Johan van Achterberg, a farmer in Easton, Connecticut, worried every time he and his wife went out in the evening. Would an animal get into the hen house and decimate his layers before he got home? Even when he stayed home, he would find himself waking up in the small hours and saying, “Barbara, did
By Jean English Last summer, some 500 Rambouillet wethers enjoyed a fine cuisine of brushy vegetation under power lines on a 13-mile, 460-acre strip of Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) right-of-way in Nottingham, Barrington, Lee, Durham and Madbury, New Hampshire. Little did they know that they were part of an experiment to control
By Jane Lamb “It doesn’t make sense for us to have a big garden when we have Dad’s right across the street,“ says Rebecca Haines, who grew up on her father’s, Austin Moore’s, Uncas Farm in North Whitefield. Instead, she and her husband, Fred, have put their environmental concerns into building a self-sufficient solar-powered home
Georgian Fire garlic. Nason photo. By Roberta Bailey The late psychologist James Hillman once said that our duty is not to rise above life but grow down to it. He believed that each of us has a purpose or calling in life that reveals itself at an early age and reappears until we heed it.
Garlic affected by bloat nematodes may be missing roots, and the basal plate may appear to have a dry rot. Sideman photo. By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. The stem and bulb nematode, or bloat nematode as it is often called, is not a new pest. It was reported in New York and California in the ‘30s.
Garlic growing at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity. English photo. People usually say mid-October is about the right time for when to plant garlic in Maine. That rule of thumb will, in most years, produce a decent crop. But why are more or fewer cloves per bulb sometimes produced, or more double cloves?
By Joyce White In the limited space claimed from the surrounding woods of Stoneham, Maine, to accommodate their home, Liz Como and Andy Chakoumakos grow vegetables, herbs and flowers in pots and raised beds. The fourth owners of this owner-built home share it with 5-year-old Sofia, who joined their family as an infant. The home
A well-made lane guides sheep to pasture at Susan Littlefield’s Yknot Farm in Belmont, Maine, which is transitioning to organic. Photo by Diane Schivera. By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. Raising sheep and goats organically can be a challenge, so many farmers who support organic principles have not transitioned their animals to certified organic. Presently MOFGA Certification
By Adam Tomash 1. Materials. Brown materials are high in carbon, green materials are high in nitrogen. Mix the two in rough proportions of 2 volumes of brown to 1 volume of green to achieve a C:N ratio of 25:1 to 40:1. Remember that different sources of nitrogen have differing amounts of nitrogen; e.g., alfalfa
