Chelsea Green Blog
Farming & Homesteading
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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How We’re Helping to Close the Food Waste Loop
By Jill Kiedaisch, Content and Brand Manager In July 2020, Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law will go into effect. It calls for a full ban on food waste scraps being sent to Vermont landfills. This is the final step transitioning food wastes out of the waste stream—a changeover that began in 2014. In light of this…
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Staying Warm with Rabbit Wool
If you’ve ever received a hand-knit sweater, you’re probably thinking you have a sheep to thank for that warm wool. However, you may actually owe your gratitude to a rabbit. Humans have been using their fur for wool for hundreds of years, creating a booming fur trade. Each rabbit has a different textured coat that…
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Our Top Blog Articles of 2019: A Look Back
Ah, 2019 – how the time flies! The end of the year is always a little bit nostalgic, and as the year comes to an end, we’re taking stock of what our community has found most useful. If there’s one thing (or two) we know about our readers, it’s that they love growing food and…
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Soil to Soil: Our Environmental Impact
When you think of the impact you have on the environment, your first thought may be the waste you produce or the emissions from your car; but have you ever taken a step back and thought about the clothes you wear? A lot of the clothing produced in today’s society is just as harmful to…
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The Importance of Carbon Farming
To get a sense of how carbon farming could positively affect global warming, imagine ten ranches, approximately three-hundred acres each, implementing carbon farming and achieving a conservative per acreage carbon sequestration rate. At this scale, the net gains of CO2 removed from the atmosphere (over 20 years) is equal to the emissions that 25,532 passenger…
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Getting Wild: Take A Walk on the Wild Side
John and Nancy Hayden have spent the last quarter century transforming their organic vegetable and livestock operation into an agroecological, regenerative fruit farm, nursery, and pollinator sanctuary. They call it The Farm Between, and as we walk among the diverse medley of wildly burgeoning shrubs and trees, it becomes clear that the name is much…
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The Cost of Our Clothes
Clothes cost more than the number on the price tag. Some clothes contain toxic ingredients that are harmful to manufacturers, consumers, and the environment. The textile industry produces billions of products annually which are often worn few times then discarded improperly, resulting in massive amounts of resource wasting. The following is an excerpt from Fibershed…
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The Future of Sustainable Fashion: A “Farm-to-Closet” Vision
Rebecca Burgess has coined a new term for sustainable fashion that represents a not so new idea: fibershed. Centuries before the advent of fast fashion and the multimillion-dollar fashion industry, functional fibersheds were everywhere. As a means of protection, spiritual identity, gender, adornment, societal rank, personal style, and modesty, people sourced their fibers from the…
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Choosing the Best Heat Source for Your Greenhouse
When it comes to heating your greenhouse, the options may seem endless and expensive. Fear not! Growing your own food in the cold weather doesn’t have to break the bank. The best solution differs from farm to farm; it depends on the climate, crops grown, and the greenhouse structure itself. Harness the advancements in greenhouse…
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A Search for Rural Justice
Charles D. Thompson, Jr., is the Professor of the Practice of Cultural Anthropology and Documentary Studies at Duke University. His numerous books and documentaries have helped bring underrepresented rural issues in the United States and Latin America to the forefront. When Chelsea Green sat down with him to discuss his latest book, Going Over Home:…
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Back-to-the-Land Dreams
These days, becoming a farmer isn’t considered a “typical” career path. But for some folks, the allure of cultivating your food and owning your land seems too good to resist. These people were born to return to nature, where they can experience true freedom in the open air. The following is an excerpt from Going…
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Happy Pigs Really Do Taste Better
For ten years Alice Percy operated a commercial hog operation on her farm in Whitefield, Maine, becoming the largest certified hog producer in the state. Percy has mentored hog farming startups through the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), and helped to develop the association’s Raising Organic Pigs fact sheet. She has presented workshops…
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Why Isn’t Farming Enough?
Years ago family farms were an abundance. Generations of farmers passed the land down in hopes of it continuing to prosper. However, these farms are a rarity; smaller ones are put out of business by large corporations and the cost of maintenance yields no profit. Many farmers have to find other means of making a…
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Resilience and the Lost Art of Agricultural Inventiveness
After twenty years in academia, Michael Foley began farming first in southern Maryland, and then in Willits, California, where he, his wife, and oldest daughter currently operate the small, diversified Green Uprising Farm. Foley is cofounder of the School of Adaptive Agriculture, a farmer training and education program where he is a board member and…
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The Insatiable Call of Composting
James McSweeney is a composting consultant and educator who has been an ardent proponent and collaborator in the community composting movement in the United States. Through his work at the Highfields Center for Composting and current consultancy, Compost Technical Services, James has worked with hundreds of composters, large and small, on everything from site planning,…
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Rethinking Pests, Invasive Species, and Other Paradigms
At the first sight of small chew marks on leaves or fruit mysteriously disappearing, you’ll want to get rid of the pest to protect your crop. Your first instinct might be to use pesticides or other forms of extermination. You can save yourself and your crops from using harmful methods by preparing and managing your…
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A Bid for the Sky
Your land is only as productive as you allow it to be, and believe it or not, it does know when you spend time appreciating what it has to offer. You might find yourself zoning out while you walk around your property or do daily chores, thinking about nature and your relationship with it. Taking…
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Lessons From An Unusual Christmas Tree Farm: Resourcefulness and Craft
Emmet Van Driesche and his wife, Cecilia, operate the Pieropan Christmas Tree Farm in Western Massachusetts. When he’s not working on the tree farm or editing scientific manuscripts, he spends his time carving wooden spoons and teaching others to do the same. You can learn more about him at www.emmetvandriesche.com. The following is an interview…
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A Guide to Okra: Ok-RAH-RAH-RAH!
Expert okra enthusiast Chris Smith writes regularly for The Heirloom Gardener, the Mother Earth News blog, and the Farmers’ Almanac blog. His presentations on the versatility of okra have delighted audiences at food and farming festivals and fairs throughout the Southeast. He is the Communications Manager for Sow True Seed in Asheville, North Carolina, and…
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How to Design Swales for Optimum Water Flow
Swales are small earthen embankments used to irrigate trees, plants, and pastures. They also capture runoff to help protect soil and plants from excessive rainfall that might otherwise cause flooding and erosion. In the below Q&A, author and permaculture designer, Shawn Jadrnicek, answers questions about assessing your land, building swales near your home, and logistics…
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Feeding Your Pigs: Tips and Techniques
Feeding your animals is a daily and time-consuming activity on a farm. You need to take into consideration the types of animals and their individual needs, along with general best practices. This can seem like a big task to take on, but let’s start with feeding the pigs first! The following is an excerpt from…
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5 Reasons You Should Pick-Your-Own This Summer
Summer is here, and the days of fresh vegetables and local harvests are near. But this doesn’t mean only those with farms and gardens should feel the amazingness of picking their own crops. You may recall a moment last year when your friend asked, “Are those your blueberries?” when you brought pie to the potluck.…
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Site Repair: Using the Land’s History
Buying a new property is exciting. You might have hundreds of ideas running through your head about where you want to put buildings or clear away trees or start planting. Immediately starting these projects may not be in your farm’s best interest, though, and can drastically impact the landscape. Often, features like meadows or ponds…
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Becoming a Flower Farmer
Springtime is in full bloom, and along with the warm sun, fragrant blossoms, and promise of a long, fun summer often comes the edgy restlessness of spring fever. If you’re considering a drastic career change–ditching those stocks and bonds you sell all day for stalks and petals instead, we have some tips to get your…
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