Archives: Stories

From 1 Acre to 1 Million Scaling Up and Staying Profitable

  Alexander and Fasching have improved their profits and simplified their farm to the point where they can now take family vacations. Photo courtesy of Jericho Settlers Farm By Jean English Christa Alexander and Mark Fasching sell $1 million worth of vegetables, flowers and herbs produced on 30 acres of certified organic land at their

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People Plants and Pollinators Populate Mahoosuc Land Trust Garden

Barbara Murphy with her dog, Marley, in the pollinator garden. Photo courtesy of Barbara Murphy Visitors enjoy the garden during the 30th anniversary celebration of Mahoosuc Land Trust. Photo courtesy of Barbara Murphy Liatris (blazing star) attracts monarch butterflies. Photo by Mike Murphy By Joyce White We’ve all heard of the decline of honeybees, one

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Thoughts on Forest Bathing

By Joyce White When I first heard the term “forest bathing,” images of naked people frolicking through the woods and splashing in a forest brook flashed through my mind. Maybe they then stretched out on sun-warmed pine needles, perhaps even taking a snooze – but certainly not in black fly season. Or winter. But no, “forest bathing”

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Gleaning Healthy Eating for Everyone

Regina Grabrovac and four young missionary volunteers from the Church of the Latter Day Saints harvest blueberries. Photo courtesy of Regina Grabrovac Volunteers glean what’s left of the tomato crop at Blue-Zee Farm in Penobscot. From left to right: Elise Teixido, Anna Wind and Justine Appel. Photo by Rachel Emus Lydia Brown and he dad, Buster,

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The Pandemic and the Ancient Apple Tree

An old apple tree at the Wooden Boat School in Brooklin, Maine. English photo By John Bunker Magnificent, ancient apple trees can still be found scattered throughout much of Maine. Look for them behind old barns, next to abandoned cellar holes, along roadsides nestled in thickets, sometimes even beside a gas station or a convenience store

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Apprentice and Journeyperson Programs Pay Off for Wise Acres Farm

Joy Trueworthy (left) and Brittany Hopkins raise MOFGA-certified organic vegetables on their Wise Acres Farm in Kenduskeag. Photo by Nicholas Navarre via the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets The barn and packing area at Wise Acres Hopkins uses a Williams Tool for stale seedbedding (pictured here), cleaning up paths and for some blind cultivation of

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North Branch Farm

The North Branch family, left to right: Ada, Anna, Seth, Elwyn, Tyler and Misha Some of the horse-drawn equipment used on the farm, with the fenced (from deer) fruit tree and shrub nursery in the background. A closer look at the irrigated nursery North Branch specializes in vegetable crops grown for its winter CSA Seth

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Memories of Fairs Past

Will Bonsall has been sharing his homesteading and seed saving wisdom with fairgoers since the second Common Ground Country Fair. English photo Common Ground favorites Will Bonsall with Martha Gottlieb, co-coordinator of the Exhibition Hall. Nancy Bowker photo Common Ground and the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad – a wonderful symbiosis. English photo By Will

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Wellscroft Farm

Left to right: Colin, Julie and David at their booth near the sheepdog demos at the Common Ground Country Fair. John Williams photo Sheep and goats keep the land open at Wellscroft Farm in Harrisville, N.H., affording a view of Mount Monadnock, thanks to modern fencing systems and sheepdogs. English photo Sheepdogs help the Wellscroft

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Growing a Good Life

Wendy Green outside the house she built and next to the mullein plant that just appeared. Photo courtesy of Wendy Green Live simply that others may simply live. – Gandhi By Joyce White Wendy Green, 61, has spent the years since adolescence creating her own life from an underlying philosophy of taking responsibility for herself

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