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.
Resiliency: Becoming an Adaptive Human
They say history is bound to repeat itself if we don’t take the time to learn from the past. Our decision-making skills and resiliency are essential for survival but, for some, it’s difficult to connect the dots between the cause and effect of said decisions. However, in this day and age, it’s important to recognize…
Read More
Why Rabbit is the New Chicken
Not convinced that a pasture-based rabbit production could amount to a sustainable business enterprise for the beginner to market-scale farmer? Nichki Carangelo, a third-generation Italian American, second-generation small business owner, and first-generation farmer from Waterbury, Connecticut, proves that a viable pasture-based rabbitry is not only user-friendly, it’s also profitable. In 2014, she founded Letterbox Farm…
Read More
How to Create a Nitrogen-Rich, Compost-Fed Soil Bed on Your Patio
If you have an unused stretch of patio, why not make it into a garden? Turning a concrete slab into a verdant garden isn’t as impossible as it sounds, all it takes is time, a compost-fed soil bed, and some good old-fashioned elbow grease. The following is an excerpt from Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The…
Read More
How to Get Your Kids in the Kitchen
If you’re following a strict diet for health reasons, have picky eaters, or are simply looking for tips on how to get your kids involved in the cooking process, you’re going to want to settle in and read this. According to Leah Webb, author of The Grain-Free, Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free Cookbook, and the mother of two children…
Read More
Publishing in the Time of a Pandemic: On Birth and Survival
The following is by Charlotte Dennett, author of Follow the Pipelines, and originally appeared on Medium.com. It has been adapted for the web. April 2, 2020 was supposed to be a special day. Not the usual birth-day, mind you. And not the kind of day I anticipated a month ago, before a pandemic took over our lives. I…
Read More
Survive the Future: Three Principles to Get Started
What guiding principles will you need to not just survive the future, but imagine a better one? By understanding each other, we can work together.
Read More
DIY: Make a Self-Watering Planter
Whether you live in a four-season climate or a small apartment in the city, fresh food at your fingertips is easier than you think! Just follow the directions for this self-watering growing container and you’ll have an abundance of produce in no time. The following is an excerpt from Fresh Food From Small Spaces by…
Read More
A Dictionary for Our Times
How would you define the word “Empowered”? Before you run to the dictionary, we’re not talking about the straight definition; what we mean is, what does it mean to be empowered in today’s society. Read on for short extracts from Lean Logic that speak to these times of crisis. The following is an excerpt from…
Read More
All-Star-All-Sprout Salad
Without a greenhouse or expensive equipment, it’s hard to imagine a reality in which you can have fresh and local greens every day. Sprouts, however, are easy to cultivate, mature very quickly, and really pack a nutritional punch. The best part is, you can use them for some great recipes! The following is an excerpt…
Read More
Planet Coronavirus: Survival, Resistance and Regeneration
“There are times in history when sudden events—natural disasters, economic collapses, pandemics like Coronavirus, wars, famines—change everything. They change politics, they change economics and they change public opinion in drastic ways. By Ronnie Cummins, author of Grassroots Rising: A Call to Action on Climate, Farming, Food, and a Green New Deal, and originally appeared on…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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,…
Read More
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,…
Read More
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…
Read More
No Garden? No Problem! Grow Your Own Salad Indoors
Think you need a vast outdoor garden in order to enjoy fresh produce? Think again!
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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.…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More