Archives: Stories

Long Meadow Farm

Human power! From left to right: apprentice Kate Harris with rake, manager Jon Ault with shovel, and apprentices Brenna Peak and Jim Church with a broadfork and pick mattock. Photo courtesy of Long Meadow Farm. By Holli Cederholm Long Meadow Farm, located in West Gardiner, Maine, demonstrates a sustainable agriculture system based on low-input, low-tech

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Jack London

Jack London’s Pig Palace. Photo courtesy of Jack London State Historic Park, https://jacklondonpark.com/. By John Koster Superstitious windjammer sailors once believed that mentioning the word “pigs” was bad luck, but for some Duroc Jerseys at Glen Ellen, California, one old-time windjammer sailor was very good luck indeed. Jack London’s “Pig Palace” was one of the

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Forever Farms

Juniper Edge Farm in Brunswick is a Forever Farm. By Jo Anne Bander Driving by the pastures, farms and orchards of rural Maine or along the more urban Route 90 in Rockport, a simple green and white round sign saying “Forever Farm” catches the eye. A program of Maine Farmland Trust (MFT), each sign designates

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Avena Botanicals

Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals in front of the new building at the herbal business. English photo. By Jean English Over nearly three decades, Avena Botanicals in Rockport, Maine, steadily has grown a 3-acre garden, a business and a reputation for quality herbal products – teas, tinctures, salves and more – all from 1,000 pounds

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Volunteer Sue Buck

“I love the Information Booth,” says Sue Buck. “We mostly see very happy people who are just trying to find something.” Even with the traffic problems at the new site last fall, “people were mostly accepting and patient.” Sue has co-coordinated the information booth at the Common Ground Fair for the past two years. Before

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North Creek Farm

Suzy Verrier and her partner Kai Jacob have built up North Creek Farm in Sebasco, where they raise vegetables, perennials and nursery stock. Jane Lamb photo. By Jane Lamb Need proof of the efficacy of compost? Look no further than North Creek Farm, Suzy Verrier’s homestead, retail nursery, garden store and vegetable stand in Sebasco.

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Maine Sea Salt

Steve Cook in his booth at the Common Ground Country Fair in 2011. Betsy Garrold photo. By Betsy Garrold “Salt is born of the purest of parents: the sun and the sea.” – Pythagoras (580 BCE to 500 BCE) Founded in 1998, when Steve Cook closed his restaurant in Florida and moved back home, Maine

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Finn Burnett

Finn Burnett. By John Koster The final round of treaties that the United States signed with the Indian tribes of the West in 1868 provided the tribes with government farmers to help them learn the white man’s agricultural techniques. The treaties also provided frontiersman and former Missouri farm boy Finn Burnett with a job that

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Uproot Pie Company

Chef Jessica Shepard with the Uproot Pie Company wood-fired oven, which travels to farmers’ markets in Camden, Rockland and Union to sell pizza. Elizabeth Thomas photo. By Polly Shyka Imagine a harborside park where you could stroll through tents overflowing with produce grown by your favorite local farmers. Add to that the smell of pizza

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Sheepscot General

Ben Marcus and Taryn Hammer, co-founders of Sheepscot General, stand in front of the store sign with their dog Oslo. Shawn Hickey photo. By Holli Cederholm Taryn Hammer and Ben Marcus opened the doors of their Sheepscot General at Uncas Farms in Whitefield, Maine, in 2011 after a winter spent remodeling an already storied space.

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