By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. The rototiller has gotten a bad rap in recent decades. Perhaps it deserves it, perhaps not; in any case it is important to avoid its misuse in order to preserve soil. Temptation to use this power tool is worst in the early spring, when cabin fever or perhaps simply being anxious
By Roberta Bailey Maine is a rich state. We are rich in beauty, rich in art, rich in innovative people. We are colorful and full of local color. We color outside the lines. We think outside the box. We get cabin fever and turn the box into a high tunnel and learn how to laugh
Clethra alnifolia Liatris and a Monarch butterfly Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum) By Heather McCargo Photos by Jean English Native plant corridors attract pollinators and wildlife to your farm by stretching across your property to connect your piece of native habitat to nearby meadows, wetlands or woodlands. This creates a much larger area for native pollinators
Farmers selling organic produce at the Belize Organic Fair and Forum. Luisa Putul was the 2014 female Farmer of the Year, announced at the organic fair. First of Its Kind in Central America! By Michele Christle Photos by Brendan Keegan It’s impossible not to be inspired when visiting the Common Ground Country Fair. The produce,
Toki Oshima drawing By Eric Rector I began baking bread for the Belfast Farmers’ Market in 2008. At that time Maine-grown grain was a novelty, and I could regularly source Maine-grown whole-wheat flour from only one vendor: Aurora Mills in Linneus (near Houlton in Aroostook County). My sourdough recipe calls for half organic white bread
Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking.’ English photo. By Roberta Bailey New England is rich in plant medicine, and learning that our medicine cabinet just expanded is exciting. Have you heard about the new super fruit? It appears to be better than all the others that have been touted in the last decade. And the best part is
A caterpillar tunnel. By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. Photos by the author. As you read this in December, you are probably already looking forward to next year’s tomatoes, but as I write this in mid-October, I am looking out my window at very dead tomato plants in my garden. Sadly, most tomato plants in gardens across
By Karen Volckhausen “Fresh from the Field Wedding Flowers” By Lynn Byczynski and Erin Benzakein Fairplain Publications, Inc., 2014 112 pages plus 75-minute DVD, $40 Lynn Byczynski, editor and publisher of Growing for Market and author of one of my favorite flower bibles, “The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower’s Guide to Raising and Selling Cut
Sweet corn can not only lure customers to your farm stand but can be profitable, as well. USDA photo. Organic sweet corn has profit potential for farms and is a great draw to farm stands and farmers’ markets – if grown well. David Handley, UMaine Cooperative Extension vegetable and small fruit specialist, and Jack Manix
Toki Oshima drawing. By Céline Caron The 68th UN General Assembly declared 2015 the International Year of Soils, and one of the themes for the 2014 permaculture convergence held in July in Frelishburg, Quebec, was “Solutions are in nature.” A good part of the permaculture conference was devoted to soils. Here are the main points
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