This beauty is a reproduction of the same tool that came into existence 1,200 years ago. Japan and Holland thought up this design independent of one another during the same time period! Made with a thin, flexible blade, this is the perfect implement for fine weeding up close to your plants. A scraper and slicer, it’s made to get baby weeds as they come up (before they get stringy or woody). All Homestead Iron tools are sharp! They use 1075 high-carbon steel for their blades and treat each as a high-quality knife. Each tool comes with a lifetime guarantee. Give it proper care and maintenance, and should it bend or break, Homestead Iron will repair or replace it.

Don't sacrifice your garden or green space because you suffer from chronic pain, health issues, or other ailments. The Wellness Garden is your guide! If you love to garden but also worry about the physical strain, or if you are in search of ways to promote a healthier lifestyle, and even combat specific, chronic, health issues, then noted garden author and speaker Shawna Coronado has good news for you! You can stay active, fight chronic pain, and keep the garden you've worked so hard to cultivate. In The Wellness Garden, her new book from Cool Springs Press, Shawna details exactly how she has learned to use her garden as a key tool in her battle with osteoarthritis and other chronic pain issues. In this inspiring but highly practical book you will learn from Shawna's life changing garden experience and see how you can create your own Wellness Garden--and gain the healthier lifestyle you desire and deserve.

Primitive beers, country wines, herbal meads, natural sodas, and more

The art of brewing doesn’t stop at the usual ingredients: barley, hops, yeast, and water. In fact, the origins of brewing involve a whole galaxy of wild and cultivated plants, fruits, berries, and other natural materials, which were once used to make a whole spectrum of creative, fermented drinks.

Now fermentation fans and home brewers can rediscover these “primitive” drinks and their unique flavors in The Wildcrafting Brewer. Wild-plant expert and forager Pascal Baudar’s first book, The New Wildcrafted Cuisine, opened up a whole new world of possibilities for readers wishing to explore and capture the flavors of their local terroir. The Wildcrafting Brewer does the same for fermented drinks. Baudar reveals both the underlying philosophy and the practical techniques for making your own delicious concoctions, from simple wild sodas, to non-grape-based “country wines,” to primitive herbal beers, meads, and traditional ethnic ferments like tiswin and kvass.

The book opens with a retrospective of plant-based brewing and ancient beers. The author then goes on to describe both hot and cold brewing methods and provides lots of interesting recipes; mugwort beer, horehound beer, and manzanita cider are just a few of the many drinks represented. Baudar is quick to point out that these recipes serve mainly as a touchstone for readers, who can then use the information and techniques he provides to create their own brews, using their own local ingredients.

The Wildcrafting Brewer will attract herbalists, foragers, natural-foodies, and chefs alike with the author’s playful and relaxed philosophy. Readers will find themselves surprised by how easy making your own natural drinks can be, and will be inspired, again, by the abundance of nature all around them.

This Mother Earth News Collector Series provides all the knowledge needed to grow your own quick and simple organic garden! It starts with a guide for beginners, takes you through maintaining your garden naturally, and even teaches you how to store what you harvest.

Discover the benefits of planning your garden, find 10 fascinating facts about edible plants, learn about the best seeds for a bigger, better garden and gardening advice for every season!

Around the world, everyone is talking about environmental issues and the concept of “going green.” Natural organic gardening and landscaping are among the most important parts of that movement. Some organic proponents only say to stop using the chemicals. Howard Garrett, in the Organic Manual, explains in detail what to do instead. His “what to do” is the organic method. The book opens with the advice to stop the use of toxic chemicals, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers, but Garrett then goes on, in great detail, about the practical alternatives. This is one of the few books effective for use coast to coast and border to border. The organic method has no geographic boundaries.

The best kept secret of all (uncovered in this book) is that the organic program is better in every way. Whether it’s growing beautiful landscaping or delicious, healthy food crops, the Organic Manual explains bed preparation, planting, pest control, and compost making. It also covers natural living advice. The organic method is the most efficient, most cost effective, and most fun of any approach. It also produces the best trees, shrubs, flowers, fruits, and vegetables that you’ll ever grow.

Fresh salads in February? Absolutely! The first frost no longer has to be the end of your growing season. Author Niki Jabbour gardens in Nova Scotia, where short summers and low levels of winter sunlight create the ultimate challenge for food gardeners. Her simple techniques will have you harvesting fresh vegetables in every month of the year, no matter where you live. You’ll learn how to select the best varieties for each season, master the art of succession planting, and make inexpensive protective structures that keep vegetables viable and delicious through the colder months.

About the author:
Niki Jabbour, author of The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener, is a food gardener and garden writer who lives near Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her articles have appeared in Canadian Gardening, Garden Making, Gardens East, The Heirloom Gardener, and other publications. She is the host of The Weekend Gardener, a call-in radio show that airs throughout the Maritime provinces on News 95.7 FM and www.news957.com, and she blogs at www.yearroundveggiegardener.blogspot.com. Her garden boasts more than 40 heirloom vegetables and herbs that keep her family eating fresh food year-round.