Toki Oshima illustration The decision to switch from hand to machine milking By Jacki M. Perkins Recently a question on a listserv for beginning farmers piqued my interest. When and why have any of you switched from hand milking to a machine?” Having grown up milking cows commercially, been formally educated in dairying, then switching
Early symptoms of fire blight in a Liberty apple tree. The branch is just starting to make the shepherd’s crook and blacken. Photo by C.J. Walke By C.J. Walke Managing disease is often a challenging task in organic farming and gardening because pathogens can be very aggressive, additional hosts often exist outside farm boundaries, and most materials
Leek moth cocoon Adult leek moths A leek plant destroyed by leek moth larvae. By David Fuller Photos by the author Leek moth was identified in 2017 by Cooperative Extension in Jackman. Those populations have subsequently migrated south to Long Pond Township, a distance of about 10 miles. Now leek moth has also been found in Rangeley
Don Raúl hosts the MOFGA Delegation at his beautiful organic coffee nursery and parcela. Photo by Heather Spalding. Members of MOFGA’s Delegation and the Carasque Sewing Cooperative met to discuss sales of beautiful, hand-made string bags. Photo by Heather Spalding. Paul Volckhausen stocks up on the wonderful dried organic fruit from a women’s cooperative in
Students grow seedlings in the classroom at Harmony Elementary School. Enjoying the harvest from three raised beds. By Benjamin Cookson Photos by the author Many schools throughout Maine share the initiative of bringing agriculture into the classroom. School gardens, garden clubs, 4-H programs and after school programs bring quality education to students across the state, all with
One rotation I use is spring-sown oats interplanted later with transplanted squash. I flatten and then mulch over the oats in July. The following spring I transplant cabbage into the mulch. English photos By Will Bonsall We usually hear about crop rotation in the context of large farms where folks are talking about crops such as wheat, oats,
One treatment in our study of the effects of tillage on soil health used a rototiller for cultivation. Another treatment used a broadfork. By Will Brinton Soil tillage is an increasingly important topic of discussion among agriculturists and poses new challenges for organic practices. At a soil health event in Aroostook County in 2014, Ray Archuleta, conservation
Possibly the Sarah apple. Photo by John Bunker By John Bunker Readers of this column will recall my search for the Sarah apple – an old Franklin County variety that originated on the East Wilton farm of John Tufts and was named after his daughter. Old literature described it as “vigorous … productive, an annual bearer [that]
These shiitake mushrooms grown by Toshio Hashimoto of Rumford won a judges’ award in the Exhibition Hall at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo By Roberta Bailey Mushrooms have come into the spotlight lately. They are strutting their stuff. Once they were thought of as just another white food, flavorful and filling but void of much
Large diameter cavity trees provide bird habitat, enhancing the overall value of a forest. English photo By Noah Gleason-Hart When the topic of forestry or land management comes up, the first question people often ask is, “Should I my cut my woodlot?” or, “Is my land due for a harvest?” It’s a daunting question with huge implications.
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