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The latest articles from Chelsea Green and our authors: offering tips and techniques about how you can bring our books to life in your kitchen, backyard, or community.
10 Easy-to-Grow Flowers for Pest Control
It’s difficult to know what flowers are best for your garden — and even then, which flowers are easy to care for. Some flowers, like Dandelions and Sunflowers, are incredibly easy, as long as you have plenty of sunlight. While other flowers, like marigolds, have so many different variations that are each easy to grow in…
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The Buzz: Beekeeping for Beginners
Beekeeping has been on the rise in recent years, and backyard hives have become more and more popular. Ross Conrad knows a thing or two about beekeeping, and his book has become a must-read for enterprising apiculturalists who want to learn how to care for bees holistically and organically. The following is an excerpt from…
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A New Perspective on Diagnoses & Treatment: Only Different in Degree
Celia Farber, who was an intrepid young reporter in the 1980’s, was the first journalist to question the official narrative and dig into the science of AIDS. She reported on the “evidence” that was being continually cited and repeated by health officials and the press, the deadliness of AZT, and more. Throughout, Farber’s reportage was largely…
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Exploring the Benefits of Natural Burials: Back to Basics
In becoming the world’s first “punk undertaker” and establishing the Green Funeral Company in the UK, Ru Callender and his partner Claire challenged the stilted, traditional, structured world of the funeral industry; fusing what he had learned from his own deeply personal experiences with death, with the surprising and profound answers and raw emotion he…
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How to Create A Rodent-Free Planting Bed
Are rodents like mice and squirrels ruining the vegetables and crops you’ve worked hard to cultivate? Fear not! Expert gardener Dani Baker has offered a few tips to help you keep a rodent-free planting bed this growing season. The following is an excerpt from The Home-Scale Forest Garden by Dani Baker. It has been adapted for the…
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15 Questions to Ask When Designing Your Garden
There are a lot of things to take into consideration when designing your garden: When to plant, where to plant, how to plant, and so on. In order to answer these questions, you first have to answer a much broader one: “How can I work with nature to make this garden regenerative and sustainable?” If…
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A Recipe for Homemade Ginger Beer: The Old Fashioned Way
Ginger is a spice perfect for any time of year. Its fragrance can perk up everything from chai tea to apple pie. This humble root can also add a gentle kick of heat to stir-fries or soups. The natural yeasts in the root can also be used to kick start a bubbly ginger beer. Give…
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Get Started With Tillage: Choosing the Right Crops
Interested in getting started with tillage? All you’ll need is a spot, some soil, and some crops to make your vision a reality. But deciding exactly which crops should make the cut might actually take more work than you think. When it comes to deciding on which crops to till, it’s important to keep in…
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Open-Source Agriculture: “Hacking” the Farming Industry
Whether we like it or not, technology is quickly evolving and continues to be an integral part of our everyday lives. This leaves us with a choice: we can either allow ourselves to be dominated by this new technology, or we can harness its potential and use it to understand and improve our shared environment.…
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What and When to Grow in Containers
If you’re new to container gardening, knowing what and when to sow seeds can feel overwhelming. Never fear! Below is a list of easy seasonal projects plus a rundown of what an entire year of container gardening can look like. Get ready to grow in containers! The following is an excerpt from The Vertical Veg Guide…
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The Mystery Behind Meat Labels: Got “American” Beef?
Where does the beef we consume actually come from? And why does it matter? When we purchase beef, we may not consider everything that took place before the package hit the grocery store shelf. However, where and how cattle are raised can have a big impact on the quality of meat and the overall well-being…
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Ditch the Pots, Use Soil Blocks!
