Phosphorus deficient crops can be stunted; leaves may turn purple; and flowering and new shoot growth will be delayed. Often, cold soils or an improper pH for growth limit phosphorus availability, even while the soil holds plenty of phosphorus. Sideman photo. By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. After nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) is the next nutrient most
Water hemlock, Cicuta maculata Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana Lupines, Lupinus spp. Rhododendron spp. Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca St. Johnswort, Hypericum perforatum Yews, Taxus spp. By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. Jean English photos If a pasture has enough palatable plants to eat, livestock will generally avoid the poisonous plants. But livestock are individuals, and there are
When fruits aren’t thinned, a tree will produce many small apples rather than fewer, larger fruits. English photo. Summer Tasks By C. J. Walke As spring rolls into summer, I hope you’ve had a beautifully blooming, successfully pollinated orchard and avoided those late spring frosts that can kill blossoms and ruin your hopes for a
Raspberries are ready! And so is so much more – making an outing to farmers’ markets and farm stands a weekly treat for the author. English photo. By Cheryl Wixson Starting in June, my friend Heather and I celebrate the seasonal bounty with weekly trips we call Farm Days. Every Thursday we leave Deer Isle,
From spring spinach to fall kale, Maine’s growing season offers ample opportunities for us to savor every moment. English photo. By Roberta Bailey We all pack a lot into our fleeting Maine summers. Lettuce, spinach and peas intertwine with weddings and graduations, green beans and raspberries bump up against summer camp, melons and blueberries go
Lambsquarters, a common garden weed, is edible. Harvest it before it goes to seed. English photo. By Jean Ann Pollard Lambsquarters! Pigweed! Fat-hen, goosefoot, bacon weed, dirty Dick, Muck Hill weed. Despite numerous, often odoriferous monikers (and this little list is only partial), Chenopodium album is a delicious, nutritious delight for foragers, and a summer
A bulkhead offers great conditions for storing produce over winter – once stairs are removed to make space, and insulation is added. Adam Tomash photo. The stair module, removed for storage outdoors over winter. Adam Tomash photo. The bulkhead with stairs removed and the first layer of insulation applied. Adam Tomash photos. By Adam Tomash
By Will Bonsall When I was a kid, I really loved turnips, even though I had never tasted one. Oh, I thought I had; didn’t we use turnips in that traditional New England Boiled Dinner we had on special occasions, along with corned beef, carrots, beets, potatoes and so on? Sure, turnips were an old
The 2010 Farmer to Farmer Conference at Point Lookout in Northport, Maine, featured a session on managing soils in high tunnels. Speakers were Vern Grubinger, University of Vermont vegetable and berry specialist; Bruce Hoskins of the University of Maine Diagnostic Lab; and Paul Volckhausen, who, with his wife Karen, grows organic tomatoes and other crops
Hoophouses at Peacemeal Farm in Dixmont, Maine, and at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity. English photos. A Tribute to Farmers’ Innovative Instincts Tentative deadline for final year of NRCS funding: July 1, 2011 By Jo Anne Bander As crocuses and wild spring greens emerged in Maine, so did crops in an increasing number
