DIG IN
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.
Sweet Fermentation: Strawberry Kvass
Fresh fruit is a great source of nutrients and flavor, especially when it’s berry season–specifically strawberry season. Take this sweet fruit and make it bubbly with this recipe for strawberry kvass. Let the natural sugars do most of the work for you (besides the essential stirring, of course), and enjoy this refreshing drink. The following…
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The Sports Revolution: The New Science of Athletic Performance
“Peak is a masterpiece of nutritional science from one of the world’s leading authorities on athletic health and performance. It’s a fantastic resource that provides a road map to reaching true wellness.” —Dr. Rocco Monto Dr. Marc Bubbs, ND, CISSN, CSCS, is the Director of Nutrition for the Canadian men’s national basketball team, a speaker,…
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Vanilla Strawberry Beet Smoothie
Eating healthy doesn’t always taste the best, but combining your favorite treats with nutritious foods is the perfect balance! Though strawberries and beets may not seem like a good mix, combined with vanilla and cinnamon, they create a smoothie that’s not only healthy, but tastes delicious as well. The following is an excerpt from The…
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The Tick-Born Epidemic
Summer is a time for taking hikes, walks, going camping, or sitting under a tree enjoying the outdoors. You might think that your biggest enemy is the sun, but there’s another one crawling around–ticks. These parasites can infect you and cause a wide variety of symptoms that interfere with how you live your life, and…
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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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Make Your Own Kombucha: The Tea Beast Lives
Kombucha. The tea beast. The new and trendy health drink. The combination black tea and bacteria ball that is known to cure ailments, heal emotional wounds, and impress houseguests who happen upon it by accident when looking for the dog treats. What’s better than drinking this wonderful tea? Making your own. The following is an…
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The Apple: America’s Fruit
Did you know that the apple traveled to North America the same way the Pilgrims did in the 1600s? Though apple trees are abundant all across the country, they aren’t native to these lands. Apples have a fascinating and complex history that lead them to become an American symbol. The following is an excerpt from…
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Okra Recipe: Fabulous Fries
Ever think about eating fries that aren’t made out of potatoes? Why not try okra fries! These easy to make and fun to eat treats are the perfect side to your meal, or you might be tempted to have a whole bowl full. Author Chris Smith pulls this fabulous recipe from Chef Viviane Howard. The…
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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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Treating Hyperthyroidism: Natural Herbal Formulas
Your thyroid is responsible for controlling many of your body’s functions including metabolism, temperature, and controls some hormones. Hyperthyroidism occurs when your thyroid overproduces hormones, which can lead to a variety of diseases including Graves’ disease. Though there are many different medications to relieve the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, there are also more natural options that…
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Tips for the Square-Inch Gardener: Vertical Gardening
Do you dream of having your own garden but live in a city or an area with not enough space? Try vertical gardening! Take advantage of plants’ willingness to grow toward sunshine ability to grow in unusual places. There are three techniques involved in vertical gardening: terracing, trellising, and tumbling. Each is designed to maximize…
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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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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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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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A New Perspective on Our Climate
Tourism, infrastructure, electricity. What do all these have in common? They’re impacted by global warming. We like to think of global warming as ocean temperatures rising and more carbon dioxide in the air. That isn’t the whole truth. Our changing climate is at the root of many large issues, though the connection might have been…
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Making Your Own Okra Cosmetics
Okra, slime is gold! This pod-producing vegetable is a nutritional powerhouse and has been used throughout history for medicinal, culinary and cosmetics purposes. Discover the benefits of okra when eaten or use the slime from okra for glowing skin, thick shiny hair and strong nails, among others. The following is an excerpt from The Whole…
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Minerals in Your Farm’s Water
Minerals from soil and outside water sources find themselves in irrigation systems. When you water your land, these minerals infiltrate the soil and change its composition. Your plants are more impacted by their presence than meets the eye, but what exactly is the relationship? The following is an excerpt from Water in Plain Sight by…
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Getting Started Raising Pigs: Raising Piglets and Piglet Management
Groups of piglets running around a farm or homestead seems like a dream come true. When it comes to making sure each one is healthy and growing properly, it can get chaotic trying to figure out which pig is which. Using identification strategies to keep them organized is not only in your best interest but…
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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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Tea for Diabetes and Obesity: Herbal Formulas for Metabolic Conditions
Unhealthy diets, poor exercise habits, and environmental factors have led to a rise in metabolic conditions in the younger generations–a trend that is only increasing. Some of the food we eat contains high amounts of sugars with low nutrition, and when consumed over a long period of time, can be very harmful to your health,…
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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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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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