Marty Elkin and MaryAnn Haxton’s new Tesseract fiber arts building. Photo courtesy of A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm. By Joyce White A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm in Sumner, Maine, takes its name from Madeline L’Engle’s book A Wrinkle in Time, which, said co-owner Marty Elkin, was influenced by the emerging knowledge of quantum theory.
Toki Oshima drawing By Roberta Bailey Is your root cellar half full or half empty? Are the apples beginning to feel like those sponge-like Koosh balls? There seems to be a law of nature that as soon as the kale in the greenhouse starts to grow and the pepper seedlings put out their first true
Toki Oshima drawing One of the most beautiful sights in the world is a branch laden with Seckel pears – something about that rosy blush against such smooth bronze flesh. Perhaps the anticipation of their sweet, juicy flavor brightens the sight even more. A home grown pear picked just before full ripeness, the aroma, the
Jerry Sass practices low-impact forestry in his 75-acre woodlot in N. Anson. Matt Scease photo. Nine Practices for a Sustainable Forest Preserving Old Logging Technology By Matt Scease Watching landowner and logger Jerry Sass step lightly through the hush of a pine stand, you wouldn’t think his 75-acre woodlot in the central Maine town of
Nursery crops growing in grow-tubes filled with a compost-based medium. You can check the performance of plants growing in such a medium by growing a few in a commercial, non-compost based medium for comparison. English photo. By Jean English Working with compost-based seeding mixes is not a static thing. That was the main message Dr.
By Jean English Dave Colson of New Leaf Farm in Durham, Maine, shared his expertise in growing cole crops at a MOFGA-sponsored talk at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show in January. He pointed out that broccoli and cauliflower can diversify the type of labor required on a farm, because each plant can be harvested only
Robert Spear, Maine’s Commissioner of Agriculture, stressed the importance of cooperation among the state’s agricultural groups in preserving, protecting and promoting farming. English photo. By Jean English Agriculture Commissioner Bob Spear knows agriculture and he knows politics. Now he just has to combine the two. Spear owns a dairy and vegetable farm with his brother
Toki Oshima drawing Peaches are a challenge to grow in northern climates. Mention peaches to Maine gardeners, and they get a glint in their eye, either from anticipation that their three-year-old tree will make it through another winter and bear next year, or from the memory of that bushel of the world’s best tasting peaches
Preserving Food, 2007 edition By Roberta Bailey Keeping Food Fresh: Old World Techniques and Recipes The Gardeners and Farmers of Terre Vivante Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 1999. (1-800-639-4099) 198 pp., $16.95. The Centre Terre Vivante is an ecological research and educational center in Mens, Domaine de Raud, a region in Southern France. The center hosts
By John E. Carroll Contrary to the perceived decline in New England agriculture in the latter years of the 20th century, at least five new social movements in agriculture are emerging in the region. A trademark of these movements is their very explicit values orientation, which contrasts with previous values. The prevailing values of conventional
