Chelsea Green Blog
Community Resilience
Good Grazing Makes for Healthy Pastures, People, and Planet
In her book, The Art of Science and Grazing, nationally known grazing consultant Sarah Flack identifies the key principles and practices necessary for farmers to design, and manage, successful grazing systems. This book is an essential guide for ruminant farmers who want to crate grazing systems that meet the needs of their livestock, pasture plants,…
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Abundant Kudzu: Uncovering the Many Uses
This long-lived perennial legume is used for forage and erosion control. Kudzu is edible with many medicinal uses and other applications. Pollinators of all kinds love its prodigious lavender blooms!
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Why Modern Wheat Is Making Us Sick
Why is modern wheat making us sick? That’s the question posed by author Eli Rogosa in Restoring Heritage Grains. Wheat is the most widely grown crop on our planet, yet industrial breeders have transformed this ancient staff of life into a commodity of yield and profit—witness the increase in gluten intolerance and ‘wheat belly’. Modern…
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Growing Shiitake Mushrooms in a Garage or Yard
Learn how to grow shiitake mushrooms in almost any environment, including your yard and even your garage!
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The Endless Arugula Bed
What if we told you that there was a way to extend your growing season and save time & money? The answer is all in arugula. With quick hoops and greenhouse film, you’ll be on your way to harvesting sweet & flavorful arugula in no time. The following excerpt is from The Resilient Farm and…
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Brew Outside the Box: Making Mushroom-Infused Beer
For the adventurous brewer infusing mushrooms into brews is a great way to combine the medicinal benefits of fungi with one of the world’s most consumed drinks.
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Are you Team Duck or Team Chicken?
Thinking about adding a laying flock to your backyard, but having trouble deciding between ducks and chickens? Agonize no more. Ducks are easy to herd, have routine egg laying hours, and are superior to chickens in terms of pest control. Chickens are more readily available, usually cheaper to purchase, and are a better confinement animal,…
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From Seed to Table: Buckwheat Pancakes
According to a column in Agricultural Research from September 1974, “buckwheat has an amino acid composition nutritionally superior to all cereals, including oats,” due to its high content of lysine. Not only that, but hearty buckwheat pancakes are just as tasty, if not tastier, than those made from wheat. So what are you waiting for?…
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Using The Miyawaki Method: A Forest in the Desert
Growing a forest on barren, dry land calls for an innovative approach. This approach, known as the Miyawaki Method, transforms infertile land into a biodiverse oasis! The following is an excerpt from Mini-Forest Revolution by Hannah Lewis. It has been adapted for the web. Photo Courtesy of Gaurav Gurjar History of the Miyawaki Method When Afforestt’s Gaurav…
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Better Butter: Blossom Butter and Herb Garden Butter
Herb butter is a fantastic trick to have up your culinary sleeve! These two recipes offer simple ways to use edible flowers and herbs that you can pick right in your backyard. If you’ve never made herb butter, you’re in for a treat. These recipes are from The Occidental Arts and Ecology Cookbook, by The…
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The Miyawaki Method: Imagining a Mini-Forest’s Potential
Want to witness the magic of the mini-forest? When you practice The Miyawaki Method, a unique approach to reforestation, you’ll see an empty lot or backyard transform into a biodiverse forest before your very eyes. The following is an excerpt from Mini-Forest Revolution by Hannah Lewis. It has been adapted for the web. Photo Credit:…
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How to Plan the Best Garden Ever
When you plan out how you want your garden to look and operate, you’re setting yourself up for long-term success. Here are some helpful tips on how to plan the best garden this upcoming growing season! The following excerpt is from The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times by Carol Deppe. It has been…
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Fresh Fig Pecan Bread
This fig pecan bread is a sweet, delicious, and nutritious side that everyone around the table will enjoy this winter (or maybe you’ll want to keep it all to yourself, we won’t judge). Enjoy! The following is an excerpt from From the Wood-Fired Oven by Richard Miscovich. It has been adapted for the web. What…
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DIY: How to Make Your Own Hatchet
Ever wanted to make your own hatchet? Then today’s your lucky day! With some scrap steel, a hacksaw, a file, a drill, a bonfire, a bucket of water, and an oven, you can make this simple, hardy, “democratic” axe. The following excerpt is from A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity by William Coperthwaite. It has…
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How to Preserve Food Without Nutrient Loss
Want to get the most out of your harvest? Preserve food to keep your fruits and veggies fresh for weeks to come! Methods of food preservation like fermentation, drying, and salt-curing are very simple, don’t require fossil fuels, and promote food safety. The following is an excerpt from Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning by the…
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How to Cook the Perfect, Tender Grass-Fed Steak
Summertime is here, which means it’s officially grilling season! Whip up a delicious grass-fed steak at your next BBQ to support small-scale farmers, help protect the environment, and give your guests a meal they’re going to be talking about all summer. The following is a collection of recipes from cookbooks by Shannon Hayes, author of…
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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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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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To Garden is to be Resilient
Our gardens provide many things; food for our tables, flowers for our loved ones, even a pleasant way to spend sunny afternoons—but there’s so much more we can gain from our gardens. While we’re planting, weeding, and watering, we’re doing so much more than growing. We are building resilience, from the ground up. The following…
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When it All Comes Together: The Barn Raising
This is the moment the Barn Club has been working towards: the barn raising. As Robert J. Somerville mentions in this excerpt, in modern times the task of barn raising has been given to bigger, stronger machines. But there is something deeply fulfilling about using your own two hands, along with the hands of others,…
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The Phases of Composting
Although the stages of composting are very closely intertwined, each separate one has its own value and needs to be nurtured accordingly. The materials used go through several transformations: physical, biological, and chemical. Understanding each phase of this process is the first step in creating the best nutrients for your plants. The following is an…
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Embracing Hope And Letting Go Of Fear
We can all get caught up in our own heads sometimes; fall down rabbit holes of fear and find ourselves stuck in situations we don’t want to be in. This can be especially true when it comes to climate change. Often, our resistance to change is a response to our fears of the future. But…
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A Letter from a Reader: Why We Do What We Do
From the beginning, our readers have always been our compass—providing inspiration and direction. Occasionally stories of how our books have made a difference in the lives of our readers make it back to us—be it through customer service phone calls, social media, email—and we’re always thrilled to hear them. We recently received such a letter…
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Who Are We as Farmers?
Recently, farmers have been making the headlines because of the hardships they’re facing to sustain their farms. With larger, corporate farms running smaller, privately-owned farms out of business, it seems like many farmers are fighting an uphill battle. But, despite the small amount of money, long hours, and constant threats from the “big guys” farmers…
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