More Than a Magazine … A Way of Life
Top Story
Lessons From Off-Grid Living
Follow this advice from a 20-year veteran homesteader to shift to a low-carbon lifestyle.
Features
Salads All Winter? You Bet, With This Crop
Austrian winter peas will give you tender, delicious greens even in sub-zero weather, plus build your soil and provide nectar for bees in spring.
8 Great Places You’ve (Maybe) Never Heard Of
Throughout the United States, people are creating local food systems, building sustainable communities and planning for a healthy future. Take a look at these eight communities where folks are working to improve life right where they are.
Homesteader’s Guide to Small Tractors
Our tractor expert, Hank Will, explains the basics and lays out what to look for.
Build This Portable, Multipurpose Greenhouse
This versatile, DIY “Modular Grow Dome” can house seedlings and chicks in winter, pasture poultry in summer, and extend your harvests in fall.
Icelandic Chickens: An Ancient Breed for Modern Homesteads
These colorful, self-reliant birds will deliver flavorful meat and a steady supply of eggs.
Departments
News From MOTHER
The shift to renewables gains momentum
Dear MOTHER
Reader letters about passive solar homes, biogas dangers, gardening in drought, neighborhood-scale self-sufficiency and more.
Green Gazette
Is Nanotechnology Safe?
Another Study Links Bee Population Decline to Neonicotinoid Pesticides
Homestead Tools Spotlight: Grain Thresher and Cider Press
Vermont Leads the Way on GMO Labeling, Worker-Owned Cooperatives and Sustainable Population
New Volkswagen XL1 Is the World’s Most Fuel-Efficient Car
Buy Organic Seeds on SeedWise
New Assistance Network for Small-Scale Meat Processors
The Gardener’s Table
Spinach and Kale, the Cool-Weather Favorites
Grow these stalwart stars of the fall garden, and then try this trio of easy recipes to make them shine at your table, too.
Garden Know-How
Plant Pollination Primer for Backyard Gardeners
Learn how insects and wind pollinate your crops so you can plant smarter and haul in heftier harvests.
The Pitchfork Pulpit
Fighting for a Sane Food System
Choosing local, organic fare and cooking from scratch don’t make you a “food snob.” They mean you’re conscientious.
Country Lore: Readers’ Tips to Live By
The Purrr-fect Homemade Cat Bed
DIY Insulation Helps Lower Heating Costs
Grease On, Grease Off
What a Nutty Idea!
Reusing Pumpkins
Oh Deer! DIY Antler Furniture
Pocket Change for Energy Efficiency
Table for One
An Easy Way to Store Garden Tools
Take the Plunge
Water Plants With Used Aquarium Water
Put It on the Card
Double-Duty Shower Caddy
Step It Up a Notch
‘Number Two’ Taboo
Ask Our Experts
What to Feed Wild Birds
Is Rubber Mulch Safe?
4 Herbs to Help You Fall Asleep
How Antioxidants Work in Your Body
EarthWords
Carol L. MacKay
