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.
A Shopping List for Trying Times: How to Stock Up
There’s been a lot of talk about stocking your fridge and pantry, but what exactly does that mean? What foods store well? What foods provide the most nutritional value? How much toilet paper do you really need? In his lifetime, Matthew Stein wrote extensively about being prepared for the worst, including how to properly stock your…
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A Small Farm Future COVID-19 Special: For Whom The Bell Tolls
By Chris Smaje, author of the forthcoming book, A Small Farm Future, to be published Fall 2020. This article originally appeared on Chris Smaje’s website Small Farm Future. It has been adapted for the web. Since nobody seems to be talking about anything except COVID-19 at the moment I thought I’d join the crowd and, in…
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Making Your Own Hope
In uncertain times, it’s hard to maintain a sense of hope and positivity for yourself and those around you. Hope comes from within yourself, even when it seems impossible to continue on. “This current crisis is calling for the emergence of a bolder, braver and kinder humanity.” The following is an excerpt from Hitching for…
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Growing Koji in Your Own Kitchen
Koji, the microbe behind the delicious, umami flavors of soy sauce, miso, fermented bean sauce, and so many of the ingredients that underpin Japanese cuisine. After you’ve mastered growing your koji, a whole new world of culinary opportunities will be at your fingertips! To start, all you need is a baking tray, rice, koji spores,…
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RECIPE: How to Make Three Kinds of Kimchi
If I may be graphic for a moment—my mouth is watering, literally, as I type this. I have a new food passion, and its name is kimchi. This tangy, spicy side dish can be cooked with pork, in savory pancakes, or as a soup stock. And imagine if you made it with your own fresh,…
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The Low-Tech Medicine Cabinet
The following is an excerpt from When Disaster Strikes (November 2011) by Matthew Stein. It has been adapted for the web. This post offers practical information about herbs, alternative medicines, and self-treatment devices you may wish to stock in your personal self-healing arsenal. The herbs and alternative treatments covered could be the key elements that…
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Grow Your Own Salad Indoors: No Garden? No Problem!
Think you need a vast outdoor garden in order to enjoy fresh produce? Think again! It’s entirely possible to grow your own salad indoors, no matter where you live. If you find yourself dreading heading out to the grocery store for that fresh produce, give indoor gardening a try! The following is an excerpt from…
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Resilience in Challenging Times: A Message From Our Publisher
Dear Readers and Supporters, As you know, Chelsea Green has been at the forefront of publishing books on self-sufficiency and sustainable living for over 35 years. Given the hundreds of books we’ve published and the groundbreaking authors we’ve had the privilege to work with, we like to think we have a lot to share about…
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Becoming Resilient in an Ever-Changing World
There are times in life when we wake up and realize we no longer recognize the world around us. When life throws us such curveballs, being resilient is what determines if we sink or swim. But what is resiliency exactly, and how do we foster it? The following is an excerpt is from The Resilient…
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Poplar – The Homemaker
Poplars are some of the fastest-growing trees in the world. They can tolerate the worst conditions and are heavily favored by wildlife. In places where land has been degraded or is falling apart, the poplars can rebuild. They produce tremendous amounts of biomass, feed unbelievable numbers of insects, birds, and mammals, and suck tons of…
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You’ve Got Mail. And it’s Chicks!
