By Jean English Many years ago, Ellis Percy tried to convince Common Ground Country Fair food vendors to offer a hot drink in addition to the cider already at the Fair. After repeating the suggestion to no avail for about four years, he decided to come up with a drink himself. Sixteen years ago, he
Adam Montri of Michigan State University and two Maine growers spoke about hoophouses at MOFGA’s 2011 Spring Growth Conference. Videos of the talks are posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMf_Og8xWXE, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIpsP3SvyQI&feature=relmfu and www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItQL0ca3IfU&feature=relmfu; more information is available at www.hoophouse.msu.edu. Adam Montri of Michigan State University spoke about hoophouses at MOFGA’s Spring Growth Conference. English photo. Montri, associated with
Comfrey growing under an apple tree at John Bunker’s Super Chilly Farm in Palermo and at Judy Berk and David Foley’s Ocean Glimpse Farm in Northport. Comfrey is a dynamic accumulator – a taprooted plant that draws nutrients up from deep in the soil and cycles them to orchard plants. English photos. By C.J. Walke
Comfortable livestock will be happier, healthier and more productive. English photo. By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. Robert Graves of Penn State University, the featured speaker at the Maine Dairy Improvement 2011 meeting, talked about cow comfort. His information applies to other livestock as well. Comfortable livestock are likely to be healthier and less stressed than uncomfortable
Many fruits grow in Maine and can be preserved easily. Grow your own or purchase produce at farmers’ markets or at the Common Ground Fair for making low- or no-sugar jams and jellies. English photos. By Roberta Bailey From spring through fall, Maine cranks out the fruit. Our winter weary palates get shocked awake with
Will Bonsall spoke about intercropping and succession planting at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. By Jean English Will Bonsall’s original inspiration for growing crops intensively on his farm came from the book Farmers of Forty Centuries, by F.H. King. Paraphrasing a point from the book, Will told an audience at the Common Ground
By Andy McEvoy Setting long-term goals can be difficult. Setting goals for the next 100 years or more might seem impossible, or at least impractical. Yet good forestry requires such foresight and intention. Forests and woodlots are valued for wildlife habitat, material for wood products and heating fuel, aesthetics, recreational spaces, carbon sinks and more.
MOFGA member Cory Whitney is in Korea helping the Korea Organic Farming Association (KOFA) plan for a conference of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. By Cory Whitney Hello fellow Mainers, from the “Slow City” of Namyangju in the Gyeonggi Province of South Korea, about 20 km from the capital city of Seoul. Namyangju
By Marina Schauffler Recent media attention on local foods has raised public awareness about the health benefits and community returns from thriving local agriculture. Often, though, stories portray local “foodies” as purists fixated on 100-mile diets that banish even imported condiments. Eating from local sources comes off looking like an extremist food fad, rather than
The 2010 Farmer to Farmer Conference at Point Lookout in Northport, Maine, featured a session on managing soils in high tunnels. Speakers were Vern Grubinger, University of Vermont vegetable and berry specialist; Bruce Hoskins of the University of Maine Diagnostic Lab; and Paul Volckhausen, who, with his wife Karen, grows organic tomatoes and other crops
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