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Homestead Maps

Ben Hoffman threshing wheat. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hoffman Map 1 – Base map Map 2 – Base map with contour lines Map 3 – Map with soil types Map 4 – Map with forest cover types By Ben Hoffman Maps showing land boundaries and vegetation are among the most useful tools a landowner can

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Cranberries Dont Assume You Cant Grow Them

  Many Maine farms and homesteads have low spots where cranberries will do well.   Cranberries ready for harvest By Will Bonsall Most folks think of cranberries as a crop with requirements that are too challenging for their situation. Cranberries like sandy, acidic, soggy peat soils that can be flooded at will, whereas the average

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Letter Hyssop or Anise Hyssop or Both

I read with interest the letter in your winter newspaper issue from Joyce White regarding bees’ love of hyssop. We have had a hyssop next to our deck stairs for years, and every August we can hear the constant buzzing of bees as they work the blossoms. In 2018 I thought I would add to

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Spring Orchard Work and then Ice Cream

Delton Curtis grafting at the Seed Swap and Scion Exchange. English photo By John Bunker Springtime in central Maine was designed for orchard activity. The long days and the warming sun lure me out the door like the Pied Piper’s flute. Get up early and cook up a saucepan of apples from the last bushel

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Animal Pests in the Garden

  Without a contiguous perimeter of metal deer fencing that is at least 8 feet tall, these animals are likely to enjoy your crops.   Anyone can set a live trap anytime and relocate woodchucks, raccoons or skunks. By Caleb Goossen, Ph.D. The three most common mammal pests that gardeners ask me about are deer,

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Harvest Kitchen Growing the True Sweetness of Life

Toki Oshima illustration By Roberta Bailey I have been thinking about cycles. Maybe I am always thinking about cycles. As soon as the weather turns colder in September, I start to crave winter squash. And late June has me watching the baby summer squash, balancing my urge to pick it and eat it with the

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Using Cured Cannabis Flower

Figure 1 – Weighing flower for decarboxylation. Note the 62% moisture packet in the bell jar container, and tart cherry concentrate. Figure 2 – Molds ready to receive gummy mixture.  Note the eye dropper with the mixture. Figure 3 – Cooking gummy mixtures By John Jemison University of Maine Cooperative Extension Soil and Water Quality

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Waste Not Want Not

Over-mature garlic breaks apart and will not store as well, so it can be dried and ground into garlic powder. Photo by Kindle Bonsall By Will Bonsall I go to a lot of effort to produce food crops, and nothing irks me more than having useable food go to waste. I’ve heard people say, “Nothing really

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A Frustrating New Brassica Pest The Swede Midge

Swede midge larvae, circled Broccoli leaves contorted by swede midge larvae feeding Swede midge damage in broccoli Multiple heads of Veronica cauliflower – a result of swede midge feeding By Caleb Goossen, Ph.D. Photos by David Fuller Over the coming years, farmers and home gardeners in Maine will likely encounter damage on their brassica plants

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Saffron A Good Fit for New England

Dr. Arash Ghalehgolabbehbahani and Dr. Margaret Skinner of the University of Vermont gave a fascinating talk about saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, at MOFGA’s Farmer to Farmer Conference. English photo By Jean English Dr. Arash Ghalehgolabbehbahani and Dr. Margaret Skinner of the University of Vermont gave a fascinating and entertaining talk about saffron at

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