Hide 

In a tight economy, this book offers clear financial benefits by helping homeowners immediately cut their utility bills. Many of these smaller home improvements require only a modest investment, and give readers an edge when they sell their homes: Buyers are looking for energy efficiency, and they are also tuned into green health and environmental concerns.

The book's projects include quick and easy, low- or no-cost tasks — like insulating a water heater, sealing foundation cracks or painting with insulating paint — as well as bigger-ticket items, such as installing a new energy-efficient heating system, windows or green flooring. The more than 65 "Go Green" tips highlighted throughout the book give readers ideas to make their homes and lifestyles greener.

Projects include:

• Green flooring and paint options
• Environmentally friendly cabinetry and countertops
• Whole-house insulation and weather-stripping
• High-efficiency heating and cooling
• Water conservation
• Efficient lighting, appliances and plumbing fixtures, including Energy Star and WaterSense models
• Solar electric and water heating systems
• Eco-friendly roofing and siding
• Energy-efficient windows, doors and skylights
• Green materials for patios, walkways and driveways
• Landscaping and irrigation for water conservation and energy

Hide 

More and more Americans are seeking out locally grown foods, yet one of the real stumbling blocks to their efforts has been finding local sources for grains, which are grown mainly on large, distant corporate farms. At the same time, commodity prices for grains — and the products made from them — have skyrocketed due to rising energy costs and increased demand. In this book, Gene Logsdon proves that anyone who has access to a large garden or small farm can (and should) think outside the agribusiness box and learn to grow healthy whole grains or beans—the base of our culinary food pyramid — alongside their fruits and vegetables.

Starting from the simple but revolutionary concept of the garden “pancake patch,” Logsdon opens our eyes to a whole world of plants that we wrongly assume only the agricultural “big boys” can grow. He succinctly covers all the basics, from planting and dealing with pests, weeds, and diseases to harvesting, processing, storing, and using whole grains. There are even a few recipes sprinkled throughout, along with more than a little wit and wisdom.

Never has there been a better time, or a more receptive audience, for this book. Locavores, serious home gardeners, CSA farmers, and whole-foods advocates — in fact, all people who value fresh, high-quality foods — will find a field full of information and ideas in this once and future classic.

Hide 

We've assembled our most-popular recipes and home-cooking articles and now we're making them available to you in this easy-to-use CD-ROM format, just like our popular Mother Earth News Archive on CD-ROM.

Selected from nearly 40 years of material, this collection provides 330 all-natural, down-home and delicious recipes.

You'll find recipes for:

• Grandfather's Beef and Vegetable Stew
• Superquick Ricotta
• Parmesan Parsley Millet Muffins
• Spicy Eggplant Salad
• Caponata
• Homemade Jerky
• Tabouli
• Lentil Burgers
• Sprout Hummus
• BBQ Chicken
• Root Beer
• Chocolate Cupcake-Muffins
• Gooseberry Pie
• Cornelian Cherry Preserve
• And many more!

• With an IBM-compatible computer: Microsoft® Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) or newer; with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 or newer. You also will need Java Virtual Machine (VM) version 1.3 (free download from www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp) or newer browser plug-in with Java enabled on your browser and computer.
• With an Apple Computer: Mac OS X with Safari 3.2.525.27.1 or newer and Java. Use the Software Update feature (available on the Apple menu) to check that you have the most up-to-date version of Java for your Mac.
• For Mac OS 9.2.2, this CD must be run in Netscape 7.0.2 with Apple MRJ 2.2.5. (Both available free from www.versiontracker.com.)
• A CD-ROM drive (auto-start should be enabled).

Hide 

CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $14.95. AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

People are coming back to bicycling in droves; propelled by rising gas prices, expanding waistlines, or the allure of fancy gear, bicycling for all ages has never been more popular.

The Practical Cyclist is for those who have not been actively cycling for years, or perhaps are new to the sport — bicycling for real people. The author recognizes that not every cyclist cares about fancy equipment and competitive riding. The book's low-impact approach is uniquely geared to people who would like to come back to cycling, but don't know where to begin.

There are many reasons for hopping back on a bike — becoming healthier, saving money, saving the environment, and, perhaps above all else, having fun. The Practical Cyclist provides simple, basic information that takes the intimidation out of visiting a bike shop and includes:

• How to choose equipment
• Proper riding technique
• Safety tips
• Accessories
• Easy rules on where, when and how to ride

Hide 

CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $34.95. AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Most gardeners know how rewarding it is to harvest ripe, sun-warmed tomatoes or pungent herbs straight from the garden. But those pleasures can be multiplied a hundredfold by creating a garden that is not only productive, but also a beautiful, well-integrated part of the home landscape. In this handsome volume, Jennifer Bartley shows how the traditional features of the classic kitchen garden, or potager, can be adapted to contemporary American needs and conditions. The book is informed by her conviction that the nurturing, preparing, and eating of fresh, home-grown vegetables contributes enormously both to our ties with the natural world and our ties to each other. Copiously illustrated with photographs and with the author's delightful watercolors, Designing the New Kitchen Garden offers the perfect blend of inspiration and practical guidance.

