In the Greenhouse

In one of the greenhouses today:
Tatsoi.  The seedling on the right had been nibbled on this morning.  When I went back in this afternoon to put the row cover back on the plant on the left had ben eaten and more of the other eaten.  I put traps out.  Meadow voles will go into [...]

A Snow Day

We went to bed with flurries and woke up to 14″.  A drift blocks the window where I sit to write. Yesterday I watched birds eating 2′ below the window.  Today it’s a 6′ drift and I won’t be seeing out for a while. When the snow falls off the roof it will make the [...]

Seedlings

I read that Jan’s ducks are laying.  Mine are not.  “Ok ladies, I know you’re not spring chickens…err…young ducks…but let’s go.  I’m feeding you.  You should be feeding me.” We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
I started seeds for sage, endive and lettuces today.  The tomatoes, sage and eggplant have been potted up into six packs.  They’ll [...]

Maine Nature News

This week’s edition of Maine Nature News has been published.

House fly and spider, dead chicken! Oh my!

The title pretty much sums up my day.  A house fly flew through the dining room.  I think it landed in front of the woodstove to finish thawing.  There’s a spider on the kitchen ceiling. They must not look at the calendar.  There was a dead chicken in the hen house yesterday.  I thought Tuesday [...]

Another Week

I love a fresh start.  This week is a bit busy but should off the farm be productive. The Downeast  Athletic Conference championship bball games for boys and girls are today.  Tomorrow and Wednesday have me out.  I think I’ll read a book I’m going to review Thursday during the bad weather and prune Friday.
I [...]

How to Get Started…

Annie has an excellent post in her blog that everyone, including those who have been working on self sufficiency a long time, should read.
“How to Get Started on the Path to Providing for Your Family”

State Cheering Championship Day

We’re off to Bangor today to watch the Maine State Cheering Championship competition.  Our cheerleader is half way through her sophomore year, starts driver ed next week, passed a geometry mid-term most of the class failed and should start talking about her 16th birthday party any second now even though it’s still months away. She’s [...]

A Good Year

I don’t believe in luck much.  I think luck results from hard work.  Still, I’ll take whatever luck I can get from this four leaf clover I found in one of the greenhouses yesterday.  I’m looking forward to working hard to be incredibly “lucky” this year.  I did a lot of physical work yesterday and [...]

Farming in Maine a Growing Business

Farming in Maine a Growing Business
More people are farming in Maine – often on smaller specialty farms – as the state’s agricultural community works to meet the surge in demand for locally grown produce, dairy and meats.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its latest five-year census this week, showing that the number of farms [...]

Meet Robin

My plans for tomorrow are to plant in the gh’s but it’s going to be very cold.  I might have to start later in the day than planned.  I’ll see what morning brings. I don’t know what I’d need to do to start seeds inside and transplant them into an unheated greenhouse in March in [...]

Unexpected Visitors

Another entry moved from an old blog.  October 6, 2006
A car pulled in a little while ago. That’s unusual for a Sunday afternoon, especially now that the farmstand is closed. It was a young couple and their baby, looking for the pumpkin patch that used to be up the road. They were disappointed that it [...]

Brekke and Buddy

Originally written August 10, 2007
I’ve worked outside all week because of beautiful weather. Most of my work has been at the back of the garden preparing it for the new greenhouse. The goats were starting the week off well. They spent most of the time standing in the pasture side door of the barn watching [...]

Seedlings

Oops.  The tomato seedlings have been up at least two days but I didn’t discover them until this morning.  It’s a good thing I started early because I’ll be starting some again. They’re 3″ tall.  That won’t do. I don’t like wimpy plants.  The rest look great.  I walk by the leeks and brush my [...]

Organic Pest Control

Organic Pest Control
copyright 2006
by Robin Follette The thought of having to control pests organically seems to intimidate a lot of people. Myth has it that we don’t use pesticides or herbicides. There are visions of us out in the field picking bugs off plants for hours on end. Sure, we do hand-pick some pests, and [...]

Fishing in Grand Lake Stream

I’m moving a few entries from my Outdoor Writer blog to this blog.
Originally written July 19, 2007

We decided to put the boat in at Big Lake (Grand Lake Stream) to do some fishing and bird watching Sunday afternoon. I wanted to look for the immature eagle I watched last year. It was a beautiful [...]

It’s Ground Hog’s Day

Today is Imbolc, a day probably celebrated by my Irish farming family.  My great grandfather came to America seeking a new life when his parents, who were farmers, could no longer feed their 14 children.  He never went home again.
Weather Omens (more info there)

Imbolc was a time when farmers and fishermen depended on steady improvement [...]

Attn JB

Verizon/Unfairpoint rejects my emails.  Let me know when they get it fixed or you get an account that works.