Tag: Horticulture

Spotted Lanternfly

Spotted lanternfly, screenshot of photo by Henripekka Kallio from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Perho.jpg, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license Tree-of-heaven, seed-bearing female plant, photo by Luis Fernández García from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=139593, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Spain license. By C.J. Walke As winter rolls into spring, work in the orchard transitions from pruning and

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Agroforestry With Plants of the Eastern Deciduous Forest

A blight-resistant American chestnut tree growing at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center. Butternuts shown in the Exhibition Hall of the Common Ground Country Fair by Claudette Nadeau. Aronia melanocarpa growing at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center. Permaculture with a native twist By Heather McCargo     Agroforestry is the practice of adding trees and shrubs to

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Growing Ramps from Seed

Ramps take advantage of the early spring sunlight to grow and store reserves in the root system before forest trees leaf out. Three-year-old ramp seedlings in seed flats. By Heather McCargo Ramps are a delicious wild edible food beloved by chefs and locavores. Also known as wild leeks (Allium tricoccum), they are a member of

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A Trellis Primer

Photo 1. Pole and crossbars used to trellis beans, peas and cucumbers Photo 2. A spike inserted through two holes where crossbar ends overlap holds crossbars together. By Tom Vigue Photos by the author A number of common garden crops benefit greatly from trellising. Crops that do not directly contact the soil and that have vastly improved

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Fiddleheads: Grow Your Own!

Farming Fiddleheads? Raspberries and Fiddleheads Grow Together in Camden Garden Fiddlehead croziers emerging in spring. English photo A fiddlehead fern in late spring, with fertile fronds from the previous year. English photo By David Fuller Agriculture/non-timber forest products professional, UMaine Cooperative Extension, Franklin County Ostrich ferns, an herbaceous perennial that can reach five feet in height, die

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Plant Corridors

Clethra alnifolia Liatris and a Monarch butterfly Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum) By Heather McCargo Photos by Jean English Native plant corridors attract pollinators and wildlife to your farm by stretching across your property to connect your piece of native habitat to nearby meadows, wetlands or woodlands. This creates a much larger area for native pollinators

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Aronia

Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking.’ English photo. By Roberta Bailey New England is rich in plant medicine, and learning that our medicine cabinet just expanded is exciting. Have you heard about the new super fruit? It appears to be better than all the others that have been touted in the last decade. And the best part is

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Planting Fall Bulbs in Maine

Maine winters are long, but our cool, wet spring season is even longer because of our impatient yearnings for fresh greens, dry paths and more color in the landscape. And as farmers adapt to the rising problem of climate change, it’s important to plan ahead for bulb planting. Spring bulbs are the bright spots, the

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Pruning

Correctly pruned branch. Bunker illustration. By John Bunker The ice storm in January damaged many thousands of trees throughout much of Maine. Although it wasn’t much more than light rain, and drizzle, it certainly took an incredible toll on our landscape. Fortunately the apple trees fared pretty well in most yards and orchards, most certainly

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Breadseed Poppy

Quite a few years ago, a Slovakian friend served me a dish of little soft pieces of bread sticks, coated with a sauce of ground breadseed poppy, some honey, and probably a few other ingredients. I never had anything like it. It was unforgettably delicious. While we ate, he explained that Slovaks used poppyseeds as

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