Archives: Resources

Local Dairy

Illustration by Toki Oshima. By Roberta Bailey In the last few years, I have noticed a significant increase in the number of small dairy operations, many of them organic, in Maine. Transitioning to organic has helped small dairy farms survive. Selling milk wholesale is one option, but I have noted an increasing number of farms

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Elderberries

Elderberry makes good juice, wine, jam, syrup, medicines and more. Photo from Conservation Plants for the Northeast, Soil Conservation Service Program Aid No. 1154. By Roberta Bailey My first memory of elder bushes was in my best friend’s yard. Her father had a neat row of the plants, mulched with peanut hulls. He made wine

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For the Love of Lovage

Lovage emerges in the spring with succulent leaves. You can keep using the plant into the fall if you keep it clipped so that it produces young growth continuously. English photo. By Jean Ann Pollard “This herbe for hys sweete savoure is used in bathe.” – Thomas Hyll, The Gardener’s Labyrinth, 1577 It’s not too

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Chickweed

Chickweed is a common “weed” that is high in vitamins and minerals and can help relieve ovarian cysts, kidney problems, sore throats and more. By Deb Soule Various species of chickweed grow around our planet. A member of the Caryophyllaceae (Carnation) family, chickweed grows as an annual and reseeds easily in cool, moist soils. Its

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Nespihqamq

Fredda Paul harvests red willow (Cornus stolonifera) in the spring. Leslie Wood photo. By Fredda Paul with Leslie Wood Paul Fredda Paul, Passamaquoddy tribal member, practices Indian traditional medicine as first learned from his grandmother. He and Leslie work together harvesting, making medicine and helping people return to the old ways of healing. Contact them

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Neurological Disorders

By Jean English Is a dietary deficiency of vitamin A or B6 linked to autism? Can nutrient deficiencies cause some cases of bipolar disorder? Can Tourette syndrome symptoms be triggered by mold in homes and schools, by offgassing of formaldehyde from building materials, or by flashing lights? These are some of the questions that editor

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CSA

Elizabeth Henderson talked about the community organizing that goes along with CSA farms. She is shown here talking with MOFGA-certified organic farmer Allan Smith. By Jean English Variations on the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) theme were highlighted at MOFGA’s Spring Growth Conference in April. Community Supported Agriculture involves customers who buy shares in a farm,

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Intensive

Tim and Jan King. Photo from wholefarmcoop.com by Kristen Corselius, used with permission. By Tim King Since 1986, our farm has used a system of raised beds, drip irrigation, plastic mulch and fabric row cover tunnels. We’ve used this system or parts of this system for frost protection, weed control, irrigation, microclimate enhancement, moisture retention

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Organic Dairy

Switching from conventional to organic dairying, partly by reducing herd size, helped save the Bragg Homestead farm in Sidney. Wayne Bragg talks about the transition to organic as his cows eat silage in this outdoor lot. English photo. By Jean English “Organic is not business as usual,” says Wayne Bragg, an organic dairy farmer in

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Probiotics

By Diane Schivera Beneficial bacteria, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum, are called probiotics. Probiotics, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, are live microorganisms administered in adequate amounts which confer a beneficial health effect on the host. The concept of maintaining or restoring the balance of bowel bacteria

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