Chelsea Green Blog
Community Resilience
8 Must-Read Books for Your 2019 Reading List
Are you new to the Chelsea Green community and aren’t sure which book to read first? Or maybe you’re a long-time fan and want to continue your binge-reading but need some fresh ideas. Regardless of how you got here, we can help! From the enlightening and thought-provoking to the quirky and fun, we, the Chelsea…
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Car Survival Tips for Severe Winter Weather
Now that temperatures have started to dip below freezing, and most folks living in colder climates have witnessed their first snowfall of the season, it’s time to get serious about winter preparedness. Especially when it comes to driving! The following is an excerpt from When Disaster Strikes by Matthew Stein. It has been adapted for the…
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Making Massive Small Change
For generations, we’ve worked collectively as a society to build our cities into vibrant communities where we can progress and flourish together. Over the years, however, we’ve lost the art of collective and community evolution as our governments step in with their big ideas for urban growth – many of which come at a steep…
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Resiliency: Becoming an Adaptive Human
They say history is bound to repeat itself if we don’t take the time to learn from the past. Our decision-making skills are essential for survival but, for some, it’s difficult to connect the dots between the cause and effect of said decisions. However, in this day and age, it’s important to recognize our strengths,…
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How The Great Migration Led to Urban Farming
For centuries, humans have been migrating in search of better land, opportunities, and quality of life. For some, those migrations were voluntary while others were forced to move due to far more sinister circumstances. The Great Migration is one such case. During the 1900’s through 1970, over six million black people left the rural south…
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Prepping 101: Everything You Need for a Grab-n-Go Survival Kit
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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A 15-Point Urban Food Manifesto
What if farms and food production were integrated into every aspect of urban living—from special assessments to create new farms and food businesses to teaching people how to grow fruits and vegetables so farmers can focus on staple crops. Urban farming is a story of recovery, of land and food, of people, and of the…
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Lessons in Resilience: How to Plan a Successful Farm Business
Humans are extremely resilient beings. We have the capability to create wondrous things out of seemingly nothing and continuously reinvent ourselves. However, when the world is against us, it may seem impossible to accomplish our goals. Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, wanted nothing more than to be able to provide nourishing food for…
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How to Make Your Own Mulch With Fallen Leaves
As the last of the leaves fall from the trees, the time has come for countless hours of raking and hauling before the first snowflake falls. While this may be a nuisance for some, for Will Bonsall, this time of year is his “mulching bonanza.” Though the conventional wisdom about tree leaves is that they…
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The 20 Rules of Slow Democracy
As millions of people head to the polls today to cast their vote, we got to thinking about the idea of democracy and how we need it now more than ever before. But what does democracy look like now and do we need to rethink it? Reconnecting with the sources of decisions that affect us,…
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A Cluckin’ Good Time: Why Chickens Rule the Roost
If you’ve ever wondered what your life is missing, the answer is probably chickens. These feathery friends can help fertilize your soil, mow your lawn, and even lay the eggs you eat for breakfast. What could be better than that? To celebrate our favorite member of the poultry flock we’ve rounded up some wisdom and…
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DIY: Make a Self-Watering Planter
Whether you live in a four-season climate or a small apartment in the city, fresh food at your fingertips is easier than you think! Just follow the directions for this self-watering growing container and you’ll have an abundance of produce in no time. The following is an excerpt from Fresh Food From Small Spaces: The…
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How to End a Food Apartheid
Apartheid ended in 1994, right? Not according to Leah Penniman, a young, black farmer living in the South End of Albany, NY where a modern day apartheid is taking place. At the root of this issue? Food. Or better said, the lack of access to affordable, healthy food options in Black communities across the country…
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How to Cheat In an Argument: A Beginner’s Guide
Manners. We were all taught them from a young age, and yet, they are oft forgotten when we find ourselves in the heat of an argument about a topic we are passionate about. Before we know it, we are mere shells of ourselves, using cutthroat tactics to win our case. Unfortunately, our momentary loss of…
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The Endless Arugula Bed
Let’s face it, buying fresh veggies in the dead of winter after growing your own all summer is a bummer. But what if we told you that you could extend your season, save time, AND save money? Ben Falk, author of The Resilient Farm and Homestead, experimented with overwintering a bed of arugula using a…
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How to Build Your Own Root Cellar for the Fall Harvest
As we ease our way into autumn, make sure you are ready to preserve your root vegetable harvest in a soundly constructed, home storage system. In the following excerpt from Four-Season Harvest, Eliot Coleman shares his expertise on building a successful root cellar. For more step-by-step projects to jumpstart your season extension plans, properly prepare…
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Easy to Make Drying Trays
Looking for a new way to enjoy your harvest well into the winter months? If you said, yes, then this one’s for you! By following this simple tutorial, you can expand the lifespan of fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, and even herbs. It’s not only easy, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive — it also means you can enjoy…
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Skills: The Gateway to True Homesteading Freedom
As we continue our homesteading focus this month, we wanted to touch on some of the important skills a homesteader needs to use on any given day. Some are learned while others are passed down from homesteader to homesteader, all are important. In this excerpt from The Nourishing Homestead, author Ben Hewitt talks about why…
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Four Ways to Preserve Your Green Bean Bounty
It’s harvest season and if you’re anything like us you’ve got green beans up the wazoo. If you’re looking for a new way to preserve the bounty for the winter months, these four salt-based techniques should help. Here’s to months of delicious green beans ahead! The following is an excerpt from Preserving Food Without Freezing…
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Celebrate Homesteading Month with Chelsea Green
It’s September, which means it’s time to celebrate homesteading! That’s right, September is International Homesteading Education Month, and throughout the month we’ll be publishing some of our favorite homesteading tips, techniques, recipes, and more. We’ll be featuring some of our favorite homesteading authors including Ben and Penny Hewitt, Beth and Shawn Dougherty, and Carole Deppe. We’ll…
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Tutorial: How to Make Your Own Hatchet
When it comes to planning your next DIY project, it’s not likely that you think to yourself, “Gee, I think I’d like to make myself a hatchet today.” But, if you do, today’s your lucky day! With some scrap steel, a hacksaw, a file, a drill, a bonfire, a bucket of water, and an oven…
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DIY Weekend: Build a Wood-Fired Oven at Home
Do you have a love affair with wood-fired pizza? Can’t resist a fresh from the oven loaf of bread? Are always looking for another DIY project? If you said yes, then one’s for you! Richard Miscovich, bread expert and wood-fired oven builder, offers a few useful tips and general masonry guidelines to help you get…
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Recipe: Summer Herb Flower Vinegar
Olivia’s mom, Lola, is famous for her potato salad that seems so simple, but has a certain je ne sais quoi—the secret ingredient: chive-flower-infused vinegar. She recalls, “As a child I was enchanted by the apothecary bottles lined up on our kitchen shelves, stuffed with purple pompoms—I just knew there was magic happening inside.” By…
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Community Food Forests in Action
Alright. We’ve covered the basics of what a community food forest is, how to plan one, and which approach is best. Now it’s time to see some in action! Keep reading to learn more about some of the pioneers of the food forest movement. The following excerpt is from The Community Food Forest Handbook by Catherine Bukowski…
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Planning a Community Food Forest
As Benjamin Franklin stated, “By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.” A good community food forest will always require robust planning but don’t let that scare you! By breaking down the work into the following five project management phases, you not only establish an initial plan you’ve also developed a dynamic system to allow…
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