Chelsea Green Blog
Farming & Homesteading
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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.…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
Raising Piglets on Your Farm: Piglet Management
Groups of piglets running around a farm 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 the best interest of the farmer,…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
Your Starting Place as a Farmer
We don’t often think about how, long ago, the towering and strong trees we see around us in communities and the rows of Christmas trees on farms began as tiny seeds. Much less often, do we think about the people who dedicate their lives to planting and caring for these tress. The first important step…
Read More
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…
Read More
The Epic Saga of the American Chestnut
The American chestnut may well be the greatest and most useful forest tree to ever grow on this Earth. Its decline is considered by many ecologists to be one of the greatest ecological disasters to strike the US since European contact. But how did it happen? And are we on track to bring back this…
Read More
African Farming Traditions: Learning the Power of Tradition
Far before the release of her book Farming While Black, Leah Penniman had been helping countless Black and Brown farmers reclaim their right to the land. For years, Leah has been educating, inspiring, and working alongside so many individuals to make sure they truly understand the customs and traditions of their African farming ancestors and help…
Read More
An Edible Urban Oasis
More than 80 percent of the US population now resides in urban areas. This number is projected to rise in the next few decades. Finding ways to maximize use of existing open space is imperative, and increasing access to food through sustainable management of edible landscaping is one important approach among many that are underway.…
Read More
Starting Farming: How to Find Success as a New Farmer
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 are interested in going into agriculture, especially organic farming, but cannot find affordable land, or lack the conceptual framework and practical…
Read More
Sustain Your Land: Subsistence Strategies for the Long Haul
Peasants, indigenous agriculturalists, and old-time American farming families farmed first and foremost to feed their own families and those in need in their communities—only secondarily, if at all, for a market. They may have practiced shifting agriculture or were settled permanently in villages; they may have been members of free, “primitive” or “tribal” societies, or…
Read More
New Age Farm Partnerships: Finding and Keeping One
Anything involving farming almost always requires the help of another person, whether you’re feeding the animals or trying to decide if you want to expand the barn. Partnerships not only help with your personal life but the success of your business in the long run as well. Having someone to share the work and ease the…
Read More
Composting with Animals: Common Applications
When you think of a typical farm, you probably think of going out to feed the animals with a bucket of scraps. This has been one of the most common ways to recycle food for many years and helps reduce your waste footprint. However, composting with the help of animals is another technique used on…
Read More
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…
Read More
Permaculture Advice For Beginners
Trying something for the first time can be intimidating, especially when it’s something as big as learning how to live off your land. But like with any new adventure you shouldn’t bite off too much at once. Instead, it’s better to take the time to properly plan and educate yourself on what it will take…
Read More
Why Farm Infrastructure is Important: A Farm is More Than Land
The basis for a good farm isn’t just about finding a piece of land with great soil. No, to truly succeed on the farm you need a well-planned and implemented infrastructure coupled with hard work, dedication, and will-power. As farming practices continue to change, it’s important for the next generation to remember that insight and…
Read More
Farmers Aren’t Created Equal: The “American Farmer” Fallacy
For those who aren’t in the know, it may seem like all farmers are created equal, but that’s simply not the case. In fact, there is such a wide variety of farmers that it’s nearly impossible to put a label on them. But that doesn’t stop organizations from trying. The following is an excerpt from…
Read More