By C.J. Walke As the days grow longer and the sun climbs higher, we are slowly rolling into the month of March, and it’s time to prune your fruit trees and maintain the structural framework that will support bushels of beautiful, organically grown fruit. Remember to keep your tools sharp and your cuts clean, and
Will Bonsall spoke about intercropping and succession planting at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. By Jean English Will Bonsall’s original inspiration for growing crops intensively on his farm came from the book Farmers of Forty Centuries, by F.H. King. Paraphrasing a point from the book, Will told an audience at the Common Ground
Nursery crops growing in grow-tubes filled with a compost-based medium. You can check the performance of plants growing in such a medium by growing a few in a commercial, non-compost based medium for comparison. English photo. By Jean English Working with compost-based seeding mixes is not a static thing. That was the main message Dr.
Sue Szwed drawing By Roberta Bailey Behind every packet of seed is an individual story and an entire history. The story of the seed ranges from an heirloom passed from generation to generation to the hybrid bred for perfect uniformity and ripening. The history of the seed industry is an interwoven tale of small, local
Trim the tops of onion and leek seedlings to make the bases thicker. Use the trimmings in soups or salads. English photo. By Roberta Bailey Pick yourself up, dust yourself off. Congratulations on surviving one of the roughest go-rounds with Mother Nature that most Maine gardeners can remember. The fact that you are reading an
Chris Cavendish, who was MOFGA’s farmer-in-residence at the time, talked about some of his favorite tools at the Small Farm Field Day in Unity last July. English photo. By Jean English Chris Cavendish, who was MOFGA’s farmer-in-residence for the past two years, talked about his experiences growing crops in and out of a hoop house
‘Graffiti’ (top left), ‘Amazing’ (right) and ‘Cheddar’ cauliflower. Hutton says that ‘Cheddar’ is by far the favorite with the crew at Monmouth. Photo courtesy of Mark Hutton. The Maine climate is great for producing brassicas. At the 2007 Farmer-to-Farmer Conference, Mark Hutton of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Highmoor Farm in Monmouth and Jason
Tat soi, sown 8/11/07, was ready to eat at the Common Ground Country Fair on Sept. 21. English photo. by Jean English No surprise: I came home from the Common Ground Country Fair with a cornucopia of gardening ideas; and the lush results that came from taking a little time, space, seed and compost that
Greensprouted potatoes. Photo courtesy of New Brunswick Dept. of Agriculture and Aquaculture, www.gnb.ca/0029/00290048-e.asp by Sue Smith-Heavenrich Last spring I was intrigued when Andy Leed, an upstate New York grower, mentioned that he was “greensprouting” his potatoes. He’d been growing table-crop spuds for many years and, frustrated by the lack of organic seed tubers in smaller
Hoop houses, such as these shown at the Colsons’ New Leaf Farm, have become increasingly important for producing tomatoes in Maine. Photo by Eric Sideman. by Eric Sideman, Ph.D. MOFGA’s Organic Crops Specialist The fate of my last tomato of the season is always the same – a BLT. And minutes after finishing that classic
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