Jim Chamberlin
- Sep 13
- 4 min
Farmer-to-farmer Learning Makes Meaningful Change
Sustainable agriculture gives me hope. What gives me hope is the knowledge that much of what ails us and the planet we are part of can be...
HDT Team
- Aug 9
- 3 min
Purple Reigns in New Varieties Grown in HDT Gardens
The Happy Dancing Turtle garden team planted several different purple vegetables in the garden this season. You may be accustomed to...
Jenny Hill
- Jul 11
- 4 min
You Are What You Eat (and How You Eat)
Book review: How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices That Are Good for You, Others, and the Planet by Sophie Egan, 2020, Workman...
Jenny Hill
- Jul 5
- 4 min
Reducing Plastics in the Kitchen
You may have heard that this month is Plastic Free July. This is a great month-long challenge encouraging people to take any action, big...
Jim Chamberlin
- May 23
- 3 min
Let's Go Nuts: A New Opportunity in Agriculture
Happy Dancing Turtle is looking for landowners interested in planting a new and exciting crop – hybrid hazelnuts. They will be seeking...
Jenny Hill
- Mar 28
- 4 min
Grow with Community Gardens & Seed Libraries
The latest snow/rainstorm may have sent you back indoors to try to plan your garden. Maybe you are an experienced gardener and you have...
Jim Chamberlin
- Mar 22
- 5 min
Pools of Energy Key Frame to Soil Health
I was at the Minnesota Organic Conference many years ago, sitting in a session on testing soil biology. The presenter was showing a...
Jenny Hill
- Mar 13
- 4 min
Healthier Eating for All, Healthier Eating for You
Maybe you’ve noticed the rising cost of groceries. Some rising costs are easier to absorb than others and food and healthy eating is...
Jenny Hill
- Nov 6, 2023
- 4 min
Adventures in Sustainability: Prevent Holiday Food Waste
The abundance of produce that is available in late summer through fall inspires many gatherings, special dinners and celebrations, of...
Jim Chamberlin
- Jul 26, 2023
- 3 min
Grassland 2.0 Update
Grassland 2.0 is a social project involving grass, water, cows, and people. On a recent Saturday, a group of around 30 people gathered at...
Jenny Hill
- Jul 3, 2023
- 3 min
Adventures in Sustainability: Food Waste and Some Great Alternatives
The numbers are sobering: According to the Environmental Defense Fund, 160 billion pounds of food goes uneaten every year in the United...
HDT Team
- Jun 15, 2023
- 3 min
Garden Tips: Recipes with Nettles and Chive Blossoms
“Use what you've got" is a phrase that is a building block for sustainable living. In this post we share two recent examples of seasonal...
Jenny Hill
- May 18, 2023
- 2 min
Garden Updates
Gardeners Dave and Anna brought in the first harvest from the hoop house this week! It was made up of lots of greens: spinach, arugula,...
Jenny Hill
- Apr 21, 2023
- 3 min
Garden Tips: Seeding, Thinning, Tamping
While hardy (and understandably grumpy) Minnesotans weather yet another rain/snow “event,” steadfast gardeners like Dave and Anna at...
Jenny Hill
- Mar 9, 2023
- 3 min
Food Security is Key to Sustainable Living
One of the basic human needs is food. Food insecurity can completely obliterate the opportunity for sustainable, healthy living....
Jenny Hill
- Feb 17, 2023
- 5 min
Garden Tips
As we watch the snow melt, then rain come and go, and then the snow start all over again, many of us have fallen for the siren call of...
Jim Chamberlin
- Dec 2, 2022
- 4 min
Celebrate World Soil Day
World Soil Day is December 5th and is dedicated to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable...
Jenny Hill
- Oct 28, 2022
- 4 min
When the Weather Gets Cold, Local Eaters Get Creative
Do you have a summer and winter diet? Many of us do, at least to a certain extent because it seems more fun to eat melon in the summer...
Jim Chamberlin
- Oct 14, 2022
- 6 min
Food in a Changing Climate
On what appears to be the backside of the 2021 drought, it’s a good time to reflect on the impacts the drought had, and explore ways we...
Jim Chamberlin
- Sep 30, 2022
- 4 min
Soil Health, Part Four
Jim Chamberlin, Happy Dancing Turtle’s Conservation Technician, also operates a 109-acre diversified farm and forestry operation near...