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The Organic Farmer's Business Handbook: A Complete Guide to Managing Finances, Crops, and Staff - and Making a Profit
by null Richard WiswallContrary to popular belief, a good living can be made on an organic farm. What&’s required is farming smarter, not harder.In The Organic Farmer&’s Business Handbook, Richard Wiswall shares advice on how to make your vegetable production more efficient, better manage your employees and finances, and turn a profit. From his twenty-seven years of experience at Cate Farm in Vermont, Wiswall knows firsthand the joys of starting and operating an organic farm—as well as the challenges of making a living from one. Farming offers fundamental satisfaction from producing food, working outdoors, being one&’s own boss, and working intimately with nature. But, unfortunately, many farmers avoid learning about the business end of farming; because of this, they often work harder than they need to, or quit farming altogether because of frustrating—and often avoidable—losses.In this comprehensive business kit, Wiswall covers:Step-by-step procedures to make your crop production more efficientAdvice on managing employees, farm operations, and office systemsNovel marketing strategiesWhat to do with your profits: business spending, investing, and planning for retirementA companion toolkit, available for download upon purchase of the book, offers valuable business tools, including easy-to-use spreadsheets for projecting cash flow, a payroll calculator, comprehensive crop budgets for forty different crops, and tax planners.
The Living Soil Handbook: The No-Till Grower's Guide to Ecological Market Gardening
by null Jesse FrostPrinciples and farm-tested practices for no-till market gardening–for healthier, more productive soil!From the host of the popular The No-Till Market Garden Podcast—heard around the world with nearly one million downloads!Discovering how to meet the soil&’s needs is the key task for every market gardener. In this comprehensive guide, Farmer Jesse Frost shares all he has learned through experience and experimentation with no-till practices on his home farm in Kentucky and from interviews and visits with highly successful market gardeners in his role as host of The No-Till Market Garden Podcast. The Living Soil Handbook is centered around the three basic principles of no-till market gardening:Disturb the soil as little as possibleKeep it covered as much as possibleKeep it planted as much as possible.Farmer Jesse then guides readers in applying those principles to their own garden environment, with their own materials, to meet their own goals.Beginning with an exploration of the importance of photosynthesis to living soil, Jesse provides in-depth information on:Turning over bedsUsing compost and mulchPath managementIncorporating biology, maintaining fertilityCover croppingDiversifying plantings through intercroppingProduction methods for seven major cropsThroughout, the book emphasizes practical information on all the best tools and practices for growers who want to build their livelihood around maximizing the health of their soil.Farmer Jesse reminds growers that &“as possible&” is the mantra for protecting the living soil: disturb the soil as little as you possibly can in your context. He does not believe that growers should anguish over what does and does not qualify as &“no-till.&” If you are using a tool to promote soil life and biology, that&’s the goal. Jesse&’s goal with The Living Soil Handbook is to provide a comprehensive set of options, materials, and field-tested practices to inspire growers to design a soil-nurturing no-till system in their unique garden or farm ecosystem.&“[A] practical, informative debut. . . .Gardeners interested in sustainable agriculture will find this a great place to start.&”—Publishers Weekly&“Frost offers a comprehensive, science-based, sympathetic, wholly practical guide to soil building, that most critical factor in vegetable gardening for market growers and home gardeners alike. A gift to any vegetable plot that will keep on giving.&”—Booklist (starred review)
Mastering Stocks and Broths: A Comprehensive Culinary Approach Using Traditional Techniques and No-Waste Methods
by null Rachael MamaneJames Beard Foundation Book Award Finalist&“Top Ten Cookbook of the Year&”―Booklist&“Mamane&’s writing is as beautiful, thoughtful, and caring as her approach to food, the table, and her stocks. And I love [her] intriguing recipes.&”—Deborah Madison Stocks and broths are the foundation of good cooking, yet information on their use is often relegated to the introductions or appendices of cookbooks. Until now there has not been a comprehensive culinary guide to stocks in the canon, save for snippets here and there. Hard to believe, since most passionate home cooks and professional chefs know that using stocks and broths―both on their own and as the base for a recipe―can turn a moderately flavorful dish into a masterpiece. Mastering Stocks and Broths is the comprehensive guide to culinary stocks and broths that passionate home cooks and innovative chefs have all been waiting for.Author Rachael Mamane takes us on a culinary journey into the science behind fundamental stocks and the truth about well-crafted bone broths, and offers over 100 complex and unique recipes incorporating stocks as foundational ingredients. Mastering Stocks and Broths includes a historical culinary narrative about stocks in the classic French technique as well as through the lens of other cultures around the world.Readers will also learn:The importance of quality sourcingThe practical and health benefits of stocks and brothsDetailed methodology on how to develop, store, and use stocks in a home kitchen.The recipes place an emphasis on the value of zero waste, turning spent bones, produce seconds, and leftover animal fats into practical products to use around the home. Readers will turn to this book when they find themselves wondering what to do with the carcass of a store-bought roast chicken and they want to learn how to make every inch of their vegetables go further.Perhaps most important to remember: a good stock takes time. This is part of the pleasure―making stocks is meditative and meaningful, if you allow yourself the occasion. Building a stock often happens in the background of most kitchens―a smell that permeates a residence, a gentle warmth that radiates from the kitchen. Readers will be inspired by Mamane&’s approach to truly slow cookery and her effervescent love for food itself.&“Mamane&’s recipes are truly irresistible.&” ―Jessica Prentice, author of Full Moon Feast; cofounder, Three Stone Hearth &“Read this book. . . . it will heal you.&”―Camas Davis, butcher; writer; owner, Portland Meat Collective
