Chelsea Green

person picking own food

5 Reasons You Should Pick-Your-Own This Summer

By Chelsea Green / July 5, 2019 / Comments Off on 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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variety of meat on a grill

Reaching Grill Greatness: The Best Meat Temperatures

By Chelsea Green / July 1, 2019 / Comments Off on Reaching Grill Greatness: The Best Meat Temperatures

Have plans to fire up the grill this summer? Want to impress everyone with your grilling skills? Take some advice from the gourmet butcher himself!

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potted flowers in a field

Becoming a Flower Farmer

By Chelsea Green / June 24, 2019 / Comments Off on 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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gardener in backyard

Building Your Backyard Permaculture Paradise

By Chelsea Green / May 31, 2019 / Comments Off on Building Your Backyard Permaculture Paradise

The award-winning Paradise Lot takes a behind-the-scenes look at how two plant geeks transformed a desolate urban backyard into a permaculture paradise. At the same time, the pair were hoping to each find their own Eve for this special garden adventure. They succeeded on both fronts–creating an urban, food-producing oasis on a tenth of an acre, and…

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The line of hazels behind Philip are all half sibs from one female parent.

Hybrid Hazelnuts – A New Resilient Crop for a Changing Climate

By Chelsea Green / May 24, 2019 / Comments Off on Hybrid Hazelnuts – A New Resilient Crop for a Changing Climate

In the face of global threats like climate instability, food insecurity, and water pollution, scientists are looking to how we use our agricultural land for solutions. One such group of scientist-farmers in Minnesota have collectively spent nearly three decades developing what could be the new ecological crop of the future: hybrid hazelnuts. The following is an…

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This avian pest control expert deserves a rest after a long day of helping in my gardens.

Plants & Pests: Will Bonsall’s Advice on “Wee Beasties”

By Chelsea Green / May 22, 2019 / Comments Off on Plants & Pests: Will Bonsall’s Advice on “Wee Beasties”

  In his book, Bonsall maintains that to achieve real wealth we first need to understand the economy of the land, to realize that things that might make sense economically don’t always make sense ecologically, and vice versa. The marketplace distorts our values, and our modern dependence on petroleum in particular presents a serious barrier…

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biochar

How to Make Biochar

By Chelsea Green / April 30, 2019 / Comments Off on How to Make Biochar

For something that looks like a lump of charcoal, biochar certainly has a great press agent. The subject of books, articles, blog posts, research papers, workshop presentations, conference talks, and various top-ten-ideas-that-will-change-the-world lists. Its potential ability to address a variety of global challenges is indisputably large. So, how exactly do you make this strange material?…

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polar bear on ice in water

Depressed about Climate Change? Here’s How to Take Action

By Chelsea Green / April 26, 2019 / Comments Off on Depressed about Climate Change? Here’s How to Take Action

The facts about climate change are settled. Mostly. In fact, the news seems to get worse, and more urgent, every day. Yet, the more the facts stack up, the less resolve many people seem to have about getting behind solutions that will stem, or turn, the tide. What gives? Economist and psychologist Per Espen Stoknes…

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bootprint

Creating a Better Earth & Future: Overshoot & Collapse

By Chelsea Green / April 17, 2019 / Comments Off on Creating a Better Earth & Future: Overshoot & Collapse

The environment can only take so much gas emission, over farming, and plastic. What can you do to minimize your human footprint and take care of the earth? Start by looking around you. The following is an excerpt from 2052 by Jorgen Randers. It has been adapted for the web. It is important to know…

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droplets on spiderweb and plant

The Miracle of Farming: Toward a Bio-Abundant Future

By Chelsea Green / April 15, 2019 / Comments Off on The Miracle of Farming: Toward a Bio-Abundant Future

Farmers have a close relationship with nature, seeing life cycles happen right in front of their eyes marvel in what the earth can produce. We wouldn’t survive without their help. Appreciating farming in the natural world, giving what it needs in order to flourish and providing the essentials to survive is an important process. There’s…

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Patricia Daly

The Ketogenic Diet, Cancer, Nutrition, and the Mind-Body Link

By Chelsea Green / March 14, 2019 / Comments Off on The Ketogenic Diet, Cancer, Nutrition, and the Mind-Body Link

For decades, the ketogenic diet—which shifts the body’s metabolism from burning glucose to burning fat, lowering blood sugar and insulin and resulting in a metabolic state known as ketosis—has been used to successfully manage pediatric epilepsy. And now, emerging research suggests that a ketogenic diet, in conjunction with conventional treatments, offers new hope for those…

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Bowl of soup with mushrooms and herbs on a table

