Nearly every cheesemaking task requires strong hands and shoulders. The work surface height is important for musculoskeletal health. Alternate standing with sitting on a stool to reduce leg fatigue and lower back stress. The important thing is to be able to work without stooping. Larger handles protect finger joints and cartilage from stress. A fireman’s
At the Farmer to Farmer Conference, Eliot Coleman (left) and Patrice Gros talked about growing crops during the shoulder seasons of the main growing season. English photo At MOFGA’s 2016 Farmer to Farmer Conference, Eliot Coleman of Four Season Farm in Harborside, Maine, and Patrice Gros of Foundation Farm near Fayetteville, Arkansas, discussed growing and
A 20-year-old short black poplar that Paul Hand has pollarded in England. Photo by Shana Hanson Two comparable ash trees in September 2016 – one initially pruned in summer 2015 and thriving, the other suffering from drought until it was pruned after the photo was taken. Photo by Shana Hanson Cut fodder is first browsed
By Will Bonsall Minerals are the part of “organic” that isn’t organic. That is, all of the elemental components of organic matter – carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen – are in the air we breathe, always in adequate supply; all we have to do is create a soil community that sequesters those elements in stable-but-ever-changing
Rebirth of a Movement By Will Brinton, Ph.D. A renewed national interest in soil health and soil biology is creating an alternative to the long-held chemistry-based mineral theory of soil fertility still dominant today. For about 175 years, soil has been viewed largely as a physical support medium for plants to which mineral nutrients must
Dense floral resources of a pollination reservoir in Maine. Photo by Eric Venturini, The University of Maine Eric Venturini and Audrey Maddox rake a seed bed free of debris before seeding a wildflower mix. Photo by Margaret McCullough, The University of Maine A tiny black bee visits Gaillarida pulchella in a pollination reservoir in Maine.
Warm air from an attic is blown through this cabinet to dry produce. The drying cabinet setup. Warm air from the basement keeps plants in the coldframe from freezing. A small, well insulated box in the garage stores root crops. By Eric Evans My wife, Laura, and I love to eat the fruit and veggies
Bernardo Bellosa (far left) and Pedro Cabezas (next to Bellosa) from the Association for the Development of El Salvador gave members of the MOFGA-El Salvador Sistering delegation an overview of environmental issues facing El Salvador. We told members of our sistering organizations about organic farming successes and challenges in Maine – and shared posters for
Transplanting into a permanent bed at Foundation Farm. Note the mulch pulled to the shoulder of the bed, to compost in place. Photo courtesy of Foundation Farm Original pasture vegetation remains in the paths between beds at Foundation Farm. Photo courtesy of Foundation Farm Farming with no-till permanent beds can improve soil structure, reduce weeds,
Stock up on ingredients for fall and winter recipes at the Common Ground Country Fair farmers’ markets. John Williams photo By Roberta Bailey Here we are at another September, another Common Ground Country Fair. We have persevered through drought and heat, wild thunderstorms and unexpectedly chilly nights. We have reveled in a cool breeze, cooled
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