Gretchen Kruesi

drawing of a village

Victory Over Big Ag: How a small town said “Yes!” to a pesticide-free future

By Gretchen Kruesi / May 29, 2018 / Comments Off on Victory Over Big Ag: How a small town said “Yes!” to a pesticide-free future

A Precautionary Tale shares the inspiring story of a group of citizens in Mals, Italy who fought Big Ag and won and, in doing so, became the first place on Earth to ban pesticides by a referendum vote. Their colorful, courageous, and ultimately savvy campaign is being heralded around the world as a landmark effort in…

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lemons

The wonderful world of lemons

By Gretchen Kruesi / May 24, 2018 / Comments Off on The wonderful world of lemons

We all need to give lemons some more credit because they are truly one of the most versatile fruits. Think of how many foods and drinks you can incorporate lemons into. If you live somewhere warm and sunny year round, you better get outside and start looking for some lemon trees (we recommend Meyer lemons!).…

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Kate Raworth speaking

VIDEO TED2018: A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow

By Gretchen Kruesi / May 22, 2018 / Comments Off on VIDEO TED2018: A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow

What would a sustainable, universally beneficial economy look like? “Like a doughnut,” says Oxford economist Kate Raworth. In a stellar, eye-opening TED2018 talk, Kate explains how we can move countries out of the hole — where people are falling short on life’s essentials — and create regenerative, distributive economies that work within the planet’s ecological limits. (Afterward,…

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plants growing in seeds

All Purpose Potting Soil Recipe: The Perfect Mix

By Gretchen Kruesi / May 7, 2018 / Comments Off on All Purpose Potting Soil Recipe: The Perfect Mix

Check out this easy, all-purpose recipe for potting soil! The above excerpt is from The Community-Scale Permaculture Farm by Josh Trought. It has been adapted for the web. Annual plants require an early start to bear fruit in the short growing season of New England. The planting medium, daylight length, and temperature conditions are crucial factors for…

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goats

Work Smarter, Not Harder: Goat Handling

By Gretchen Kruesi / May 3, 2018 / Comments Off on Work Smarter, Not Harder: Goat Handling

If you have goats or are considering getting goats, at some point you’ll need to move them from one grazing area to another. Goat handling can be a tricky task, as they can scare easily and high levels of stress are not good for their health or productivity. Take some advice from author and goat whisperer…

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eggs

The Ill-Founded War on Cholesterol: The “Good” and “Bad” Cholesterol Fallacy

By Gretchen Kruesi / April 26, 2018 / Comments Off on The Ill-Founded War on Cholesterol: The “Good” and “Bad” Cholesterol Fallacy

A fear of cholesterol has been ingrained in many people, starting as soon as they are old enough to read the side of a Cheerios box. As the popular understanding of cholesterol has been shaped, we have made a clear distinction between “good” and “bad” cholesterol. However, this could all be fallacy,  cholesterol provides valuable functions…

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master your diabetes

Master Your Diabetes: Understanding Carbohydrates

By Gretchen Kruesi / April 20, 2018 / Comments Off on Master Your Diabetes: Understanding Carbohydrates

The evidence is clear: We are in the midst of a worldwide diabetes epidemic. In the United States alone, one in three Americans is either diabetic (29 million patients) or prediabetic (87 million patients), costing an annual $242 billion in medical treatments. An integrative approach based on the “eight essentials” of treatment and prevention will…

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overlooking a village

How One Small Town Banned Pesticides: Freedom from Poison

By Gretchen Kruesi / April 9, 2018 / Comments Off on How One Small Town Banned Pesticides: Freedom from Poison

Years of apparent collusion between companies producing pesticides and other chemicals and regulatory agencies such as the EPA. So how did a tiny town in Northern Italy prevail against big agriculture and make their town a pesticide-free zone?

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produce

Organic No-Till: Farming like the Earth Matters

By Gretchen Kruesi / April 2, 2018 / Comments Off on Organic No-Till: Farming like the Earth Matters

If we could do one thing for the planet it would be to ditch the plough. When we turn over soil, the air and sun wreak havoc on the microbes, which is why we need chemicals to bring the fertility back. No-till creates thin furrows in the soil and drops seeds in. It’s difficult to…

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greenhouses

Sustainable Food From Local Greenhouses

By Gretchen Kruesi / March 27, 2018 / Comments Off on Sustainable Food From Local Greenhouses

The Netherlands—a country two-thirds the size of West Virginia— is ranked second in agricultural export volume behind the United States. Their secret weapon? Greenhouses and hoophouses. These protected structures allow you to control the environment, resulting in maximum resource efficiency, higher yields, and ultimately higher profits. Drawing inspiration from Dutch agricultural practices, Andrew Mefferd has…

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