Country publishers and part-time farmers John and Martha Storey

Dear Reader,
Martha and I hope that you enjoy this book and that it helps you in some small
way in your journey toward greater self-sufficiency.
Ours has been a gradual journey, under way since the 1950s, when Martha’s
folks, cotton farmers from West Texas, found themselves in New Jersey, a few
houses up the street from my parents’ home.
Suburban life at that time was pleasant, to be sure, but only a few people like
Martha’s parents, Aulton and Elizabeth Mullendore, were “the real McCoys.”
While most of our neighbors still had modest “victory gardens,” the Mullendores
had a small-scale farm! They knew how to provide everything for themselves—
building their own home, raising meat, and growing crops for sale and for the
table.
After Martha and I married and found our first small home, we were eager to
put in a vegetable garden. Armed with a six-pack of tomato seedlings and
Taylor’s Garden Encyclopedia, we began. We quickly discovered Organic
Gardening magazine, which seemed like a cult publication written just for us.
We were hooked on gardening and on doing it all ourselves.
Soon I was working at Time-Life Books in New York City, and when the