DIG IN
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.
Rewilding: Restoration by Letting Go
When it comes to revitalizing the environment, sometimes the best thing we can do is take a step back and let rewilding work its magic. Time and distance often feel like inaction on our part, but removing ourselves from the land is the one action we can take that allows nature the time and space…
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Bugs: The Unsung Heroes
Bugs should be revered for all the vital roles they play in keeping our home inhabitable. Unfortunately, there is a stigma that comes with every bug. Though, without the creepy crawlies, we would be lost and so would nature. Here are a few obscure and iconic bugs that play key roles in nature. The following…
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Foods for a Healthy Bacterial Flora
The food you eat has a direct impact on your gut and overall health. Eating sugary foods feeds the bad bacteria in our mouths that eventually lead to health problems down the road. Probiotic foods are the key to taking care of the important good bacteria in our mouths and intestines. The following is an…
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Okra With a Twist: Crispy, Dry-Fried Okra
Wood-fired oven are not just for baking bread and pizza! If you utilize the full heat-cycle, as Richard Miscovich details in From the Wood-Fired Oven, you can make a wide range of tasty eats during just one firing—from roasting meats and vegetables to drying herbs. With live-fire roasting, this recipe for Dry-Fried Okra comes out…
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Fake Meat is not a Miracle Food: Impossible Food
Nicolette Hahn Niman on the Fallacy of fake meat, as know as “Clean Meat,” and the Importance of Regenerative Farming The following is an excerpt from Defending Beef by Nicolette Hahn Niman. It originally appeared on Lit Hub. It has been adapted for the web. Faux Meats Silicon Valley-backed “clean meat” is now everywhere. Our…
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Koji for a Touch of Sweetness: Koji Sorbet
The possibilities with koji are endless; cheese, condiments, bread, the list goes on! Let’s not forget about that sweet tooth. It might seem crazy, but koji sorbet is sweet and tangy, making a perfect treat for a warm summer’s evening. If you’ve mastered the simple homemade koji recipe, put your koji to work in this delicious,…
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Hemp History 101
The historical prominence of hemp can be seen in dozens of American towns that still bear its name, including Hempfield, PA, Hemphill, KY, Hempstead, NY, Hempfork, VA, and more. How did humanity’s longest utilized plant, that has more than 25,000 uses and so many towns named after it, end up nearly extinct in the U.S.?…
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Defending Bovines, Butter, and Beef
Beef and dairy products have received a fair amount of backlash within the last decade or so. We have been told that beef is a big proponent in the increase of obesity and other chronic diet-related diseases, as well as dramatic environmental damage. However, more and more people are speaking out that this is not…
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Luscious Lemons: Classic Lemon Bar Recipe
Everyone loves homemade lemon squares and these refreshing sweet and lightly tart lemon squares are the best. With a buttery crust that is sturdy but tender enough to bite through and a thick and luscious filling with a balance of sweetness and tangy lemon brightness, you can’t beat this recipe. The following is an excerpt…
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It’s Raining, It’s Pouring, the Rain Garden is Growing
With temperatures rising and the summer heat in full swing, your plants and crops need as much water as they can possibly get. What better way to do that than building your own rain garden? A rain garden will absorb rainwater run-off and use this water to then help grow the plants planted in the…
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The Magic of Exploring the Outdoors After Dark: Q&A with Chris Salisbury
Chris Salisbury’s newest book Wild Nights Out has just been released and encourages us to venture out into the unknown of the night. Wild Nights Out is the go-to guide for exploring the outdoors after dark. It boosts the resilience and self-confidence of children and adults, and instills a lifelong love of having fun in…
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The Fresh Food Farmacy
Health care is one of the most talked about topics with availability and expenses constantly under scrutiny. Insulin prices have skyrocketed and those who need it are barely able to or cannot afford the life-saving medicine. There are other systems in place that have a new take on health care which prioritizes eating fresh and…
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The Five Keys to Photosynthesis: Caring For Your Plants
