A practical handbook for a more sustainable life. Whether you have a large country garden or a small city backyard, this essential guide includes expert advice on growing a wide range of your own fruit and vegetables, as well as harvesting, storing and preserving your produce, keeping livestock and using alternative energy. Grow your way to happiness with this practical handbook for a more sustainable life. Whether you have a large country garden or a small backyard in the city, this essential guide to the 'Good Life' will help you on your journey to becoming more self-sufficient – which is something we all need to be thinking about. Climate change, industrial farming with its reliance on chemicals, rising food prices, fears over food security or just a desire to spend more time outdoors – there are many reasons driving people towards homegrown food and self-sufficiency. Growing your own fruit and vegetables, preserving your produce and generating your own energy are all covered in this thrifty guide by the original 'Tom and Barbara', Eve and Terence McLaughlin, who wrote the first edition of this book in 1979. This information-packed book has expert advice on growing, harvesting, storing and preserving your produce. You can brew your own beer and learn how to bottle, cure, smoke and pickle your produce to make it last longer. The book features easy-to-follow instructions for DIY tools and equipment to save money, reduce energy consumption and cut back on waste. Learn how to plan your site, explore the best planting times and methods, discover how to grow a variety of vegetables, fruit and nuts, and how to deal with pests and diseases. As well as growing your own food, the book also covers the basics of keeping livestock – including chickens, ducks, goats and pigs – and how to harness alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power. Putting your own food on the table and playing your part in creating a more sustainable future is hugely rewarding and also has health benefits – the physical exercise of planting and harvesting, the mental wellness that comes with spending time in nature, and the reduction in chemicals in the food you eat – there is so much in this activity that fosters greater wellbeing. Whether you're planning a move to full-blown self-sufficiency or are just curious about what's involved and want to take your first steps to growing your own food, this essential guide has everything you need to know. AUTHOR: Eve McLaughlin wrote the original version of Cost-Effective Self-Sufficiency with her husband, Terence McLaughlin, a scientist, who is since deceased. Eve is a genealogist and has written a number of books and guides about family history. At the age of 82, Eve continues to be a keen gardener and propagator, and enjoys spending time in her farmhouse garden in Buckinghamshire.