Great recommendations! I have one to add, too:
‘The Orchard: A Memoir’ by Adele Crochet
“’The Orchard’ is an exquisitely beautiful and poignant memoir of a young woman’s single-handed struggle to save her New England farm in the depths of the Great Depression. Recently discovered by the author’s daughter, it tells the story of Adele “Kitty” Robertson, young and energetic, but unprepared by her Radcliffe education for the rigors of apple farming in those bitter times. Alone at the end of a country road, with only a Great Dane for company, plagued by debts, broken machinery, and killing frosts, Kitty revives the old orchard after years of neglect. Every day is a struggle, but every day she is also rewarded by the beauty of the world and the unexpected kindness of neighbors and hired workers.”
Loved it - have read it several times.
Not to be confused with the book, ‘Orchard’ by Larry Watson, which is also enjoyable, but is a ‘Andrew Wyeth-like’ love story of an artist and his muse and has nothing to do with growing apples. Well, a little, but not much, LOL! Set in Wisconsin, so it ‘a-peeled’ to me. ;)
“Sonja Skordahl, a Norwegian immigrant, came to America looking for a new life. Instead, she settled in Door County, Wisconsin, and married Henry House—only to find herself defined by her roles as wife and mother. Destiny lands Sonja in the studio of Ned Weaver, an internationally acclaimed painter. There she becomes more than his model and more than a mere object of desire; she becomes the most inspiring muse Ned has ever known, much to the chagrin of the artist’s wife. When both Ned and Henry insist on possessing Sonja, their jealousies threaten to erupt into violence—as she struggles to appease both men without sacrificing her hard-won sense of self.”
I’d like to add “Teaming With Microbes” to the list of book recommendations.
In addition, there are several articles at http://skillcult.com/ that cover things like homemade biochar. The site even has articles from the 1800s from researchers who discovered the advantages of biochar before there was a word for it. They’re really quite fascinating!