The Worm Farmers Handbook: Mid- to Large-Scale Vermicomposting for Farms, Businesses, Municipalities, Schools, and Institutions
by null Rhonda ShermanChoice Reviews, Outstanding Academic TitleTechniques and systems for processing food scraps, manure, yard debris, paper, and moreTurning waste into wealth sounds too good to be true, but many worm farmers are finding that vermicomposting is a reliable way to do just that. Vermicast—a biologically active, nutrient-rich mix of earthworm castings and decomposed organic matter—sells for $400 or more per cubic yard. Compare that to regular compost, sold at about $30 a cubic yard, and you&’ll see why vermicomposting has taken root in most countries and on every continent but Antarctica.Vermicomposting is also one of the best sustainable solutions for organic waste management. Vermicomposting manure and crop wastes on farms improves crop yields while reducing demand for off-farm inputs. Vermicast has higher nutrient levels and lower soluble salt content than regular compost, and it improves soil aeration, porosity, and water retention. Plus, vermicast suppresses plant diseases and insect attacks. Municipalities, businesses, community gardens, schools, and universities can set up vermicomposting operations to process food residuals and other waste materials.The Worm Farmer&’s Handbook details the ins and outs of vermicomposting for mid- to large-scale operations, including how to recycle organic materials ranging from food wastes and yard trimmings to manure and shredded office paper. Vermicomposting expert Rhonda Sherman shares what she has learned over twenty-five years working with commercial worm growers and researchers around the world. Her profiles of successful worm growers across the United States and from New Zealand to the Middle East and Europe describe their proven methods and systems.This book digs into all the details, including:Choosing the right production systemRegulatory issues and developing a business and marketing planFinding and managing feedstocksPre-composting: why and how to do itMonitoring an active worm bedHarvesting, screening, testing, packaging, and storing vermicastMarkets for earthworms and vermicastFood security: how vermicast benefits soils and plantsKeys to success: avoiding common pitfallsFrom livestock farms and restaurants to colleges, military bases, and prisons, Sherman details why and how commercial-scale vermicomposting is a fast-growing, sustainable solution for organic waste management. The Worm Farmer&’s Handbook is the first and only authoritative how-to guide that goes beyond small-scale operations and demystifies the science and logistics of the fascinating process that is vermicomposting.
In the Company of Bears: What Black Bears Have Taught Me about Intelligence and Intuition
by null Benjamin Kilham"Like Jane Goodall&’s studies of chimps, Ben Kilham&’s work with black bears is more than just revealing: it&’s revolutionary. . . Ben&’s work will transform our understanding of how animals live—and how science should be done."—Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an OctopusIn In the Company of Bears, originally published in hardcover as Out on a Limb, Ben Kilham invites us into the world he has come to know best: the world of black bears.For decades, Kilham has studied wild black bears in a vast tract of Northern New Hampshire woodlands. At times, he has also taken in orphaned infants–feeding them, walking them through the forest for months to help them decipher their natural world, and eventually reintroducing them back into the wild. Once free, the orphaned bears still regard him as their mother. And one of these bears, now a 17-year-old female, has given him extraordinary access to her daily life, opening a rare window into how she and the wild bears she lives among carry out their daily lives, raise their young, and communicate.Witnessing this world has led to some remarkable discoveries. For years, scientists have considered black bears to be mostly solitary. Kilham&’s observations, though, reveal the extraordinary interactions wild bears have with each other. They form friendships and alliances; abide by a code of conduct that keeps their world orderly; and when their own food supplies are ample, they even help out other bears in need. Could these cooperative behaviors, he asks, mimic behavior that existed in the animal that became human? In watching bears, do we see our earliest forms of communications unfold?Kilham&’s dyslexia once barred him from getting an advanced academic degree, securing funding for his research, and publishing his observations in the scientific literature. After being shunned by the traditional scientific community, though, Kilham&’s unique findings now interest bear researchers worldwide. His techniques even aid scientists working with pandas in China and bears in Russia. Moreover, the observation skills that fueled Kilham&’s exceptional work turned out to be born of his dyslexia. His ability to think in pictures and decipher systems makes him a unique interpreter of the bear&’s world.In the Company of Bears delivers Kilham&’s fascinating glimpse at the inner world of bears, and also makes a passionate case for science, and education in general, to open its doors to different ways of learning and researching–doors that could lead to far broader realms of discovery.
Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier Land: Lessons from Desert Farmers on Adapting to Climate Uncertainty
by null Gary Paul NabhanHow to harvest water and nutrients, select drought-tolerant plants, and create natural diversityBecause climatic uncertainty has now become &“the new normal,&” many farmers, gardeners and orchard-keepers in North America are desperately seeking ways to adapt their food production to become more resilient in the face of such &“global weirding.&” This book draws upon the wisdom and technical knowledge from desert farming traditions all around the world to offer time-tried strategies for:Building greater moisture-holding capacity and nutrients in soilsProtecting fields from damaging winds, drought, and floodsHarvesting water from uplands to use in rain gardens and terraces filled with perennial cropsDelecting fruits, nuts, succulents, and herbaceous perennials that are best suited to warmer, drier climatesGary Paul Nabhan is one of the world&’s experts on the agricultural traditions of arid lands. For this book he has visited indigenous and traditional farmers in the Gobi Desert, the Arabian Peninsula, the Sahara Desert, and Andalusia, as well as the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Painted deserts of North America, to learn firsthand their techniques and designs aimed at reducing heat and drought stress on orchards, fields, and dooryard gardens. This practical book also includes colorful &“parables from the field&” that exemplify how desert farmers think about increasing the carrying capacity and resilience of the lands and waters they steward. It is replete with detailed descriptions and diagrams of how to implement these desert-adapted practices in your own backyard, orchard, or farm.This unique book is useful not only for farmers and permaculturists in the arid reaches of the Southwest or other desert regions. Its techniques and prophetic vision for achieving food security in the face of climate change may well need to be implemented across most of North America over the next half-century, and are already applicable in most of the semiarid West, Great Plains, and the U.S. Southwest and adjacent regions of Mexico.Garden Writers Association Media Award, Silver Award for AchievementNew Mexico-Arizona Book Awards, Gardening Category"All of Gary Nabhan's books carry us on deep, enchanting journeys to the hearts of people, plants, and cultures across the world. . . I'm inspired and heartened by this timely and important offering from a true desert sage.&”—Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
The Permaculture City: Regenerative Design for Urban, Suburban, and Town Resilience
by null Toby HemenwayPermaculture is more than just the latest buzzword; it offers positive solutions for many of the environmental and social challenges confronting us. And nowhere are those remedies more needed and desired than in our cities.The Permaculture City provides a new way of thinking about urban living, with practical examples for creating abundant food, energy security, close-knit communities, local and meaningful livelihoods, and sustainable policies in our cities and towns. The same nature-based approach that works so beautifully for growing food—connecting the pieces of the landscape together in harmonious ways—applies perfectly to many of our other needs. Toby Hemenway, one of the leading practitioners and teachers of permaculture design, illuminates a new way forward through examples of edge-pushing innovations, along with a deeply holistic conceptual framework for our cities, towns, and suburbs.The Permaculture City begins in the garden but takes what we have learned there and applies it to a much broader range of human experience; we&’re not just gardening plants but people, neighborhoods, and even cultures. Hemenway lays out how permaculture design can help towndwellers solve the challenges of meeting our needs for food, water, shelter, energy, community, and livelihood in sustainable, resilient ways. Readers will find new information on designing the urban home garden and strategies for gardening in community, rethinking our water and energy systems, learning the difference between a &“job&” and a &“livelihood,&” and the importance of placemaking and an empowered community.This important book documents the rise of a new sophistication, depth, and diversity in the approaches and thinking of permaculture designers and practitioners. Understanding nature can do more than improve how we grow, make, or consume things; it can also teach us how to cooperate, make decisions, and arrive at good solutions.
Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us about Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom
by null Fred Provenza&“Nourishment will change the way you eat and the way you think.&”—Mark Schatzker, author of The Dorito Effect&“[Provenza is] a wise observer of the land and the animals [and] becomes transformed to learn the meaning of life.&”—Temple GrandinReflections on feeding body and spirit in a world of changeAnimal scientists have long considered domestic livestock to be too dumb to know how to eat right, but the lifetime research of animal behaviorist Fred Provenza and his colleagues has debunked this myth. Their work shows that when given a choice of natural foods, livestock have an astoundingly refined palate, nibbling through the day on as many as fifty kinds of grasses, forbs, and shrubs to meet their nutritional needs with remarkable precision.In Nourishment Provenza presents his thesis of the wisdom body, a wisdom that links flavor-feedback relationships at a cellular level with biochemically rich foods to meet the body&’s nutritional and medicinal needs. Provenza explores the fascinating complexity of these relationships as he raises and answers thought-provoking questions about what we can learn from animals about nutritional wisdom.What kinds of memories form the basis for how herbivores, and humans, recognize foods?Can a body develop nutritional and medicinal memories in utero and early in life?Do humans still possess the wisdom to select nourishing diets or has that ability been hijacked by nutritional &“authorities&”?Is taking supplements and enriching and fortifying foods helping us, or is it hurting us?On a broader scale Provenza explores the relationships among facets of complex, poorly understood, ever-changing ecological, social, and economic systems in light of an unpredictable future.To what degree do we lose contact with life-sustaining energies when the foods we eat come from anywhere but where we live?To what degree do we lose the mythological relationship that links us physically and spiritually with Mother Earth who nurtures our lives?Provenza&’s paradigm-changing exploration of these questions has implications that could vastly improve our health through a simple change in the way we view our relationships with the plants and animals we eat.&“Nourishment is a conversation between science, culture, and a greater spiritual or cosmological umbrella.&”—Montana Public Radio
Simple Food for the Good Life: Random Acts of Cooking and Pithy Quotations
by null Helen NearingFifty years before the phrase "simple living" became fashionable, Helen and Scott Nearing were living their celebrated "Good Life" on homesteads first in Vermont, then in Maine. All the way to their ninth decades, the Nearings grew their own food, built their own buildings, and fought an eloquent combat against the silliness of America's infatuation with consumer goods and refined foods. They also wrote or co-wrote more than thirty books, many of which are now being brought back into print by the Good Life Center and Chelsea Green.Simple Food for the Good Life is a jovial collection of "quips, quotes, and one-of-a-kind recipes meant to amuse and intrigue all of those who find themselves in the kitchen, willingly or otherwise." Recipes such as Horse Chow, Scott's Emulsion, Crusty Carrot Croakers, Raw Beet Borscht, Creamy Blueberry Soup, and Super Salad for a Crowd should improve the mood as well as whet the appetite of any guest.Here is an antidote for the whole foods enthusiast who is "fed up" with the anxieties and drudgeries of preparing fancy meals with stylish, expensive, hard-to-find ingredients. This celebration of salads, leftovers, raw foods, and homegrown fruits and vegetables takes the straightest imaginable route from their stem or vine to your table."The funniest, crankiest, most ambivalent cookbook you'll ever read," said Food & Wine magazine. "This is more than a mere cookbook," said Health Science magazine: "It belongs to the category of classics, destined to be remembered through the ages."Among Helen Nearing's numerous books is Chelsea Green's Loving and Leaving the Good Life, a memoir of her fifty-year marriage to Scott Nearing and the story of Scott's deliberate death at the age of one hundred. Helen and Scott Nearing's final homestead in Harborside, Maine, has been established in perpetuity as an educational progam under the name of The Good Life Center.
