Chelsea Green Blog
Farming & Homesteading
Soil Is Alive: What Lives In Our Soil?
Ever wonder what worms and centipedes are doing as they crawl through your soil? They’re actually working to improve the soil’s health, which benefits the environment and all living things in the long run. The following is an excerpt from Farming on the Wild Side by Nancy J. Hayden and John P. Hayden. It has been adapted…
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Growing Shiitake Mushrooms in a Garage or Yard
Learn how to grow shiitake mushrooms in almost any environment, including your yard and even your garage!
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How to Extend the Growing Season
Winter may be coming, but that doesn’t mean you should put away those tools just yet! Extend the growing season past the first frost with a few modifications.
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The Endless Arugula Bed
What if we told you that there was a way to extend your growing season and save time & money? The answer is all in arugula. With quick hoops and greenhouse film, you’ll be on your way to harvesting sweet & flavorful arugula in no time. The following excerpt is from The Resilient Farm and…
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No-Till Arugula Start to Finish
Growing no-till arugula is a simple way to grow your own food. These greens can be used on pizzas, salads, and as a garnish on almost any dish.
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Brew Outside the Box: Making Mushroom-Infused Beer
For the adventurous brewer infusing mushrooms into brews is a great way to combine the medicinal benefits of fungi with one of the world’s most consumed drinks.
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Vermicast Structures: Worm Real Estate
Farmers rely on earthworms to create vermicomposting systems to improve seed germination, enhanced seedling growth and increased plant productivity.
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Building Your Own Root Cellar for the Fall Harvest
Building a root cellar is a great way to keep your harvest fresh through the cold months. With protection from weather and animals, these cellars can be just as good as a regular refrigerator. They can be built into a wall in your basement, dug into the ground, or simply buried. The following excerpt is…
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Composting as if it Mattered
Composting is more than a way to minimize waste and a garden supplement. It is a method, when practiced and perfected, can supply all the needs of your crops and soil.
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About Thyme: Growing, Harvesting, and Drying Thyme
Thyme is easy to grow and harvest in almost any condition. Follow these tips to get started growing, harvesting (and drying) thyme in your home or backyard!
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Preserving Veggies: Tips for Freezing Vegetables
Try your hand at preserving veggies by freezing them! Freezing vegetables is a quick, simple way to preserve them for winter meals.
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All About Cows: What has Four Legs, Says “Moo,” and Could Save the Planet?
Cows can help rebuild soil and restore land to its rightful state—improving carbon sequestration, natural water cycles, and soil fertility and nutrient density.
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Arid Agriculture: Strategies to Reduce Heat Stress in Crops and Livestock
Become more resilient when temperatures are on the rise to reduce heat stress and grow food in even the most arid environments.
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A Guide to Great Compost From Eliot Coleman
Compost is the key to an abundant garden. Learn the basics of making compost from gardening expert Eliot Coleman, and enjoy the joy of growing your own food.
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How to Save Tomato Seeds
As your favorite variety of home grown tomatoes start ripening on the vine this summer, be sure to save those seeds for next year’s planting. It takes a bit of care to get the seeds out of the gelatinous tomato goo they’re suspended in, but once you’ve done it you can use those seeds to…
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Focusing on Soil Remediation with Fungi
Nature does what needs to be done if we let her. The fungi and the plants will sing this soil redemption song for us. As the fungi and the plants always have.
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Biodynamic Farming: Unlock Fertile Fields with Cows & Compost
“An immediate halt to chemical fertilizing and returning to the use of compost instead would turn degeneration into regeneration.”
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The Art of Grazing: What Is “Good” Silvopasture Grazing?
If you’re not familiar with silvopasture, you should be. The integrated system offers both the promise of land regeneration and economic livelihood.
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Land Degradation: The Secrets of Fixing the Soil with Biochar
Some of the world’s most productive and resilient soils contain significant quantities of “natural” biochar. Author Kelpie Wilson challenges us to “change our perspective from ‘too much carbon in the air’ to ‘not enough carbon in the soil.’ We are good at being miners and exploiting resources, so let’s mine the air and stash the…
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Perennial Veggies: The Benefits of Perennial Vegetables
Think about how much work your perennial flower beds take compared to your annual vegetable garden. In a busy year, your perennial garden largely sails through despite neglect. Once your perennials are established, and if they are suited to your climate and site conditions, they can be virtually indestructible. An annual vegetable garden, as we…
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Can’t Find the Perfect Garden Tools? Make Your Own
Is hoeing hurting your back? Is your trowel cramping your wrist? Are the tools at your local hardware store just not cutting it? Gardening can be such laborious work, but what you put into your garden is what you get back. With a few simple do-it-yourself modifications you can find and alter your tools to…
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Top-Bar Beekeeping: A List of Pros and Cons
Beekeepers are facing tremendous challenges, from pests such as varroa and tracheal mites and from the mysterious but even more devastating phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Yet in backyards and on rooftops all over the world, bees are being raised successfully, even without antibiotics, miticides, or other chemicals. More and more organically minded…
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Drill, Plug, Wax, Wait: 6 Simple Steps to Growing Mushrooms Outdoors
Mushrooms: they’re versatile, they’re delicious, and they’re extremely simple to grow in your yard or garden. We have a mushroom growing method that’s so simple, you have no excuse not to try it out. All you need is a log or tree stump, some mushroom starter, and a couple of basic tools. And you will…
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Make Way For the Queen! Natural Queen Bee Rearing
Queen Bees are essential for a hive. No colony can truly “bee” successful without one. How do you get this almighty queen? It’s all in the honeycomb. Below is a formula for natural queen bee rearing that will help you run a productive hive. Unless otherwise noted, all photographs copyright © 2023 by Eric and…
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Plant Spotlight: The Joyful Juneberry
All hail the joyful juneberry! While these rich and sweet berries taste wonderful when they’re fresh, you can also preserve them, use them as a substitute for blueberries in dessert recipes, and used to make wine, beer or cider. To create these delicious dishes, you first need to find and harvest juneberries. Get ready to set…
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