Nitrogen deficiency often appears as a uniform yellowing on the lower leaves of plants. English photo. By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. Nitrogen (N) is the nutrient most commonly limiting crop growth and yield on organic farms. This is especially true when creating a farm from an old, abandoned field and when transitioning from conventional to organic
By Cheryl A. Wixson Passage of the Federal legislation S.510: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act reflects consumers’ needs and desires for assurance that their food supply is free from pathogens and contaminants that cause foodborne illnesses. Russell Libby, MOFGA’s executive director, logged countless hours in Washington, D.C., advocating for small, diversified farms as the bill
Sam Birch grows more than 100 varieties of beans and displays them at the Common Ground Country Fair Exhibition Hall each fall. English photo. Dry beans at Common Ground’s Exhibition Hall. English photo. By Roberta Bailey “Beans, beans, the magical fruit … ” I have been thinking that Jack (of beanstalk repute) wasn’t so crazy
Toki Oshima drawing The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), the University of New Hampshire and UMaine Cooperative Extension organized a meeting of growers at Paul Lorrain’s Sunset Farm Organics in Lyman, Maine, in December 2010 to tour the farm and talk about growing vegetables in winter. About 50 attended the tour and some
Mark Hutton ([email protected]), vegetable specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm in Monmouth, talked about asparagus cultivation at MOFGA and Cooperative Extension’s 2010 Farmer to Farmer Conference, and Rick and Marilyn Stanley of Chick Farm in Wells, Maine, talked about their experiments with using chickens to control weeds in asparagus. History
Toki Oshima drawing By Tim Nason A number of resources are available to small farmers who desire financing in the form of loans. Although debt is often anathema to farmers, those who have achieved a certain level of reliable, annual cash flow and a record of profitability will find that a loan can provide financing
Cornelian cherry dogwood flowers in spring and fruits in summer. Jean English photos. By Jean English Want to increase the amount of homegrown food you produce, with very little work? Plant any or all of these 10 edible, perennial, ornamental species in your landscape. They’ll provide fresh, mouthwatering snacks and sustenance from early spring until
A whip and tongue graft works well on small-diameter branches. Make a slanted cut and a tongue in a branch of the rootstock tree. Rob Lemire photo. Likewise, make a slanted cut and a tongue in the scion. Rob Lemire photo. Fit the scion into the prepared branch. Rob Lemire photo. Wrap the graft completely
Jim Gerritsen (right) talks to Niels Mejnertsen about his organic mill in Denmark. Photo courtesy of Wood Prairie Farm. By Jim and Megan Gerritsen, Wood Prairie Farm, Bridgewater, Maine Last October, 22 farmers, millers and researchers from Maine and Vermont traveled to Denmark to learn about local organic wheat production, processing, marketing and baking. The
Hops are supported by baling twine attached to aircraft cable running between 16-foot-tall posts. Photo courtesy of Richard Jones. By Holli Cederholm Situated on adjacent parcels of land in Monroe, Maine, are three certified organic hops-growing operations owned by three friends who met in Florida. Richard Jones, a full-time boat captain and owner of Irish