Taste, Memory: Forgotten Foods, Lost Flavors, and Why They Matter
by null David BuchananTaste, Memory traces the experiences of modern-day explorers who rediscover culturally rich forgotten foods and return them to our tables for all to experience and savor.In Taste, Memory author David Buchanan explores questions fundamental to the future of food and farming. How can we strike a balance between preserving the past, maintaining valuable agricultural and culinary traditions, and looking ahead to breed new plants? What place does a cantankerous old pear or too-delicate strawberry deserve in our gardens, farms, and markets? To what extent should growers value efficiency and uniformity over matters of taste, ecology, or regional identity?While living in Washington State in the early nineties, Buchanan learned about the heritage food movement and began growing fruit trees, grains, and vegetables. After moving home to New England, however, he left behind his plant collection and for several years stopped gardening. In 2005, inspired by the revival of interest in regional food and culinary traditions, Buchanan borrowed a few rows of growing space at a farm near his home in Portland, Maine, where he resumed collecting. By 2012 he had expanded to two acres, started a nursery and small business, and discovered creative ways to preserve rare foods. In Taste, Memory Buchanan shares stories of slightly obsessive urban gardeners, preservationists, environmentalists, farmers, and passionate cooks, and weaves anecdotes of his personal journey with profiles of leaders in the movement to defend agricultural biodiversity.Taste, Memory begins and ends with a simple premise: that a healthy food system depends on matching diverse plants and animals to the demands of land and climate. In this sense of place lies the true meaning of local food.
In Search of Mycotopia: Citizen Science, Fungi Fanatics, and the Untapped Potential of Mushrooms
by null Doug Bierend&“Mushrooms are having a moment. [A] natural sequel for the many readers who enjoyed Merlin Sheldrake&’s Entangled Life.&”—Library Journal&“Bierend writes with sensual verve and specificity, enthusiasm, and humor. . . . [He] introduces us to the staggering variety of mushrooms, their mystery, their funk, and the way they captivate our imaginations.&”—The Boston Globe&“Nothing is impossible if you bring mushrooms into your life, and reading this book is a great way to begin your journey.&”—Tradd Cotter, author of Organic Mushroom Farming and MycoremediationFrom ecology to fermentation, in pop culture and in medicine—mushrooms are everywhere. With an explorer&’s eye, author Doug Bierend guides readers through the weird, wonderful world of fungi and the amazing mycological movement.In Search of Mycotopia introduces us to an incredible, essential, and oft-overlooked kingdom of life—fungi—and all the potential it holds for our future, through the work and research being done by an unforgettable community of mushroom-mad citizen scientists and microbe devotees. This entertaining and mind-expanding book will captivate readers who are curious about the hidden worlds and networks that make up our planet.Bierend uncovers a vanguard of mycologists: growers, independent researchers, ecologists, entrepreneurs, and amateur enthusiasts exploring and advocating for fungi&’s capacity to improve and heal. From decontaminating landscapes and waterways to achieving food security, In Search of Mycotopia demonstrates how humans can work with fungi to better live with nature—and with one another.&“Comprehensive and enthusiastic. . . . This fascinating, informative look into a unique subculture and the fungi at its center is a real treat.&”—Publishers Weekly&“If you enjoyed Merlin Sheldrake&’s Entangled Life . . . I highly recommend this book. . . . In the vein of Louis Theroux, Bierend journeys deep in the wonderfully strange subculture of the mushroom-mad.&”—Idler magazine&“Engaging and entertaining. . . .Bierend proves his skill as a science journalist through interviews and experiences shared with mushroom experts and citizen scientists.&”—Choice
Loving and Leaving the Good Life
by null Helen NearingHelen and Scott Nearing, authors of Living the Good Life and many other bestselling books, lived together for 53 years until Scott's death at age 100. Loving and Leaving the Good Life is Helen's testimonial to their life together and to what they stood for: self-sufficiency, generosity, social justice, and peace.In 1932, after deciding it would be better to be poor in the country than in the city, Helen and Scott moved from New York Ciy to Vermont. Here they created their legendary homestead which they described in Living the Good Life: How to Live Simply and Sanely in a Troubled World, a book that has sold 250,000 copies and inspired thousands of young people to move back to the land.The Nearings moved to Maine in 1953, where they continued their hard physical work as homesteaders and their intense intellectual work promoting social justice. Thirty years later, as Scott approached his 100th birthday, he decided it was time to prepare for his death. He stopped eating, and six weeks later Helen held him and said goodbye.Loving and Leaving the Good Life is a vivid self-portrait of an independent, committed and gifted woman. It is also an eloquent statement of what it means to grow old and to face death quietly, peacefully, and in control. At 88, Helen seems content to be nearing the end of her good life. As she puts it, "To have partaken of and to have given love is the greatest of life's rewards. There seems never an end to the loving that goes on forever and ever. Loving and leaving are part of living."Helen's death in 1995 at the age of 92 marks the end of an era. Yet as Helen writes in her remarkable memoir, "When one door closes, another opens." As we search for a new understanding of the relationships between death and life, this book provides profound insights into the question of how we age and die.
Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection
by null Jessica PrenticeFull Moon Feast invites us to a table brimming with locally grown foods, radical wisdom, and communal nourishment.In Full Moon Feast, accomplished chef and passionate food activist Jessica Prentice champions locally grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods and traditional cooking methods. The book follows the thirteen lunar cycles of an agrarian year, from the midwinter Hunger Moon and the springtime sweetness of the Sap Moon to the bounty of the Moon When Salmon Return to Earth in autumn. Each chapter includes recipes that display the richly satisfying flavors of foods tied to the ancient rhythm of the seasons.Prentice decries our modern food culture: megafarms and factories, the chemically processed ghosts of real foods in our diets, and the suffering–physical, emotional, cultural, communal, and spiritual–born of a disconnect from our food sources. She laments the system that is poisoning our bodies and our communities.But Full Moon Feast is a celebration, not a dirge. Prentice has emerged from her own early struggles with food to offer health, nourishment, and fulfillment to her readers. She recounts her relationships with local farmers alongside ancient harvest legends and methods of food preparation from indigenous cultures around the world.Combining the radical nutrition of Sally Fallon&’s Nourishing Traditions, keen agri-political acumen, and a spiritual sensibility that draws from indigenous as well as Western traditions, Full Moon Feast is a call to reconnect to our food, our land, and each other."Drawing upon mythology, history, and contemporary struggles, Full Moon Feast reminds us of ancient cultural wisdom, encourages us to deepen our connections to the sources of our food, and invites us to make these seasonal rhythms our own.&”—Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation
What Then Must We Do?: Straight Talk about the Next American Revolution
by null Gar AlperovitzNever before have so many Americans been more frustrated with our economic system, more fearful that it is failing, or more open to fresh ideas about a new one. The seeds of a new movement demanding change are forming.But just what is this thing called a new economy, and how might it take shape in America? In What Then Must We Do? Gar Alperovitz speaks directly to the reader about where we find ourselves in history, why the time is right for a new-economy movement to coalesce, what it means to build a new system to replace the crumbling one, and how we might begin. He also suggests what the next system might look like—and where we can see its outlines, like an image slowly emerging in the developing trays of a photographer's darkroom, already taking shape.He proposes a possible next system that is not corporate capitalism, not state socialism, but something else entirely—and something entirely American.Alperovitz calls for an evolution, not a revolution, out of the old system and into the new. That new system would democratize the ownership of wealth, strengthen communities in diverse ways, and be governed by policies and institutions sophisticated enough to manage a large-scale, powerful economy.For the growing group of Americans pacing at the edge of confidence in the old system, or already among its detractors, What Then Must We Do? offers an elegant solution for moving from anger to strategy.
Put Your Heart in Your Mouth: Natural Treatment for Atherosclerosis, Angina, Heart Attack, High Blood Pressure, Stroke, Arrhythmia, Peripheral Vascular Disease
by null Natasha Campbell-Mcbride MD"Put Your Heart in Your Mouth provides not only a well-written, easy-to-understand expose, but also a practical plan for preventing heart disease and regaining health, one that involves a return to traditional foods and an avoidance of environmental pollutants and common household chemicals. And her recipe section is fantastic! Put Your Heart in Your Mouth is must reading for anyone interested in diet and health."—Sally Fallon, President of The Weston A. Price Foundation, Author of Nourishing TraditionsIf you stop any person on the street and ask them what causes heart disease, you know what their answer will be: butter and eggs, meat and fat. This infamous Diet-Heart Hypothesis was proposed in 1953, and it took scientists all over the world a few decades to prove it wrong. The trouble is that while science was beginning to cast doubt upon its basic tenets, the Diet-Heart Hypothesis was giving rise to a powerful and wealthy political and commercial machine with a vested interest in promoting it—by means of anti-fat and anti-cholesterol propaganda presented relentlessly and with increasing intensity.In Put Your Heart in Your Mouth, Dr. Campbell-McBride tackles the subject of CHD (Coronary Heart Disease), caused by atherosclerosis, a disease of the arterial wall that leads to narrowing and obstruction of the arteries. She maintains that conventional medicine does not actually know the cause of atherosclerosis or how to cure it, and explores in this book what it is, what causes it, and how to prevent and reverse it. She dispels the myth of the Diet-Heart Hypothesis, and explains that cholesterol is not the enemy but an integral and important part of our cell membranes.
