By Lea Camille Smith Hands: any gardener would have trouble arguing that they are not our greatest tool. Test the moisture of the soil; delicately separate the roots of a new planting; place a seed a quarter of an inch below the surface. The tiniest weeds require finger-tip precision. Gardening gloves can sometimes give us
By Tim King Among the stone walls, forests and fields on Oak Hill Road in Litchfield, Maine, a herd of 20 Nubian-Alpine goats turn browse and pasture into fresh milk, which Aaron Grim and Briis Wile turn into award-winning organic cheese. As one might expect of a cheesemaker, Grim loves talking about cheese. MOFGA-certified Cosmic
By Holli Cederholm Which came first: the story or the seed? Bonnetta Adeeb, founder of the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance, says the two are intimately linked. So much so that when the collective, which is focused on supporting Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) growers, started to sell seeds as a fundraiser, they gathered
By Jennifer Wilhelm Did you know that most flowers found in grocery stores are from outside the country? In fact, according to Floristry and Floriculture Industry Statistics & Trends, the United States is the largest importer of flowers in the world. Most roses are grown in Ecuador. Eighty percent of the world’s tulips are grown
By Larry Dansinger The gathering crisis of the Earth’s warming climate is a wild card like no other. Everything humans have thought and understood about our environment, especially how to grow enough food for billions on this planet, is being questioned. As the weather and growing conditions become more unpredictable, with heavy rains, droughts, extreme heat,
By Tim King Maine has a long history of outdoor markets that serve both local farmers and the larger community. The Portland Farmers’ Market, which has compiled an extensive history on its website (portlandmainefarmersmarket.org/history), has actually been in continuous operation longer than the U.S. Constitution has been the law of the land. “In 1768, the
A new play by Wabanaki REACH and Threadbare Theatre Workshop moves stories of the Maine Indian Land Claims from the head to the heart As part of the Beyond the Claims— Stories from the Land & the Heart project, Wabanaki REACH, a nonprofit that supports the self-determination of Wabanaki people through education, truth-telling, restorative justice
By Tim King Federal, state and local governments, and many large corporations, along with international organizations such as the United Nations all agree, via laws, regulations and lofty statements, that workers have basic inalienable rights with respect to conditions such as minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health. But many workers around
By Jennifer Wilhelm New England is not currently known for its grain production. Due to topography and climate, growing grains — particularly small grains like oat, wheat and rye — has more recently been left to the Midwest, where land is flat and open. The forested and mountainous landscape in New England, including an abundance
By Sonja Heyck-Merlin Like the owners of many small businesses, Simon Frost and Daniel Price of Thirty Acre Farm have found that division of labor works best. Price grows the vegetables and Frost adds value by transforming the produce into lacto-ferments in their processing facility in Bremen, Maine. The product line includes an assortment of
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