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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.
Composting: Breaking Down the Core Principles
Composting is about more than just flinging your food scraps into a heap in your backyard. It’s about figuring out a way to give your unwanted food a new purpose while also helping the environment. And the best part is, the fundamental building blocks of composting systems are the same regardless of scale. The following…
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Hydroponic Versus Soil Growing: Which Should You Choose
You probably learned when you were young that plants need soil to get the essential nutrients needed to grow. However, there is another way you can give your plants what they need to flourish. A hydroponic system uses water-based fertilizer as opposed to soil fertilizer. This practice is relatively new to farmers, though it is…
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Types of Tomatoes: Deciphering the Many Varieties
If you love tomatoes, you probably already know just how many varieties of these delicious summertime staples there are. But do you know what makes each one unique? Or how to cultivate them depending on your growing environment? No? Well then sit back and enjoy the read! The following is an excerpt from The Greenhouse…
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Hunger Moon-Inspired Recipe: Roasted Root Vegetables
If you love to cook with fresh produce but happen to live in a climate where it’s nearly impossible to access during the winter months, we feel ya! Here in the northeast, chilling winds and heaps of snow make it hard to leave the house, let alone grow fresh produce, but that doesn’t mean we…
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How to Use Climate Maps to Navigate the Winter Harvest
Continuing to grow your crops and harvest them well into the winter months seems like an impossible task. How can they grow when weather conditions are far from warm sunny days? It’s all about adapting to what the season gives you. With the proper techniques and studying the patterns of your area’s climate, growing and…
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Four Books for Growing Food in Winter
Don’t let cold weather stop you from enjoying and growing food! For many, the coming of winter simply means cultivation moves indoors or under cover. Small farmers, homesteaders, home gardeners, and commercial growers can extend the growing season by following just a few of the techniques outlined in the books below. And, there’s no need…
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In Remembrance: Matthew Stein
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Matthew Stein, author, environmentalist, MIT-educated engineer, green builder, and beloved member of the Chelsea Green family. Matthew died on December 19, 2018, while out in nature pursuing one of his many passions, rock climbing. In 2000 Matthew published his first book with Chelsea Green,…
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Healthy Culture, Society and Mother Earth: Agri-Culture
In Call of the Reed Warbler, Charles Massy’s stunning observations of interaction between nature, culture, and society is nothing short of eye opening. “By arrogantly having placed ourselves outside the functional operating parameters of Earth’s systems, we now see nature and the Earth as separate from us and so just available for use – while all the…
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What is Massive Small?
It’s more than an oxymoron. Massive Small is a framework for urban development that can make cities more sustainable and resilient. But how does it work and does it make sense for the future? The following excerpt is from Making Massive Small Change by Kelvin Campbell. It has been adapted for the web. The Massive Small…
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Build Your Own Cold Frame, Part 2: Get a Jump on the Planting Season
The design of the cold box is the most important thing to keep in mind if you want it to be an effective tool for growing crops in the winter. Though it may seem like a complex task making a structure to shield against the winter chill, it’s a lot easier than you think. You…
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An Interview With Eliot Coleman: The Original Organic Pioneer
With over fifty years’ experience in agriculture and a penchant for inventing new tools and techniques, Eliot Coleman has solidly established himself as an organic farming pioneer. He has authored several books on his practices, including The Four-Season Harvest, The Winter Harvest Handbook, and his magnum opus, The New Organic Grower, which will celebrate its…
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Chelsea Green Publishing: A Year In Review
It’s been quite the year here at Chelsea Green! We opened our first international office in London, England, launched a brand new website, published a ton of amazing books, welcomed new Grasshoppers to the team, and so much more! Grab a cuppa, settle in, and join us as we look back on what a great…
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Modern Diseases and the Rise of the Allopathic Model
Chronic and degenerative illnesses are largely new to mankind. In fact, diseases such as cancer, diabetes, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis have been termed modern or man-made diseases because they were relatively rare until three hundred years or so ago. But if these diseases are relatively new, why are so many people plagued with chronic illness?…
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The World Needs Books: Notes from an Editor
I’ve worked as an editor for 35 years—my entire adult life. In that time I have seen many changes in the publishing industry: faster computers, better software, and greater production from fewer and fewer actual workers. We could debate just how positive all this increased “efficiency” has been for publishing and for manufacturing as a…
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Chelsea Green Authors in the News: Extra, Extra, Read All About It!
One of the most rewarding parts of our job is working with an amazing roster of authors who are not only leaders in their fields but also passionate about spreading their knowledge to the world. So, when those authors are featured in the news talking about their books, sharing wisdom and insight, and getting people…
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Our History: A Look at Oil, Power, and War
For centuries, humans have had a very strong interest in oil and it’s only getting more intense. Our dependency is reaching a concerning level which Matthieu Auzanneau speaks to in his book Oil, Power, and War. The following article was written by Frank Kaminski and was published on Resilience.org. In Oil, Power, and War, French…
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An Update on Passive Solar Living from James Kachadorian
Not only are Chelsea Green authors experts in their fields, from organic farming to solar living to green building, but they’re also part of our extended family. So it’s always nice when we get an update on how things are going! The following note is from James Kachadorian, author of The Passive Solar House. To…
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Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
Authors Sy Montgomery and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas discuss Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind—a “most delectable potpourri of tales about a whole host of nonhuman animals”—with writer and friend Marc Bekoff. Q: Why did you write Tamed and Untamed ? Liz: Tamed and Untamed is a collection of columns we wrote for…
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Finding Balance for Your Body: Connecting the Dots
In recent years the concept of bioregulatory medicine has become increasingly popular throughout Europe. At its core is the notion that good health is a state of balance and optimal wellbeing, rather than the mere absence of disease and symptoms. To find that perfect state, bioregulatory medicine practitioners must remove whatever agents are blocking the healing process…
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How The Great Migration Led to Urban Farming
For centuries, humans have been migrating in search of better land, opportunities, and quality of life. For some, those migrations were voluntary while others were forced to move due to far more sinister circumstances. The Great Migration is one such case. During the 1900’s through 1970, over six million black people left the rural south…
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Thanksgiving Traditions, Memories, and Celebrations
The holiday season is a time for family, food, friends, celebrations, and reminiscing about beloved traditions. To get in the spirit, we’ve asked a few members of our CGP family to share some of their favorite holiday moments. Maybe they’ll spark nostalgia or perhaps give you new ideas to try, either way, we wish everyone…
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Fat is NOT the Enemy: What You Think Could Harm Your Health
For decades, we’ve been told that fat is the enemy, that it is harmful to our health and well-being. But the reality is, fat, or certain types of fat, when incorporated correctly into our diets, can actually have powerful health benefits. Take it from Domini Kemp, who for years avoided fat but loaded up on…
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Everything You Need for a Grab-n-Go Survival Kit: Prepping 101
We know a lot of people are wondering what’s coming next in the US, as well as the world, given terrorism, politics, and global warming, among other threats. Given the uncertainty, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared at all times. This 72-hour survival kit will help with any initial emergencies and includes medicine, water cleaning…
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A 15-Point Urban Food Manifesto
What if farms and food production were integrated into every aspect of urban living—from special assessments to create new farms and food businesses to teaching people how to grow fruits and vegetables so farmers can focus on staple crops. Urban farming is a story of recovery, of land and food, of people, and of the…
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Lessons in Resilience: How to Plan a Successful Farm Business
Humans specialize in resilience. We have the capability to create wondrous things out of seemingly nothing and continuously reinvent ourselves. However, when the world is against us, it may seem impossible to accomplish our goals. Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, wanted nothing more than to be able to provide nourishing food for her…
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