The Tao of Vegetable Gardening: Cultivating Tomatoes, Greens, Peas, Beans, Squash, Joy, and Serenity
by null Carol DeppeThe Tao of Vegetable Gardening explores the practical methods as well as the deeper essence of gardening. In her latest book, groundbreaking garden writer Carol Deppe (The Resilient Gardener, Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties) focuses on some of the most popular home garden vegetables—tomatoes, green beans, peas, and leafy greens—and through them illustrates the key principles and practices that gardeners need to know to successfully plant and grow just about any food crop.Deppe&’s work has long been inspired and informed by the philosophy and wisdom of Tao Te Ching, the 2,500-year-old work attributed to Chinese sage Lao Tzu and the most translated book in the world after the Bible. The Tao of Vegetable Gardening is organized into chapters that echo fundamental Taoist concepts: Balance, Flexibility, Honoring the Essential Nature (your own and that of your plants), Effortless Effort, Non-Doing, and even Non-Knowing. Yet the book also offers a wealth of specific and valuable garden advice on topics as diverse as:• The Eat-All Greens Garden, a labor- and space-efficient way to provide all the greens a family can eat, freeze, and dry—all on a tiny piece of land suitable for small-scale and urban gardeners.• The growing problem of late blight and the future of heirloom tomatoes—and what gardeners can do to avoid problems, and even create new resistant varieties.• Establishing a Do-It-Yourself Seed Bank, including information on preparing seeds for long-term storage and how to &“dehybridize&” hybrids.• Twenty-four good places to not plant a tree, and thirty-seven good reasons for not planting various vegetables.Designed for gardeners of all levels, from beginners to experienced growers, The Tao of Vegetable Gardening provides a unique frame of reference: a window to the world of nature, in the garden and in ourselves.
The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses
by null Eliot Coleman&“Brimming with ingenuity, hope, and eminently practical advice, The Winter Harvest Handbook is an indispensable contribution.&”—Michael Pollan&“Useful, practical, sensible, and enlightening information for the home gardener.&”—Martha StewartWith The Winter Harvest Handbook, everyone can have access to organic farming pioneer Elliot Coleman&’s hard-won experience. Gardeners and farmers can use the innovative, highly successful methods Coleman describes in this comprehensive handbook to raise crops throughout the coldest of winters.Building on the techniques that hundreds of thousands of farmers and gardeners adopted from Coleman&’s The New Organic Grower and Four-Season Harvest, this book focuses on growing produce of unparalleled freshness and quality in customized unheated or, in some cases, minimally heated, movable plastic greenhouses.Inside, you&’ll find Coleman&’s clear, concise, and meticulous details [including many accompanying illustrations] on:Greenhouse construction and maintenancePlanting schedulesCrop managementHarvesting practicesMarketing methodsColeman&’s painstaking research and experimentation with more than 30 different crops will be valuable to small farmers, homesteaders, and experienced home gardeners who seek to expand their production seasons.A passionate advocate for the revival of small-scale sustainable farming, Coleman provides a practical model for supplying fresh, locally grown produce during the winter season, even in climates where conventional wisdom says it &“just can&’t be done.&”&“The incomparable Eliot Coleman is back.&”—The New York Times&“A Renaissance man for a new generation.&”—Dan Barber
The Resilient Garden and Allotment Handbook: Enrich your soil, manage pests and diseases and boost biodiversity without toxic chemicals and synthetic fertilisers
by null Sally MorganCreate a thriving garden or allotment that works in harmony with nature and will flourish in the face of ever-changing environmental conditions.In The Resilient Garden and Allotment Handbook, expert organic gardener Sally Morgan shares a wide range of ecological concepts from permaculture, regenerative gardening, agroecology and more to boost your garden’s biodiversity and enrich your soil. This must-have guide will help you:Build your soil so it’s full of healthy organic matter and protect it through no-dig practices, composting, cover crops and mulchingIncrease resilience through productive plant combinations and polycultureCreate wildlife-friendly habitats utilising walls and fences, log piles, water features and wild cornersChoose the right plants to attract pollinators and plant defendersCombat disease and keep pests at bay using natural predators, companion planting and trap and barrier cropsPLUSThe importance of collecting genetically diverse seeds from plants that have adapted to local conditionsSustainably manage water in your garden, especially in times of drought or excessive rainfallWhether you’re a passionate gardener, allotment holder or grower, The Resilient Garden and Allotment Handbook will help you future-proof your garden by giving it everything it needs to adapt and succeed, whatever the climate challenge. (Previously published as The Healthy Vegetable Garden, now updated and revised)'A must-read for anyone who wants to know how to grow their own zero-food miles, pesticide-free veg, while treading gently upon our planet.' Dave Goulson, author of The Garden Jungle and Silent Earth 'This book could not be better timed, and given Sally’s lifetime experience of organic gardening, it’s bound to inspire all those who want to ‘grow back better’.' Helen Browning, Chief Executive, Soil Association
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, 2nd Edition
by null Toby Hemenway&“Gaia&’s Garden will be recorded in history as a milestone for gardeners and landscapers. . . An amazing achievement.&”–Paul StametsThe classic book about ecological gardening–whatever size your garden–with over 250,000 copies sold!&“A great book!&”–Men&’s JournalGaia&’s Garden has sparked the imagination of home gardeners the world over by introducing a simple message: working with nature, not against her, results in more beautiful, abundant, and forgiving gardens.Many people mistakenly think that &“ecological gardening&”—which involves growing a wide range of edible and other useful plants—can take place only on a large, multiacre scale. As Hemenway demonstrates, it&’s fun and easy–even for the beginner–to create a &“backyard ecosystem&” by assembling communities of plants that can work cooperatively and perform a variety of functions, including:Building and maintaining soil fertility and structureCatching and conserving water in the landscapeProviding a rewilded and biodiverse habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and animalsGrowing an edible &“forest&” that yields seasonal fruits, nuts, and other foodsThis revised and updated edition also features a chapter on urban permaculture, designed especially for people in cities and suburbs who have very limited growing space. Whatever size yard or garden you have to work with, you can apply basic permaculture principles to make it more diverse, more natural, more productive, and more beautiful. Best of all, once it&’s established, an ecological garden will reduce or eliminate most of the backbreaking work that&’s needed to maintain the typical lawn and garden.
