For my birthday this year, my oldest daughter got us tickets to see Neil Finn at Town Hall in New York City. Now, most people have never heard of Neil Finn. But maybe you’ve heard of Crowded House. Or Split Enz. Or his years recording with brother Tim. Or that epic 7 Worlds Collide phase. […]
By Maria

The Case of the Stinky Shoes
The other night, I walked into my teenage daughter’s bedroom to say goodnight and my eyes-in-the-back-of-my-head alarm went off. “What is that smell?” I asked. The odor was a bit like fire, petroleum, and toxic chemicals, mixed with an electrical malfunction. Generally bad stuff. Dangerous stuff. “I’ve been smelling it too,” she said. We both […]

Vindication for Lazy Parents (Like Me)
The other day, while driving into New York City, I heard a radio interview with Dana Goldstein, author of the recent Atlantic article “Don’t Help Your Kids With Their Homework.” The article discussed two researchers from Duke University who went through 30 years of surveys to determine what really works when it comes to parental […]

Maria’s Five Favorites: Easter Basket Gifts
Easter is just a couple of weeks away! So it’s time to decide how you’ll be prepping that organic ham and what side dishes to whip up. You may even want to consider making your own organic candy. But as healthy and organic as we may be in the kitchen, there’s one place many of […]

Blog Advice, Anyone? (Please!)
Hello, dear loyal readers, I am about to undergo a blog redesign—the first in many years—and I’d love your advice. I really enjoy blogging, but it’s also good to take a step back and reassess every once in a while. Sure, I can look at my traffic data and search results. But those points don’t […]

Fishing for Fun at Kamalame Cay
For spring break this year I wanted to find a nice place to go bonefishing that the whole family would enjoy. After all, it’s not every year a 7-year-old girl makes a New Year’s resolution to go to the Bahamas and catch a bonefish. The unanimous recommendation from the current and former editors of Garden […]

What Do You Stand FOR?
Most of us can easily answer the question of what we are against. Just a few key words will show you what I mean (I’m not implying which side of the fence any of us are on, just that there is a fence): guns, abortion, gay marriage, GMOs, immigration, Monsanto.… But often it’s harder to […]

10 Surprising Ways to Teach Kids to Love Nature
As the weather starts to improve, it’s the perfect time to get kids out and about and show them the joy of nature. It doesn’t have to be a structured thing—in fact, unstructured is almost always better when it comes to kids and nature. If you’re looking for a little inspiration, here’s a list of […]
Scratch
Raised on America’s first organic farm, Scratch author Maria Rodale learned how to make everyday favorites from, yes, scratch — the way you remember them; the way they turn out best.
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Organic Manifesto
Drawing on findings from leading health researchers as well as conversations with both chemical and organic farmers from coast to coast, Maria Rodale irrefutably outlines the unacceptably high cost of chemical farming on our health and our environment.
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