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Too Much Organic Matter

Compost is great stuff. The material shown here is recycled into a vibrant soil that feeds the beautiful perennial flowers and herbs on MOFGA’s grounds. Too much compost or other organic matter, however, can increase the phosphorus concentration in soils to the point where the element may become a pollutant. So have your soil tested

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Meat Labels

by Diane Schivera, M.A.T. Consumers are often confused by an array of labels when purchasing meat and other livestock products. Here are the legal definitions for meat labels. Naturally Raised Meats This label does not cover other livestock products such as milk or cheese. This is important to know, since no regulations govern how animals

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Garden Tips

Trim the tops of onion and leek seedlings to make the bases thicker. Use the trimmings in soups or salads. English photo. By Roberta Bailey Pick yourself up, dust yourself off. Congratulations on surviving one of the roughest go-rounds with Mother Nature that most Maine gardeners can remember. The fact that you are reading an

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A Dozen Storage Crops For Homegrown Food Security

One section of MOFGA’s demonstration garden highlighted storage crops that are easy to grow and can supply healthful produce throughout the winter, such as celeriac and ‘Gigante’ kohlrabi. English photo. Celeriac. English photo. ‘Gigante’ kohlrabi. English photo. A demonstration plot planted last summer at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center highlighted storage crops – vegetables that

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Garden Planning

Use Google Earth to print a map of your farm or garden area, then trace the outline of that map to create your own landscape design. Map courtesy of Google. Garden plan by Victoria Scanlan Stefanakos. By Victoria Scanlan Stefanakos Last spring, whenever I looked up from the mud while trying to outrun the rain

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Farm Blogs

By Polly Shyka When people think of a farmer’s tools, most conjure images of hoes, spades, seed packages and maybe tractors. They don’t readily associate computers with the farming profession, yet many farmers spend hours “at the desk” each week, speaking and e-mailing with customers, taking orders, researching, communicating with CSA members, bookkeeping. Some are

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Raising Rabbits on Pasture

Rabbits on pasture. Photo courtesy of www.cuniculture.info/Docs/Phototheque/Materiel07.htm By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. Raising rabbits on pasture allows the animals to exercise, engage more easily in natural behavior, and improve their overall quality of life, while giving the farmer a way to move or manage rabbit housing easily. Rabbits raised on pasture produce more meat and meat

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Food Stamps

By Melissa White Pillsbury Being largely self-employed and self-sufficient, diversified farmers as a whole may be faring better than average in this harsh economic climate. But numbers don’t lie – it’s tough out there for many Americans, and Maine is no exception. According to the most recent data available from the USDA Food and Nutrition

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Juicing

By Roberta Bailey My mother always said that things cycle back into fashion every 30 years or so. Usually she was talking about the clothes in the attic. I am not sure if it is an age thing, but I am starting to believe her. Maybe I had to let enough years pass to actually

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Bento Lunch

A bento box lunch containing dead dinos, primordial sludge, and fossils, by Laurel McFarland. Laurel McFarland photo. By Cheryl Wixson My elder daughter, Laurel, who works as a nanny and home schools two delightful children, is always sharing with me photographs of the colorful and fun lunches she prepares for her charges. Using bright purple,

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