In Late Winter We Ate Pears: A Year of Hunger and Love
by null Deirdre Heekin null Caleb BarberMore than a cookbook, In Late Winter We Ate Pears is a love affair with a culture and a way of life. In vignettes taken from their year in Italy, husband and wife Caleb Barber and Deirdre Heekin offer glimpses of a young, vibrant Italy: of rolling out pizza dough in an ancient hilltown at midnight while wild dogs bay in the abandoned streets; of the fogged car windows of an ancient lovers' lane amid the olive groves outside Prato.The recipes in In Late Winter We Ate Pears are every bit as delicious as the memories. Selections such as red snapper with fennel sauce, fresh figs with balsamic vinegar and mint, and frangipane and plum tart capture the essence of Italy. Following the tradition of Italian cuisine, the 80 recipes are laid out according to season, to suggest taking advantage of your freshest local ingredients.Whether you are an experienced cook looking for authentic Italian recipes or a beginner wanting to immerse yourself in the romance of a young couple's culinary adventure, In Late Winter We Ate Pears provides rich sustenance in the best tradition of travel and food writing.Cheers to Chef Barber and writer Deirdre Heekin for sharing these marvelous recipes from Osteria Pane e Salute (Pane translates as bread and Salute as health) and for sharing the story of a most inspired year spent in Italy. In Late Winter We Ate Pears is a testament that bread and health are the things that make a good life.
One-Straw Revolutionary: The Philosophy and Work of Masanobu Fukuoka
by null Larry KornOne-Straw Revolutionary represents the first commentary on the work of the late Japanese farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka (1913 – 2008), widely considered to be natural farming&’s most influential practitioner.Mr. Fukuoka is perhaps most known for his bestselling book The One-Straw Revolution (1978), a manifesto on the importance of no-till agriculture, which was at the time of publication a radical challenge to the global systems that supply the world&’s food, and still inspires readers today. Larry Korn, who apprenticed with Mr. Fukuoka in Japan at the time, translated the manuscript and brought it to the United States, knowing it would change the conversation about food forever. The One-Straw Revolution, edited by Korn and Wendell Berry, was an immediate international success, and established Mr. Fukuoka as a leading voice in the fight against conventional industrial agriculture. In this new book, through his own personal narrative, Larry Korn distills his experience of more than thirty-five years of study with Mr. Fukuoka, living and working on his farm on Shikoku Island, and traveling with Mr. Fukuoka to the United States on two six-week visits. One-Straw Revolutionary is the first book to look deeply at natural farming and intimately discuss the philosophy and work of Mr. Fukuoka. In addition to giving his personal thoughts about natural farming, Korn broadens the discussion by pointing out natural farming&’s kinship with the ways of indigenous cultures and traditional Japanese farming. At the same time, he clearly distinguishes natural farming from other forms of agriculture, including scientific and organic agriculture and permaculture. Korn also clarifies commonly held misconceptions about natural farming in ways Western readers can readily understand. And he explains how natural farming can be used practically in areas other than agriculture, including personal growth and development.The book follows the author on his travels from one back-to-the-land commune to another in the countryside of 1970s Japan, a journey that eventually led him to Mr. Fukuoka&’s natural farm. Korn&’s description of his time there, as well as traveling with Mr. Fukuoka during his visits to the United States, offers a rare, inside look at Mr. Fukuoka&’s life. Readers will delight in this personal insight into one of the world&’s leading agricultural thinkers.&“A profound sharing of the essential philosophy of natural farming translated through the friendship between Larry Korn and Masanobu Fukuoka. . . [It] offers wise insights into authentic practices that honor the community of all life.&”—Katrina Blair, author of The Wild Wisdom of Weeds
Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City
by null Eric Toensmeier null Jonathan BatesIn this vivid and engaging work, Eric Toensmeier entices us with his journey as an example, explaining what to do, and what mistakes to avoid, to develop our own versions of an edible urban paradise.&”—Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia&’s GardenWhen Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates moved into a duplex in a run-down part of Holyoke, Massachusetts, the tenth-of-an-acre lot was barren ground and bad soil, peppered with broken pieces of concrete, asphalt, and brick. The two friends got to work designing what would become not just another urban farm, but a &“permaculture paradise&” replete with perennial broccoli, paw paws, bananas, and moringa—all told, more than two hundred low-maintenance edible plants in an innovative food forest on a small city lot. The garden—intended to function like a natural ecosystem with the plants themselves providing most of the garden&’s needs for fertility, pest control, and weed suppression—also features an edible water garden, a year-round unheated greenhouse, tropical crops, urban poultry, and even silkworms.In telling the story of Paradise Lot, Toensmeier explains the principles and practices of permaculture, the choice of exotic and unusual food plants, the techniques of design and cultivation, and, of course, the adventures, mistakes, and do-overs in the process. Packed full of detailed, useful information about designing a highly productive permaculture garden, Paradise Lot is also a funny and charming story of two single guys, both plant nerds, with a wild plan: to realize the garden of their dreams and meet women to share it with. Amazingly, on both counts, they succeed."This is permaculture for the rest of us. Best of all, Paradise Lot is fun to read. It overflows with love—love of plants, love of land, love of adventuring on the edge of knowledge, and love of living. It&’s hard to put down. I read it in two large gulps.&”—Carol Deppe, author of The Resilient Gardener and Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties
The Metabolic Approach to Cancer: Integrating Deep Nutrition, the Ketogenic Diet, and Nontoxic Bio-Individualized Therapies
