Erin Bibles. Photo by Betsy Garrold. By Betsy Garrold Erin Bibles and her husband, Brent, led a peripatetic life before settling at their Thorndike farm, Mélange Métairie (Mixed Small Holding). They met at the University of Arizona and moved to Oregon when Brent, a wildlife biologist, got a job at Oregon State University. Erin finished
Toki Oshima drawing By Jean English, Editor, The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener Ben Falk, in his keynote speech at the Common Ground Country Fair, called for a billion new gardeners, because “we have everything we need right here, right now” to re-establish the perennial-based, diverse and integrated food-producing ecosystems that were here for thousands
Toki Oshima drawing By Grace Oedel Lately I have been wrestling with the dynamic tension between patience and action. How are we to balance the urgency that motivates us to do our work with the need for rest and rejuvenation? For farmers, the warm season flies by furiously with chores from before sunrise to after
Peter Kellman’s portrait by Robert Shetterly. From AmericansWhoTellTheTruth.org. In August, Maine artist Robert Shetterly unveiled his portrait of longtime labor leader, historian and working class hero Peter Kellman at the Good Life Center in Harborside, Maine. The portrait is part of Shetterly’s Americans Who Tell the Truth series. (MOFGA’s Russell Libby was also included in
Halcyon Grange in Blue Hill has a state-licensed kitchen and bulk storage bins for grain. By Betsy Garrold Photos by the author What has sprung dance floors, a stage and nurtures local agricultural traditions? The Grange, of course. In Maine the Grange is seeing a resurgence of interest and relevance. As Maine continues to grow
Tim Reimensnyder, self portrait By Betsy Garrold For Tim Reimensnyder, volunteer coordinator for the Crafts Area of the Common Ground Country Fair (CGCF), the Fair is a family affair. Tim and his wife, Marie, have been selling T-shirts at the Fair for more than 20 years. He got his first taste of volunteering at the
Atina and Martin Diffley with 140 International Tractor. Photo by Laurie Schneider, from https://atinadiffley.com/press-kit/ Organic farmers have a sacred, fundamental, philosophical relationship to the land – a relationship worth fighting for. So said Atina Diffley, author of Turn Here Sweet Corn, during her keynote speech at MOFGA’s 2013 Farmer to Farmer Conference. Diffley’s earliest memories
Milkweed seeds. English photo. By Jean English, Editor, The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener Every fall when our children were young, my husband would collect milkweed pods from a thousand-square-foot patch of Asclepias syriaca that grows on our land and store the seedpods in a paper bag over winter. In spring, when the swallows returned,
Toki Oshima illustration. By Grace Oedel Last month I had the privilege of attending the Hazon Food Conference in Falls Village, Connecticut, an annual gathering of people involved in the “New Jewish Food Movement” interested in growing a resilient food system rooted in religious ethics. Although many farmers might not share my voracious appetite for
Toki Oshima illustration. By Céline Caron “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” – John Muir (Printed on Merve Wilkinson’s in
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