Figs are a subtropical plant from the Mediterranean region and need some special care to flourish in Maine … but it can be done! Easiest is to grow figs in a container and bring it inside in fall after leaf drop. Maintain dormancy by keeping the plants between 20-50 F. Unheated cellars work great. Potting
by Eric Sideman, PhDMOFGA’s Organic Crop Specialist Emeritus Soil-less mixes were developed for use in containers for seedlings because field soil does not work well. Soil alone is heavy and poorly aerated. It tends to become waterlogged and sticky when wet. Then it shrinks when it dries, pulls away from the container edges and turns
Prepared byDr. Eric Sideman andDr. Jean English Introduction The science of gardening is complex, but the actual practice is simple. The central goal of organic gardening is to maintain or improve the ability of the soil to support plant life as it produces a crop of vegetables each year. That ability depends on a dynamic
By Nicolas LindholmPhotos and illustrations by Nicolas Lindholm Ridge tillage as we practice it at Hackmatack Farm is a system of growing vegetable crops in raised ridges formed before planting. Essential to this system is incorporation of winterkilled cover crops and other organic matter into the top surface layer of soil as we form the
By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. The causes of some garden tragedies are obvious, while other causes are mysterious. When Colorado potato beetles eat every leaf and your potatoes never get larger than golf balls, there really is no puzzle to solve. But sometimes gardeners don’t know what went wrong, and they chalk some problems up to
Sunflower seed is planted in rows 30″ apart using a tractor-mounted corn planter and cultivated several times with mid-mounted sweeps. These plants were growing at UMaine’s Rogers Farm. Rick Kersbergen photo. by Polly Shyka If the pinecone is Maine’s state flower, then the sunflower, a native, useful, generous and beautiful plant, should be the national
Rutabagas (right) have a denser, mostly yellow-fleshed, rounder root than turnips. The leaves of rutabagas have a blue tint and are not hairy, as are those of turnips, and the roots of rutabagas arise from the underside of the tuber as well as from the taproot. Rutabagas take longer to grow but have a richer
Butterbeans, a cultivar of edible green vegetable soybeans, have a sweet, buttery flavor. Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Albion, Maine. By Roberta Bailey Nearly 20 years ago, I wrote an article for The MOF&G entitled, “What is tofu?” At the time tofu was not available in convenient, pre-packed cartons on any grocery store shelf,
Linden leaves, flowers, fruit, twig and seed. From Trees of Northeastern United States, Native and Naturalized, by H.P. Brown, Ph.D., The Christopher Publishing House, Boston, 1938. by Deb Soule In southern Maine, linden trees begin blooming in late June. Their sweet fragrance invites thousands of honeybees to feed upon the abundant nectar that the yellowish-green
The Pest Report is a compilation of short discussions of pests, diseases and practical growing considerations relevant to the time of year. These discussions have been written by Eric Sideman, myself, and sometimes other New England crop advisors. Discussions of pest and diseases include the biology of the organisms themselves, symptoms and effects on plants,
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