Be Good to Your Gut: Nourishing Food for Better Health

By Chelsea Green / March 1, 2019 / Comments Off on Be Good to Your Gut: Nourishing Food for Better Health

What do illnesses like autism, ADHD, asthma, celiac disease, allergies, and depression have in common? Simple: They can all be linked to the microorganisms present in the gut.  That’s according to the pioneering British MD, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride who has found that these afflictions, as well as a long list of others, are linked—a concept…

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teenage farmers sitting in the field

Young Farmers: Back to the Land and Down to Business

By Chelsea Green / February 15, 2019 / Comments Off on Young Farmers: Back to the Land and Down to Business

If you haven’t been working on a farm since childhood or weren’t lucky enough to inherit one from your family, it can be difficult to build one from the ground up. Farming takes more planning and thinking than meets the eye, but it’s not impossible. We’ve got aspiring young farmers covered with how to proceed…

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fermentation bottles

Winter in the Forest Beer: Creating Unique Drinks from Nature’s Ingredients

By Chelsea Green / February 1, 2019 / Comments Off on Winter in the Forest Beer: Creating Unique Drinks from Nature’s Ingredients

The art of brewing can explore far beyond the usual ingredients into a vast and luminous galaxy of wild and cultivated fruits, berries, grains, and herbs, which once provided a variety of fermented drinks as broad as the world. Now fermentation fans and home brewers can rediscover these “primitive” drinks and their unique flavors in, the…

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Carrots, Turnips, Parsnips, and other Root Veggies

Hunger Moon-Inspired Recipe: Roasted Root Vegetables

By Chelsea Green / January 14, 2019 / Comments Off on 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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Sprouts Growing in a Greenhouse

Four Books for Growing Food in Winter

By Chelsea Green / January 8, 2019 / Comments Off on 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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survival kit

Everything You Need for a Grab-n-Go Survival Kit: Prepping 101

By Chelsea Green / July 20, 2018 / Comments Off on 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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Extracting Cannabis into Oil or Butter

By Chelsea Green / January 30, 2018 / Comments Off on Extracting Cannabis into Oil or Butter

Keep reading for a tried and true process for making cannabis oils and butters. These can be put in almost any food or drink, though you will want to carefully test your creation out to determine proper dosage. The following is an excerpt from The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America’s Underground Food Movements…

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thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving Traditions, Memories, and Celebrations

By Chelsea Green / January 22, 2018 / Comments Off on 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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measuring waist

Fat is NOT the Enemy: What You Think Could Harm Your Health

By Chelsea Green / January 21, 2018 / Comments Off on 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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seeds growing

3 Steps to Start Your Plants Off Right

By Chelsea Green / January 20, 2018 / Comments Off on 3 Steps to Start Your Plants Off Right

How you handle your seeds and your practices around seeding is your first chance to get your plants off to a good start and help them achieve their full potential. Ben and Penny Hewitt, authors of The Nourishing Homestead, have developed a three-step process which starts with inoculating the seeds, then sowing them in high-quality…

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syrup gradients

Pass the Walnut Syrup?

By Chelsea Green / January 20, 2018 / Comments Off on Pass the Walnut Syrup?

Everyone knows and loves maple syrup, and in some states (like Chelsea Green’s home state of Vermont), it’s big business. However, it’s a widespread myth that maples are the only trees that can be tapped to produce sap, according to Michael Farrell, sugarmaker and director of Cornell University’s Uihlein Forest. Sap can also be collected…

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soil

Care of the Soil

By Chelsea Green / January 20, 2018 / Comments Off on Care of the Soil

Caring for the soil is the farmer’s number one task; if the soil is healthy, the crops will look after themselves. As the average age of America’s farmers continues to rise, we face serious questions about what farming will look like in the near future, and who will be growing our food. Many younger people…

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newspaper with the word cancer

The Ketogenic Diet for Cancer: Five Reasons to Consider It

By Chelsea Green / January 20, 2018 / Comments Off on The Ketogenic Diet for Cancer: Five Reasons to Consider It

The concept of food as medicine is nothing new. What’s different now is that cancer research has given us a deeper appreciation of the changes that drive cancer at the cellular level. Evidence supporting the benefits of ketogenic diet therapies continues to mount, there is little to guide those who wish to adopt this diet…

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medlar cream cake

Medlar Cream Cake: so simple yet so good

By Chelsea Green / January 17, 2018 / Comments Off on Medlar Cream Cake: so simple yet so good

If you’re looking for a simple cake to serve guests, try this medlar cream cake. What’s a medlar? The fruit of the medlar tree, Mespilus germanica, tastes like lightly spiced apple butter scooped soft right out of the russeted skin. The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center in California has a small but significant collection of…

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