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lath for weed and moisture control

  Photo 1.   Photo 2. June 1, 2020 By Jonathan Mitschele Photos by the author The older plaster walls in my 1850s farmhouse were made by spreading wet plaster on a framework of thin wood strips, or laths. I don’t know what folks shopping at Home Depot or the like buy lath for today,

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tea time tip

Raspberry leaves June 1, 2020 Amid the harvest of tomatoes, green beans, broccoli and other veggies this summer, take some time to harvest the makings for tea. An hour or two spent harvesting the leaves of raspberry, mint and other plants, then drying them, can save several dollars in herbal tea bills throughout the year,

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American Beech

  A beech tree severely affected by beech bark disease. Postharvest view of a gap created during winter 2020 firewood cutting. Slash has been cut small and will decompose over the next few years; think of it as fertilizer for the next generation of trees. First flush of shiitake mushrooms on beech logs after a spring rain

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Dealing with Pest Animals in the Organic Garden

By Will Bonsall Note: Certified organic producers should check with their certifier before using any pesticides (including pest repellents) not mentioned on their organic farm plan. When using pesticides on crops grown commercially and intended for human consumption, an applicator’s license may be required. See https://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/pesticides/applicators/licensing.html. One of the main problems with growing the foods we

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Mainers Contribute to Maine Bumble Bee Atlas

Orange-belted Bumble Bee (Bombus ternarius) on a dandelion. Photo by Leif Richardson Selene Frohmberg looking for bumble bees from the bow of a canoe. Photo by Eric Frohmberg Eric Frohmberg with his bee collecting kit. Photo courtesy of the Frohmbergs Selene Frohmberg collecting in a remote area. Photo by Eric Frohmberg By Tim King On a

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Harvest Kitchen Cookies as Self Care

Drawing by Toki Oshima By Roberta Bailey Well, we have made it this far in the pandemic. It is a time of such extremes: the extreme pain of missing people, of not being there for holidays, birthdays, weddings and deaths. Some businesses are thriving and some have closed their doors; some had to temporarily shut

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Cover Crops Are More Species Better

A pasture seeded in a “crazy mix” consisting of over eight species of cover crops. Planted in the early summer, the tillage radish bolted and set seed instead of growing a large taproot – different species may perform better at different times of the year. Photo courtesy of Caleb Goossen Peas and oats can be

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Tend to browntail moth webs now

  Browntail moths. English photo March 1, 2020 If you find browntail moth webs within reach, clip them by mid-April and destroy the webs by soaking them in soapy water or burning them. Winter is the best time to clip webs due to the low risk of exposure to the caterpillars’ toxic hairs, due to caterpillar dormancy,

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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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Calendula Beautiful and Useful

  Calendula offers season-long blooms for pollinators, and its flowers are edible and medicinal. Photo by Mary McAvoy By Joyce White There are so many reasons to plant a big bed of calendula, Calendula officinalis. It blooms until frost for cut flowers and medicine, it isn’t fussy about where it’s planted, pollinators like it, it

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