There is more to growing than just the basics of sunlight and water. In fact, there are five important factors in determining how well your plants or crops will do: sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, soil organisms, and nutrients. Luckily it is easy to maintain healthy plants, healthy food, and healthy living soil. The following is…
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Three Ways to Improve Your Mindset
We don’t realize how much our mindset affects our day-to-day activities until we become in tune with our bodies. Through practices like self-talk, mindfulness, and optimism, we can vastly improve our mental and physical health. The following is an except from Peak 40 by Marc Bubbs. It has been adapted for the web. If your personality traits…
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Reestablishing Balance: Nature’s Cure
In No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture, renowned organic grower Bryan O’Hara describes the methods he developed during a multi-year transition of his Connecticut vegetable farm to a no-till system. His resilient crops are testaments to the value of letting the inherent biological functions in soil do their work. The following excerpt discusses reestablishing balance among microbes,…
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On Swarms and Stings
To a beekeeper, thousands of bees concentrated in one area isn’t a nightmare–it’s an opportunity to help the bees find a new home safely when necessary. It does not always come naturally though; some of the most seasoned beekeepers were scared of being stung at first. It takes a lot of time and patience to…
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The Right Way to Hydrate
Everyone knows water is important, but advice on how much to drink is wildly different. “Drink your weight in ounces of water each day”, “drink before you’re thirsty”, “drink eight 8oz glasses”, and the list goes on. Unfortunately, you can drink too much water, and it can be detrimental to your health. Read on to…
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Adding Some Pizazz to Your Greens
It’s difficult to come up with new and interesting recipes to spice up your greens, whether they’re store bought or foraged. In Alan Bergo’s new book The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora, he gives recipes like Greens with Garlic and Chili as well as Dotty’s Wild Green Salad to add some flair to what might…
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Are You Getting Enough Sleep?
If you’ve been feeling drained and running ragged from lack of sleep, you are not alone. The average adult gets around 6.5 hours of sleep every night while the recommended amount is 7-8 hours of sleep. To upgrade your performance at work and home, sleep makes all the difference in your ability to keep up…
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How to Grow Okra Microgreens
Microgreens can be used as a garnish or addition to provide great nutrients to your meals. Recently, okra joined the list of delicious microgreens. You can grow your own at home! Okra can be grown using an aquaponics system; find a use for any gallon-drums you have left in your garage or shed. The following…
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Fantastic Frozen Fruit Smoothies
Nothing says summer like fruit smoothies. But what’s better than a fruit smoothie? A frozen fruit smoothie. When it’s too hot to cook a meal, and sandwiches or salads aren’t appealing, try one of these delicious recipes. Not only will they cool you down, but you’ll get plenty of nutrients, too! The following is an excerpt…
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Say Cheese! Four Cheese Recipes to Keep You Smiling
Attention all cheese lovers! If you’re looking for recipes to satisfy all your cheesy needs, then look no further. Try out some of these fun and easy recipes next time you’re craving homemade cheese. How To Make Your Own Chèvre Using Natural Ingredients Making cheese at home may seem like a time and labor-intensive process,…
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Moths: Nighttime’s Kaleidoscope
While butterflies may take all of the attention during the day time, moths are the celebrities of night. There are over 2,500 species of moths in Britain alone, yet they are often ignored. Author Chris Salisbury is trying to change that. The following is an excerpt from Wild Nights Out by Chris Salisbury. It has…
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Should you skip breakfast?
When it comes to whether or not you should skip breakfast, there is a lot of conflicting information out there. Some research claims that skipping breakfast is the key to loosing weight. Others, on the other hand, have proven that skipping breakfast could cause your metabolism to slow down and make you gain weight. So, what’s…
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Interplanting and Beyond
Permaculture is more than just a way to garden, it applies systems-thinking to every facet of our relationship to the earth and each other. The three main ethics of permaculture are care for the planet, care for people, and only keeping a fair share of the yields of your productive work (gardening and otherwise). Expanding…
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