In this heartfelt and unflinching memoir, two activists recount the nearly half century they’ve spent questioning authority while raising a family, building a self-reliant community, starting an organic farm, leading a farming organization, and experiencing the struggles and joys of living a purposeful life. Many Hands Make a Farm traces the journey of organic farming pioneers Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge from their early years of bright-eyed excitement, through the long slog for economic stability, to the formation of a thriving community and a growing natural farming movement. Along the way, they established relationships with farming leaders across the country during the creation of the National Organic Program. Julie and Jack met while working as community organizers in Boston. After falling in love and starting a family, they decided to use Jack’s irregular earnings as a board game designer to support a move to a rural area where they could grow healthy food and earn their living at home, so they could be present for their four children. What began as a family homestead soon grew into the small, diversified Many Hands Organic Farm. Julie and Jack have intentionally chosen to live their lives differently than the mainstream, prioritizing minimizing energy use, raising food organically, not relying on credit, favoring natural health care, participating in the arts, working creatively, and instilling the values of hard work and responsibility in their children. In a time when society at large was “going along to get along,” Julie and Jack stood out as leaders and iconoclasts. They believe that taking risks and making bold decisions can unlock one’s potential and lead to actions that enrich the spirit, the family, and the community. Many Hands Make a Farm will resonate with fans of original thinkers from Henry David Thoreau and Wendell Berry to Lynn Margulis and Adelle Davis. The book strongly conveys the message of finding roots in a community, respecting the Earth, and combining social justice work with the joys and challenges of raising a family. These themes shine through on every page, making this memoir a must-read for anyone seeking inspiration and guidance on finding meaning in their life.

At Clay Bottom Farm, author Ben Hartman and staff practice kaizen, or continuous improvement, cutting out more waste--of time, labor, space, money, and more--every year and aligning their organic production more tightly with customer demand. Applied alongside other lean principles originally developed by the Japanese auto industry, the end result has been increased profits and less work. In this field-guide companion to his award-winning first book, The Lean Farm, Hartman shows market vegetable growers in even more detail how Clay Bottom Farm implements lean thinking in every area of their work, including using kanbans, or replacement signals, to maximize land use; germination chambers to reduce defect waste; and right-sized machinery to save money and labor and increase efficiency. From finding land and assessing infrastructure needs to selling perfect produce at the farmers market, The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables digs deeper into specific, tested methods for waste-free farming that not only help farmers become more successful but make the work more enjoyable. These methods include: Using Japanese paper pot transplanters Building your own germinating chambers Leaning up your greenhouse Making and applying simple composts Using lean techniques for pest and weed control Creating Heijunka, or load-leveling calendars for efficient planning Farming is not static, and improvement requires constant change. The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables offers strategies for farmers to stay flexible and profitable even in the face of changing weather and markets. Much more than a simple exercise in cost-cutting, lean farming is about growing better, not cheaper, food--the food your customers want.

Many Hands Make Light Work is the rollicking true story of a family of nine children growing up in the college town of Ames, Iowa in the ’60s and ’70s. Inspiring, full of surprises, and laugh-out-loud funny, this utterly unique family champions diversity and inclusion long before such concepts become cultural flashpoints. Cheryl and her siblings are the offspring of an eccentric professor father and unflappable mother. Mindful of their ever-expanding family’s need for cash, her parents begin acquiring tumbledown houses in campus-town, to renovate and rent. Dad, who changes out of his suit and tie into a carpenter’s battered white overalls, like Clark Kent into Superman, is supremely confident his offspring can do anything, whether he’s there or not. Mom, an organizational genius disguised as a housewife, manages nine children so deftly that she finds the time—and heart—to take in student boarders, who stir their own offbeat personalities into this unconventional household. The kids, meanwhile, pour concrete, paint houses, and, at odd moments, break into song, because instead of complaining, they sing as they work, like a von Trapp family in painters caps. Free-wheeling and contagiously cheerful, Many Hands Make Light Work is a winsome memoir of a Heartland childhood unlike any other.

“So much thoughtful insight and practical advice is contained in these pages . . . Jane uses nature as a guide to living life in harmony rather than discord.”—Rosemary Gladstar, author of Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs Insight, ideas, and inspiration abound in this highly practical guide to growing successfully in harmony with the moon, the Earth, and other planetary influences. Planting by the moon is an age-old gardening tradition, but did you know that the cycles of the moon and the zodiac can be a powerful tool to improve your success with all kinds of gardening tasks? In The Celestial Garden, longtime gardener and herbalist Jane Hawley Stevens explains how the movement of the moon through the constellations of the zodiac provides a detailed calendar of optimal times for planting seeds, roots, and transplants, as well as for pruning, weeding, propagation, harvesting, and even starting new garden projects or throwing garden parties. While herbs are Stevens’s specialty, she loves growing all kinds of plants, and The Celestial Garden provides excellent gardening tips for every gardener, whether their passion is for vegetables, fruits, herbs, or flowers. At a deeper level, Stevens believes that gardening by the moon and learning about astrological cycles can help restore our elemental interconnection with Nature and the Earth. The Celestial Garden introduces and explains all aspects of astrological gardening: What moon signs are, and why and how the phase of the moon affects plant growth and development How to align the moon’s passage through the constellations of the zodiac with your choice of daily garden tasks and projects Specific tips and advice for the best activities to undertake during each of the moon’s phases How to incorporate simple, creative seasonal rituals into your astrological gardening practice How to design a unique chakra garden How to apply what you learn about astrological influences beyond the garden to experience a greater sense of flow and satisfaction in all aspects of your daily life Photos of the author’s garden throughout the book provide visual evidence of the positive results that come from gardening in harmony with the moon and planetary influences. Illustrations and charts help readers understand the lunar cycle and its influence on plants, the astrological rulers of the body, and the relationship between the signs of the zodiac and the four elements (earth, air, water, fire). Gardeners of every level of experience will find new insights, ideas, and inspiration in this unusual, beautiful, and highly practical guide to the simple yet expansive art of consulting with the cosmos to inform our garden tasks on any given day, week, or month and enjoy greater gardening satisfaction and success. "[Stevens'] advice is plentiful . . [and her] horticultural degree underscore the science of her work."—Booklist “A unique and wonderful book, brimming with the knowledge and skills that arise from a lifetime in herbalism. . . This book is a major contribution to herbalism’s role not only in the alleviation of suffering, but the transformation of human consciousness. Thank you, Jane!”—David Hoffmann, RH (AHG), fellow, National Institute of Medical Herbalists; principal scientist, Traditional Medicinals "In this easy-to-understand guidebook, Jane Hawley Stevens demystifies the moon and stars in relationship with nature and explains how you can use their powerful cycles to make your garden the most beautiful, bountiful, and happiest it can be."—Maria Rodale, author of Love, Nature, Magic

2 What's it about? It's about life, growing up on a farm in a small town, and lessons learned. About fun and foolishness, hard--really hard--work and accomplishments, family and friends, love and heartbreak. About hometown and Hollywood! About overcomers and encouragers, the mundane and the adventures, memories shared and retold over and over, a slice of American history you won't find in history books. It's about life and death. It's about God's love, his protection, provision, and his plan for our lives. It's about the Buzzells.