by null Nasha Winters null Jess Higgins Kelley&“Read this important book to learn how cancer is an environmental, metabolic disease with many small causes that stack up—and what you can do to prevent or even reverse it.&”—Dave Asprey, New York Times bestselling author of The Bulletproof DietThe Optimal Terrain Ten Protocol to Reboot Cellular Health!The Metabolic Approach to Cancer offers an innovative, metabolic-focused nutrition protocol that works. Naturopathic, integrative oncologist and cancer survivor Dr. Nasha Winters and nutrition therapist Jess Higgins Kelley have identified the ten key elements of a person&’s &“terrain&” (think of it as a topographical map of our body) that are crucial to preventing and managing cancer. Each of the terrain ten elements—including epigenetics, the microbiome, the immune system, toxin exposures, and blood sugar balance—is illuminated as it relates to the cancer process, then given a heavily researched and tested, non-toxic and metabolic, focused nutrition prescription.The ketogenic diet—which relies on the body&’s production of ketones as fuel—is the centerpiece of The Metabolic Approach to Cancer. Further, Winters and Kelley explain how to harness the anticancer potential of phytonutrients abundant in low-glycemic plant and animal foods to address the 10 hallmarks of cancer—an approach Western medicine does with drug-based therapies.The optimized, genetically-tuned diet shuns:GrainsLegumesSugarGenetically modified foodsPesticidesSynthetic ingredientsThe optimized, genetically-tuned diet emphasizes:Whole, wild foodsLocalOrganicFermentsHeirloomLow-glycemicOther components of their approach include harm-reductive herbal therapies like mistletoe (considered the original immunotherapy and common in European cancer care centers) and cannabinoids (which shrink tumors and increase quality of life, yet are illegal in more than half of the United States). Through addressing the ten root causes of cancer and approaching the disease from a nutrition-focused standpoint, we can slow cancer&’s endemic spread and live optimized lives.&“The Metabolic Approach to Cancer is a powerhouse of detailed information on how to prevent, manage, and treat cancer. . . . It is written in an intimate conversation style that comes from decades of deep personal experience, research, and genuine passion.&”—Travis Christofferson, author of Tripping over the Truth
The New Organic Grower, 3rd Edition: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener, 30th Anniversary Edition
by null Eliot Coleman&“Updated for its 30th anniversary edition [this book] remains as relevant as ever.&”—New York Times Book ReviewSince its original publication in 1989, The New Organic Grower has been one of the most important farming books available, with pioneer Eliot Coleman leading the charge in the organic movement in the United States. Now fully illustrated and updated, this 30th Anniversary Edition is a must-have for any agricultural library.Eliot Coleman&’s books and innovative methods have helped innumerable organic farmers build successful farms in deep accordance with nature. The wisdom in this seminal book holds true even as the modern agricultural canon has grown—in large part due to Coleman&’s influence as a wise elder with decades of experience. New information has been included in this edition to showcase the new tools and techniques that Eliot has been developing over the last thirty-five years.Inspired by the European intensive growers, The New Organic Grower, 30th Anniversary Edition, offers a very approachable and productive form of farming that has proven to work well for the earth and its stewards for centuries. Gardeners working on 2.5 acres or less will find this book especially useful, as it offers proof that small-scale market growers and serious home gardeners can live good lives close to the land and make a profit at the same time. The New Organic Grower is ideal for young farmers just getting started, or gardeners seeking to expand into a more productive enterprise.New material in this edition includes:Beautiful color photographs throughout, taken by master gardener and author Barbara Damrosch (Eliot&’s wife and co-farmer)Updated information throughout on how Eliot&’s practices have changed through his experiments over the yearsA new section from Damrosch about incorporating flowers on the small farmMore information on new tools Eliot has invented that don&’t appear in any of his other books&“I was interested in the environment, farming, science . . . and there was Eliot&’s book lying on the shelf. I remember grabbing it, and I just FELL IN. . . . I remember reading it like it was the Bible.&”—Dan Barber, chef
The Lost Language of Plants: The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicine to Life on Earth
by null Stephen Harrod BuhnerNautilus Book Awards: Ecology/EnvironmentForeWord Reviews Book of the Year: Silver Medal, EnvironmentIn the &“pharmaceutical Silent Spring&” well-known author, teacher, lecturer, and herbalist Stephen Harrod Buhner has produced a book that is certain to generate controversy. Inside The Lost Language of Plants, you'll find:A critique of technological medicine, and especially the dangers to the environment posed by pharmaceuticals and other synthetic substances that people use in connection with health care and personal body care.A new look at Gaia Theory, including an explanation that plants are the original chemistries of Gaia and those phytochemistries are the fundamental communications network for the Earth&’s ecosystems.Extensive documentation of how plants communicate their healing qualities to humans and other animals. Western culture has obliterated most people&’s capacity to perceive these messages, but this book also contains valuable information on how we can restore our faculties of perception.The book will affect readers on rational and emotional planes. It is grounded in both a New Age spiritual sensibility and hard science. While some of the author&’s claims may strike traditional thinkers as outlandish, Buhner presents his arguments with such authority and documentation that the scientific underpinnings, however unconventional, are completely credible.The overall impact is a powerful, eye-opening exposé of the threat that our allopathic Western medical system, in combination with our unquestioning faith in science and technology, poses to the primary life-support systems of the planet. At a time when we are preoccupied with the terrorist attacks and the possibility of biological warfare, perhaps it is time to listen to the planet. This book is essential reading for anyone concerned about the state of the environment, the state of health care, and our cultural sanity.