Rice and azolla growing at Wild Folks Farm in Benton. Ben Rooney photo Rooney harvests rice with a scythe. Corallina Breuer photo By Ben Rooney Wild Folks Farm is entering its fourth season of lowland integrated rice production in Benton, Maine. Lowland refers to paddies. We have nine, with a gravity-fed water system. The paddies comprise about
Fresh asparagus – a top reason for mucking about in the garden. English photo By Roberta Bailey Last summer my husband and I spent seven days a week building a post-and-beam house. Our old house had burned the February before, and we were under a tight timeline with the insurance company. It all worked out
These prize-winning eggs shown in the Common Ground Country Fair Exhibition Hall by David Mansky of Bar Harbor came from four breeds of heirloom chickens. English photo By Cheryl Wixson Now that the longer days of spring are almost here, we are enjoying a surplus of local farm eggs. Considered one of the world’s healthiest
Toki Oshima drawing By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. This is my annual wrap-up of meetings I attended in 2015, beginning with the Northeast Pasture Consortium meeting in Morgantown, W. Virginia. Using a conservation planning computer tool created in response to concerns expressed last year at the Northeast Pasture Consortium, Peter Kleinman demonstrated effects of grazing
Tachinid flies and their larvae parasitize some orchard pests. English photo By C.J. Walke The term “threshold” is used in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies to describe the level at which pest pressure and crop damage have reached the point where plant health will start to decline and/or crop damage will result in reduced yields.
State Sales Tax Changes In another move affecting some cheese makers and other food processors, Maine has substantially changed its sales tax rules regarding food. No longer is the tax as straight-forward as groceries (non-taxable) and prepared food (always taxable). Now some groceries are taxable. For example, a mix called a “DIP” is taxable. A
A Gamma Seal bucket Holes drilled in the bottom of the top Gamma Seal bucket Italian Bottling Spigot with nut and two washers Drain stopcock installed in the bottom bucket By Adam Tomash Photos by the author My last article on bokashi (the Japanese word for “fermented organic matter” and a way to compost; see
The protection of a hoophouse (and wrapping plants in winter with fabric row cover) offers promise for growing figs in Maine. Photo by Lauren Errickson Ripe figs. Photo by Lauren Errickson By Bill Errickson Farmers in the Northeast struggle with a short growing season, cool temperatures and harsh, unpredictable winters, so it behooves them to
Terraces at the author’s Khadighar Farm hold nutrients and water while supporting crop growth on a slope. By Will Bonsall Photos and illustration by Will Bonsall Around the world people have used terraces since ancient times to grow crops on steep hillsides. The benefit of preventing soil erosion is obvious, but an equal value is
Toki Oshima drawing By Joann S. Grohman Maine has the highest rate of new farmers in the 48 states; we’ve gained 1,000 just in the past 10 years. Many of these new farmers will, I hope, consider keeping one or several cows, as nearly everyone did until less than 100 years ago. Even in towns,
