Archives: Resources

Browntail Moth in Maine

By Tim King In 1903, the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture commissioned a report on the browntail moth following a substantial outbreak of the pest, which had been introduced to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, only a few years earlier. Among other things, in “A Report on the Life History and Habits of the Imported Brown-Tail Moth,”

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Foliar Diseases of Alliums

Disease(s): Common Foliar Diseases of Alliums This fact sheet discusses botrytis leaf spot (Botrytis squamosa), purple blotch (Alternaria porri), stemphylium leaf blight (Stemphylium vesicarium) and downy mildew of onion (Peronospora destructor). These are the most commonly occurring foliar diseases of alliums in the Northeast, and many of their disease dynamics are closely linked; if one

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White Mold

Pest: White mold (Sclerotinia sclerotium) Pest/disease lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: White mold (Sclerotinia sclerotium) is a widespread disease of over 300 species of plants. It is only a sporadic problem in “normal” and dry growing seasons; however, white mold can be very damaging in wet years and, if it goes unrecognized

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Slugs and Snails

Pest: Slugs and Snails Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: Land slugs and snails are closely related mollusks, known together as “gastropods,” the primary difference between them being that snails have external spiraling shells. There are over 90 terrestrial gastropods found in Maine. The gray garden slug is most common

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Two-Spotted Spider Mites

Pest: Two-spotted spider mites (Tetryanchus urticae) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: Two-spotted spider mites are the most common mite pest of crops in the Northeast. Because they thrive in hot and dry conditions, they are commonly found in greenhouses and high tunnels. Spider mites can feed on many crops

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Preserving Pasture

By Jacki Martinez Perkins Fencing In the life of an organic livestock farmer summer brings one never-ending task: fencing. The winter frosts heave most posts loose of their moorings, the deer disregard the works of mankind in their quest for forage, and mother nature herself eats away at even the stoutest of materials. All this

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Reflecting on 10 Years of the Maine Heritage Orchard

By Laura Sieger This summer marks the Maine Heritage Orchard’s 10-year anniversary. It’s pretty wild that a decade ago Dennis Jones and crew were shaping the old spent gravel pit into a terraced, plantable landscape that would become the Maine Heritage Orchard. John Bunker and Russell Libby had campaigned for a space to be used

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Why I Typically Do Not Recommend Foliar Fertilization

By Caleb P. Goossen, Ph.D., MOFGA Crop Specialist People are attracted to organic growing practices for all sorts of reasons, so I suppose it should not be a surprise that beliefs, practices and approaches between growers can sometimes vary widely. I’m occasionally presented with a question or statement made with the assumption that I use

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Harvest Kitchen: Farm-Raised Meat

By Roberta Bailey Lately the word currency has been rolling around with my thoughts. I like to think of money in terms of currency. A current is a flow of energy. In the case of money, it is compensation for human energy expended. We make products. We use our bodies and minds to complete tasks.

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Climate Change in Maine: A Conversation with the State Climatologist

Interview by Holli Cederholm This spring, the United Nation’s body for assessing science related to climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), issued its sixth assessment report (AR6) on climate change since the group’s establishment in 1988. The report was announced to the world with a press release declaring: “Urgent climate action can

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