Planting new peach trees regularly offers insurance against losses due to broken limbs, disease, cold and other vicissitudes. Photo by C.J. Walke By C.J. Walke You can grow peaches in Maine? I tend to hear that question when giving organic growing presentations to new organic gardeners or when talking with beginning farmers interested in diversifying
Thinking of using grafting wax or compounds on organic fruit trees? Know the NOP rules and, if in doubt, check with your certifier first. English photo By C.J. Walke Over the winter I have been talking with MOFGA Certification Services (MCS) about materials used in organic orchards and fruit tree propagation. As more farmers and
Winter moth adult, male. Photos from gotpests/bugs/winter-moth Winter moth caterpillars. Winter moth adult, female. By C.J. Walke Winter is settling in, and our trees and gardens lay dormant – soon, we hope, to be under a blanket of snow for a little insulation for the soil and for a foot or 2 of higher reach
Tachinid flies and their larvae parasitize some orchard pests. English photo By C.J. Walke The term “threshold” is used in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies to describe the level at which pest pressure and crop damage have reached the point where plant health will start to decline and/or crop damage will result in reduced yields.
Eastern Prince schisandra berries shown by Aaron Parker of Falmouth in the Common Ground Country Fair Exhibition Hall. English photo By Roberta Bailey A few years ago, a friend was helping my husband and me erect a high tunnel on our farm. After a lunch break, he pulled out a little tincture bottle and said, “This is
Pheromone trap for codling moth. Photo by Slaunger at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cydia_pomonella_trap_hanging_in_tree_2012-06.jpg used via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. A red ball trap made from a store-bought apple, used to trap apple maggot flies. English photo A soda bottle holding cider and molasses traps codling moths. English photo By C.J. Walke In my March-May 2016
By C.J. Walke Update: Arctic® Apples In the spring 2014 issue of The MOF&G, I wrote about the genetically engineered, non-browning Arctic® apples, created by Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. of Summerland, British Columbia. Arctic apples are engineered to resist enzymatic browning when sliced or bruised, which proponents claim will make apples more appealing to consumers
By Roberta Bailey My husband is more of a house person than I am. He can visualize what a project will look like, and he has strong opinions about what he likes. I know what I like if I see it but rarely put thought into interior design. My focus is the farm and fruit
The protection of a hoophouse (and wrapping plants in winter with fabric row cover) offers promise for growing figs in Maine. Photo by Lauren Errickson Ripe figs. Photo by Lauren Errickson By Bill Errickson Farmers in the Northeast struggle with a short growing season, cool temperatures and harsh, unpredictable winters, so it behooves them to
Oats. English photo By Joyce White Plants known as herbs have been a part of healing the body, mind and spirit for most of known human history. Cultures have differed, stresses have differed, but the use of plants for healing as well as for food has remained constant through time. The brain, it was previously
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