When York County Extension Educator Frank Wertheim was in Namibia on sabbatical, he learned about a “bucket irrigation kit” from Chapin Watermatics that worked well in that dry environment and should be useful for Maine gardeners as well. In the photo above right, Wertheim and community members lay drip lines in the garden beds. Left:
Bob Hawes demonstrates how to tell whether a hen is laying by its pigmentation. MOFGA volunteer Fran Curtis helps. English photo. Bob Hawes, retired University of Maine professor of animal science, talked about laying hens at MOFGA’s Small Farm Field Day last August. He said that three groups of hens are available for egg production.
Cumberland County Extension Educator Dick Brzozowski provided these plans for a portable chicken coop, or “chicken tractor,” at MOFGA’s Small Farm Field Day last August. By Richard J. Brzozowski Raising broiler chicks on pasture can be profitable, and can require few inputs. The system involves purchasing day-old broiler chicks (meat type birds) in late May
Toki Oshima drawings By Sue Smith-Heavenrich Regular yard work can help prevent osteoporosis, says Dr. Lori Turner from the University of Arkansas. She and her team of researchers have found that women aged 50 and older who garden at least once a week have stronger bones than their peers. Digging holes, pulling weeds, pushing a
Smooth Northern Shadbush. Amelanchier laevis. While traveling through Ontario last summer, my partner and I stopped at Niagara Falls and then the Whirlpool Rapids. Neither of us is fond of crowds or tourist traps, but the energy of all that water inspired an awe that made our tourist status worthwhile. Seeking a quieter picnic spot,
Toki Oshima drawing By Roberta Bailey The first year that I lived in Maine, I gardened on a neighboring farm. Along with plowing up the plot, the farmers showed me how to turn the heel of a knitted sock and how to make pickles. We picked an impressively large patch of cucumbers, washed them and
By Diane Schivera, Assistant Director of Technical Services for MOFGA The new National Organic Standards have some management practices that differ from the practices that MOFGA has allowed in the past. Farmers will have to become familiar with these new requirements and begin putting them into practice before the Rule goes into effect on October
Michael Docter spoke about efficient harvesting systems at the Farmer to Farmer Conference in November. English photo. By Jean English Michael Docter runs a 600-member Community Supported Agriculture farm, The Food Project, in Hadley, Mass., that not only provides abundant and diverse produce to its members but sends a substantial portion of its yields to
By Roberta Bailey When the strawberries are ripe, they are the best berry; then come the raspberries, their less acidic, more delicate flavors convincing me that they reign supreme; but full summer brings the deep purple blackberry borne on fierce red canes, and when one waits for the shiny black fruits to soften and dull
Toki Oshima drawing By Roberta Bailey The other day a friend telephoned me in complete exasperation. She had been trying to find something that her eight-year-old would eat other than pizza and macaroni and cheese. I wasn’t much help. My kids liked most vegetables and I let them eat a lot of macaroni and cheese
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