Garden beds and ponds are just a step from any door at the home of Charles and Julia Yelton in Whitefield, Maine. The Yeltons have a worldwide reputation for excellence in permaculture design. Photos by Jean English. By Jean English In his book Introduction to Permaculture (Tagari Publications, Australia, 1991), Bill Mollison defines permaculture as
By Craig Idlebrook Once every four weeks, neighbors in small towns throughout Maine come together to do their grocery shopping in unusual places, such as farmhouses, town halls, grange halls, even a seaweed-packaging plant. They catch up with each other and sip coffee while they wait for their food. Then comes the sound of the
By Jean English Bocashi is fermented organic material that has been used traditionally in Japan (where it’s spelled ‘bokashi’) as fertilizer. Making bokashi is an ancient art in Japan, with many recipes, often handed down (sometimes along with bokashi starter) through families. According to the Fall 2004 issue of La Cosecha, the publication of Sustainable
Wendy Karush’s squash, a Burpee butterbush, reads, “Cook me, mash me, add me to pancake batter.” The squash was displayed at the Exhibition Hall at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. by Roberta Bailey Last fall defied all that I know to be true of weather in New England. After waiting until mid-October for
Eric Rector with his three-year-old Dexter cow and her newborn calf. So you’re thinking of getting a family cow. You’ve probably thought of many good reasons: fresh milk 10 months of the year, copious amounts of cream, peaceful moments in the barn with your head resting against the cow while milking and letting the rest
Master Gardeners provided this display of compost containers and a thermometer at Brae Maple Farm one summer. They include a rotating drum (Compos-Tumbler), a bin made from recycled plastic and one made from pallets. A series of three wooden bins in a row (made from pallets or constructed of wood) will enable a gardener to
by Jean English “I’m a visual thinker and somebody who really notices details,” said Dr. Temple Grandin at the annual meeting of the Maine Grass Farmers Network in August. “I think totally in pictures,” she added. The packed room at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity had come to hear how this autistic person’s
At the Small Farm Field Day in Unity, Russ Libby demonstrated growing crops in a cold frame that has a folding top. English photo. By Jean English Russ Libby, MOFGA’s executive director, has been growing garden crops in cold frames – “one of my favorite tools” – for about 18 years. His first frames consisted
Chris Cavendish, who was MOFGA’s farmer-in-residence at the time, talked about some of his favorite tools at the Small Farm Field Day in Unity last July. English photo. By Jean English Chris Cavendish, who was MOFGA’s farmer-in-residence for the past two years, talked about his experiences growing crops in and out of a hoop house
By Deb Soule I have often wondered where plant pollinators, such as bumblebees and hummingbirds, sleep during the night. Recently, while gathering fresh calendula flowers the evening before a tropical storm was to hit, I began seeing individual bumblebees nestled inside dozens of calendula blossoms, as if someone had told them it was time to
