Working in the woods when the soil is frozen and covered with snow is one way to limit soil compaction. Photo of Brad Johnson and Sal by Jennifer Glick. By Andy McEvoy As the name Low-Impact Forestry suggests, all forest practices have some impact. However, making informed decisions, planning for the long term, and implementing
Natural forests affect soil formation and may act as biotic pumps, affecting rainfall and climate. English photo. By Céline Caron Two recent areas of research may have turned our knowledge of the forest upside down. They are pedogenesis (soil formation) applied to agriculture – i.e., the idea that much of our quality soil fertility derives
“Quick Hoop Half-Pipe” This “Quick Hoop Half Pipe” displayed at the Common Ground Country Fair measured 6 by 10 feet and held 20 pepper plants. The same sort of structure could be used to produce greens into and through winter. Says Jack Kertesz, who built the structure, “With a bender, a few fasteners and some
Cold-hardy greens sown on Aug. 18 by Johnny’s Selected Seeds and displayed five weeks later at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. By Roberta Bailey A Maine (northern) garden is always in transition. In my mind, I can visualize it as if through time-lapse photography. In spring we rapidly progress from young garlic and
By John Koster The first Devon cattle were shipped from England to Plymouth Colony in 1623. Here, Wes Daniels is shown with his Devon oxen at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. Cows are good! Without the predictable supply of milk, meat, leather and fertilizer supplied by domesticated cattle, the great civilizations of the
Assorted dehydrated foods. Ana Antaki photo. By Hannah Kreitzer Roy and Ana Antaki of Weeping Duck Farm in Montville believe that when it comes to food preservation, basic is best. The Antakis employ four main food preservation methods: dehydration, lacto-fermentation, steam canning, and freezing, with an emphasis on the first two. At their 2012 Common
‘Gleisdorfer’, one of the oilseed pumpkins Bonsall trialed last summer. Photo by Will Bonsall. By Will Bonsall We usually class pumpkins along with other succulent vegetables; however a particular type of pumpkin is much more nutrient-dense, in that it is an oilseed, like sunflowers, sesame and peanuts. For centuries, Eastern European farmers have raise pumpkins
Toki Oshima drawing. A Comforting and Healing Herb – and a Soothing Back-to-School Remedy By Deb Soule The chamomile most commonly used by herbalists is the annual variety often referred to as German chamomile. Its Latin name, previously Matricaria chamomilla, is now Matricaria recutita. Chamomile belongs to the Compositae (Daisy) family. This particular species grows
By Roberta Bailey The National Gardening Bureau deemed 1997 the “Year of the Mesclun” and from my vantage point in Palermo, they called it right. The cool spring and well-timed rains of summer created ideal conditions for growing salad greens. The year is not over yet: A bed of mesclun seeded in September could feed
By Eric Sideman, PH.D. Ever since humans began to cultivate food, nitrogen has been the most common limit to crop yields. Modern agriculture has answered this limit with synthetic production of nitrogen fertilizers, which has greatly increased global food production and has supported an astonishing growth in the world’s population. However, the environmental problems are
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