There’s nothing quite like having a box of cute, fluffy chicks arrive in the mail. It’s miraculous that a newly hatched chick can survive without food and water for exactly the amount of time it takes to mail a package from anywhere in the United States to anywhere else in the United States. Adding chickens…
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The Secret Life of Fungi
Fungi have intricate lives, behaviors, and uses most people are unaware of. Mychorrizal fungi form symbiotic relationships with the root systems of other plants. The crucial, symbiotic role that fungi play in everything from healthy plants to healthy soils to a healthy planet. The following is an excerpt from Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots…
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Staying Healthy: FAQs About Dental Care
Going to the dentist strikes fear in the hearts of many, but a lot of this fear stems from not knowing if we’re taking the proper care of our teeth. Dr. Dominik Nischwitz answers the most frequently asked questions regarding dental hygiene. The following is an excerpt from It’s All in Your Mouth by Dr.…
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The Condition of Wondering
What is the condition of wondering? For as long as humans have been alive, we have been asking questions. It is a part of us. It is what makes us unquestionably human. The following is an excerpt from Courting the Wild Twin by Martin Shaw. It has been adapted for the web. Prefer Audio? Listen…
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Veggie Mandala with Chervil Aioli Sauce: A Natural Spring Recipe
With the birth of spring comes its profusion of gifts—the warm sun, higher temperatures, and (best of all) fertile soil. With each day, more colors seem to burst forth—both in nature and on our plates. This veggie mandala is traditionally served directly on the surface of the entire length of the farm table, but, whether…
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Fermentation 101: Just Add Salt
Fermentation isn’t just for highly skilled experts, at its core, fermentation is actually pretty simple. Once you’ve mastered the basics of fermentation, you’ll be on your way to creating delicious and unique dishes in no time! The following is an excerpt from Wildcrafted Fermentation by Pascal Baudar. It has been adapted for the web. For…
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Who Is the Wild Twin?
All of us have a wild twin––a part of ourselves that we generally shun or ignore to conform to societal norms. Inviting the wild twin back into our consciousness is crucial, for they have something important to tell us. The following is an excerpt from Courting the Wild Twin by Martin Shaw. It has been…
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Vermicomposting: Why Venture Into It?
If you’re at all in tune to the agricultural news of late, you’re well aware that soil health is in decline all over the world – an issue that is having a disastrous impact on our food systems. The answer to this international problem? Worms. Lots of them. But how, you ask? Well, vermicomposting, of…
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On Foraging and Picking Wild Plants
Foraging for your own food limits your carbon footprint and helps to maintain the natural landscape. Done correctly, it reconnects us to nature while limiting our impact on our natural surroundings. Humans need to be an active part of changing the environment—even on this small scale. The following is an excerpt from Wildcrafted Fermentation by…
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When to Plant: Determining When Crops Thrive
Most people know that different crops thrive in different seasons and climates and that each crop has ideal growing conditions. But, did you know that the moon also has a significant influence over the productivity and health of plants? Paying attention to the proximity, declination, and phase of the moon will help you determine when…
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Trees: The Fountains of Life
Trees. They are all around us. They come in all sorts of different shapes, sizes, and colors. They each have a unique scent, a unique feel, a unique purpose. But have you ever really thought about what immense life forces they are? How much power they hold and how much they give to us? The…
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NOFA-VT 38th Annual Winter Conference: Celebrating Our Interdependence
NOFA-VT seeks to convene, to reunite, to connect, and to imagine how we might come together to build a food system for the future. This February 15-17th join NOFA-VT and several of our authors for the 38th Annual Winter Conference at the University of Vermont. Each year, the NOFA-VT Winter Conference provides a valuable opportunity…
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Road to Regeneration: Starting point
In order to save the Earth from environmental collapse, we need to move toward total sustainable energy usage and cut greenhouse gases very soon. We’ve already made huge strides in reducing our carbon footprint and using better farming practices, but it’s important for us to keep taking steps towards energy conservation. The following is an…
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Sap Moon Recipes for Sweet Treats
This time of year we always seem to get a hint of spring in the air for a moment, whether it’s the snow storms starting to taper off or a glimpse of grass in your yard. The lure of sweetness calls from the maple trees and we begin daydreaming about all of the wonderous treats…
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Making Massive Small Change
For generations, we’ve worked collectively as a society to build our cities into vibrant communities where we can progress and flourish together. Over the years, however, we’ve lost the art of collective and community evolution as our governments step in with their big ideas for urban growth – many of which come at a steep…
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