What’s a cheaper, easier, and surprisingly more efficient way to start your seedlings? Soil blocks! If you’ve never used them before, read on to find out how soil blocks work, how you make them, and what advantages they offer over traditional pots and trays. The following is an excerpt from The New Organic Grower by…
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Herbal Formulas for Migraines and Other Headaches
Suffering from frequent headaches is miserable and immobilizing. If you haven’t had luck treating and preventing your headaches, skip the over-the-counter approach and prepare herbal formuals for migraines to use in the future! The following is an excerpt from Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals, Volume 4 by Jill Stansbury. It has been adapted for the…
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From the Eyes of An Undertaker: Grieving & Healing
“Death is not my friend, neither is it my enemy; it is my destiny.” – Ru Callender When he became an undertaker, Ru Callender undertook to deal with the dead for the sake of the living. As the world’s first “punk undertaker,” Callender and his partner challenged the stilted, traditional, structured world of the funeral industry…
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Miso Soup for the Soul
Miso soup is the perfect, soul-healing meal; not only does this soup taste great, but it has amazing health benefits. Add in a little imagination and you can build your own culinary creation on this humble miso soup base. The following is an excerpt from Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz. It has been adapted for…
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Open-Source Systems: How Communities Can Help Promote Regenerative Agriculture
The Great Regeneration, by farmer-technologist Dorn Cox and author-activist Courtney White, explores unique and groundbreaking research aimed at reclaiming the space where science & agriculture meet as a shared human endeavor. By employing the same tools used to visualize and identify the global instability in our climate and our communities, the authors identify ways to accelerate…
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How to Start Seedlings in a Cold Frame: Gardening Tips from Eliot Coleman
Are you ready to get a jump-start on the gardening season? With a cold frame, you can get started now. A cold frame harnesses the sun’s heat before it’s warm enough to let unprotected seedlings growing outside. Essentially, it consists of a garden bed surrounded by an angled frame and covered with a pane of…
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The Recipe for Achieving Optimal Health and Wellness
Changing our diet is one of the most difficult, but arguably the single most important thing to do to achieve optimal health. But often times people don’t even realize that their diet is harmful. For those who consume a Western diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, the stakes are particularly high. Side effects include…
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Sightings While Cycling: A Journey Through Nature
During a time when many of us faced the prospect of little work or human contact, renowned naturalist Nick Acheson found a sense of peace and purpose in his pursuit of the wild geese that filled the Norfolk skies on their seasonal visits from Iceland and Siberia. With an interest in protecting the future of…
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Chickpea Sprout Hummus: Breathe Life Back Into Winter
Just because the months are getting colder doesn’t mean you can’t still have homemade hummus with fresh chickpeas; you just have to get creative with it. This hummus recipe uses chickpea sprouts, which are growable indoors and during winter. The following is an excerpt from Wild Flavors: One Chef’s Transformative Year Cooking from Eva’s Farm by…
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Cauliflower Cheese: The Ultimate Comfort Food
If you need a new cheese-filled comfort food, then look no further! This baked dish is exactly what you need to warm up in the cold months. Read on to get a glimpse of what it’s like during the cold months at the London-famous restaurant Towpath – right before they close for the winter. The following…
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How to Open A Sacred Space
When individuals embark on a Shamanic journey, opening a sacred space is first step they should take. But what exactly does it mean to open a sacred space? And how does it work? In her latest book, author and gardening expert Maria Rodale explains how this simple practice can enhance journeys and help strengthen our connection to…
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Farming for the Long Haul: It Takes a Village
It’s almost impossible to achieve farming for the long haul without a group of caretakers behind the scenes, making sure everyone’s needs are met. For hundreds of years, women made up these “caring communities,” supporting families, making food, and bettering community life. Though the makeup of these caring communities has changed over the years, the…
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Car Survival Tips for Severe Winter Weather
Now that temperatures have started to dip below freezing, it’s time to get serious about winter preparedness — especially when it comes to driving! Here are some car survival tips to help your vehicle get through the winter. The following is an excerpt from When Disaster Strikes by Matthew Stein. It has been adapted for the…
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Basics of Cider Making: Cider Preparation
To make the best cider, you first need an understanding of the processes and the art & science behind them. Thankfully, world-renowned cider maker Claude Jolicoeur is here to help. Become a cider making expert with help from these preparation tips! The following is an excerpt from The New Cider Maker’s Handbook by Claude Jolicoeur.…
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