Hide 

Mrs. Rowe, known fondly as "the Pie Lady" by many of her customers, was the quintessential purveyor of comfort food. Now her family carries on her legacy at her 60-year-old, all-American roadside café in Staunton, Virginia, as well as at the new country buffet, catering business, four cafeterias, and a bustling take-out counter that sells 100 pies a day. With Southern classics like Key Lime and Pecan Fudge and restaurant favorites like Peanut Butter Custard and Strawberry Sour Cream, along with a variety of crusts and toppings, this little slice of Southern hospitality will satisfy every type of sweet tooth, while convincing even city slickers to take the time to smell the French Apple Pie.

Hide 

This book by Mother Earth News contributing editor Dan Chiras will enable you to make wise decisions during the design, purchase and installation of home-based wind energy systems. Written in consultation with two of the most experienced "small wind" experts in the United States, this is the book you need if you are interested in a wind turbine for your home.

Faced with frequent power outages, skyrocketing energy costs, and constant reminders of the impacts of conventional energy sources, homeowners and businesses are beginning to explore ways to use energy more efficiently and to generate their own electricity to reduce fuel bills and their carbon footprint and to achieve greater independence.

Power From the Wind is an easily understandable guide for individuals and businesses interested in installing small wind energy system. Written for the layperson, this practical guide provides an accurate and unbiased view of all aspects of small wind energy systems, including:

• Wind and wind energy systems
• Ways to assess wind resources at your site
• Wind turbines and towers
• Inverters and batteries
• Installation and maintenance of systems
• The costs and benefits of installing a wind system

Hide 

This e-book is packed with 20 customizable designs, gardening tips and tricks, and conventional wisdom about the many uses of herbs. Creating Custom Garden Spaces is a fabulous guide to planning an organized, beautiful and practical garden for any space, large or small. Whether you’re a first-timer or an avid gardener, our detailed illustrations and maps will help you give your garden personality with our easily understandable designs, including:

• Mexican herb and green salad food gardens
• Medicinal herb gardens
• Gardens for pots and for tight spaces
• Fragrant and flowering herb gardens
• Gardens for children
• Gardens that prevent deer
• Fence line and mailbox gardens
• Hammock and walkway gardens
• Gardens designed for use with a rain barrel
• Gardens that attract birds and butterflies

Hide 

Fruit trees, shrubs and vines are true two-for-one plants. Many varieties are strikingly beautiful — well suited to doing double duty as delicious sources of sweet, organic fruit and as ornamental additions to the home landscape. Backyard fruit plants also tie in perfectly with the growing locavore movement. It's difficult to find food that's more local than one's own backyard!

Learn about fruitscaping from author Lee Reich and his book Landscaping With Fruit. It will help you to grow pretty and tasty fruits in your suburban or rural home. Spring blossoms, summer and fall fruit, and the year-round presence of the plants themselves bring a special magic to the home landscape. Pillowy pink blossoms on peach branches or the bright orange fruit of persimmon trees perk up their surroundings with color and drama.

Landscaping With Fruit is a complete, no-nonsense guide to growing temperate-zone fruit, with information on everything from planting and pruning to pest control and harvesting. Readers will find all the basics of landscaping with fruit — site analysis, climate assessment, understanding soil and sun, plant selection, and optimizing growing conditions. An encyclopedia of 38 plants includes information for each entry on hardiness, size, potential pests, special care and pruning, harvesting and visual appeal.

Hide 

With just a quarter acre of land, you can feed a family of four with fresh, organic food year-round. This comprehensive guide to self-sufficiency gives you all the information you need to grow and preserve a variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts and grains; raise chickens for eggs and meat; raise cows, sheep and goats for meat or milk; raise pigs and rabbits; and keep honeybees. Simple instructions make it easy to enjoy canned, frozen, dried and pickled produce all winter; use your own grains to make bread, pasta and beer; turn fresh milk into delicious homemade yogurt, butter and cheese; make your own wine, cordials and herbal teas; and much, much more. It truly is possible to eat entirely from your backyard.

Recommended Product for Wiser Living: Today, more than ever before, our society is seeking ways to live more conscientiously. To help bring you the very best inspiration and information about greener, more sustainable lifestyles, Mother Earth News is recommending books and products to readers. For more than 40 years, Mother Earth News has been North America's "Original Guide to Living Wisely," creating books and magazines for people with a passion for self-reliance and a desire to live in harmony with nature.