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Grazing

By Diane Schivera I wanted Maine grass farmers to know that MOGFA, Cooperative Extension, Unity Barnraisers and a group of farmers received a SARE grant to establish the Maine Grassfarmers Network. We began to work on the following objectives in May: 1. Four regional workshops will be held in Maine for Cooperative Extension educators, Maine

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Elderberries

Elderberry makes good juice, wine, jam, syrup, medicines and more. Photo from Conservation Plants for the Northeast, Soil Conservation Service Program Aid No. 1154. By Roberta Bailey My first memory of elder bushes was in my best friend’s yard. Her father had a neat row of the plants, mulched with peanut hulls. He made wine

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Local Dairy

Illustration by Toki Oshima. By Roberta Bailey In the last few years, I have noticed a significant increase in the number of small dairy operations, many of them organic, in Maine. Transitioning to organic has helped small dairy farms survive. Selling milk wholesale is one option, but I have noted an increasing number of farms

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Nespihqamq

Fredda Paul harvests red willow (Cornus stolonifera) in the spring. Leslie Wood photo. By Fredda Paul with Leslie Wood Paul Fredda Paul, Passamaquoddy tribal member, practices Indian traditional medicine as first learned from his grandmother. He and Leslie work together harvesting, making medicine and helping people return to the old ways of healing. Contact them

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Chickweed

Chickweed is a common “weed” that is high in vitamins and minerals and can help relieve ovarian cysts, kidney problems, sore throats and more. By Deb Soule Various species of chickweed grow around our planet. A member of the Caryophyllaceae (Carnation) family, chickweed grows as an annual and reseeds easily in cool, moist soils. Its

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For the Love of Lovage

Lovage emerges in the spring with succulent leaves. You can keep using the plant into the fall if you keep it clipped so that it produces young growth continuously. English photo. By Jean Ann Pollard “This herbe for hys sweete savoure is used in bathe.” – Thomas Hyll, The Gardener’s Labyrinth, 1577 It’s not too

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Natural dyeing your clothes

Harvest marigold flowers now to make a dye. English photo. The beauty of our natural world encompasses all colors, and many natural dyers attest to the fact that everything dyed using mother nature’s colors will blend together with grace. Nothing clashes, and no colors are richer or more jewel-like than those of fibers colored using

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Tips Winter 04 05

Green Methods Web Site The Green Spot, Ltd., a supplier of biological pest control agents and integrated pest management paraphernalia, has relaunched its quasi-famous Web site, www.GreenMethods.com. The site features a news portal loaded with features, interactive forums and help desks, a complete primer on biological pest control and an extensive photo gallery. The site

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Eggs

By Diane Schivera Many natural barriers help prevent bacteria from entering eggs. The “bloom” or “cuticle,” a gelatinous covering that dries after the egg emerges from the hen, helps seal the pores in the shell, reducing moisture loss and bacterial penetration. The many egg membranes also help prevent the passage of bacteria. The shell membranes

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Allium Pests

By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. Winter is the time to plan gardening and farming practices that will overcome problems from the past year. It is a time of optimism. Looking forward to great success is easy with all the beautiful pictures in seed catalogs, but the rotting vegetables in the root cellar may bring back a

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