Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
At the start of the year I’d deemed 2013 the “Year of the House”. I do that…give a theme to each year, and a word to live by. I pick a handful of very specific goals for the year–not a resolution, but–improvements of my person or my life, goals that I want to accomplish, and…
For many beekeepers–in this part of Maine at least–this year’s season was a bit of a struggle. A spell of hot sweltering days meant that flowers were not producing adequate nectar supplies, which was then followed by a period of rainy days that kept bees cooped up inside their hives, eating honey stores. I know…
We lived there once before…did I ever mention that? The site of the Runamuk farm of tomorrow. My blog was known then as The Scientific Homeschool, and I was raising babies in the woods without plumbing. I put together the “Chronological History of the World Unit-Studies for Secular Homeschoolers” (yeah-say that 3 times fast!) –so…
I don’t know whether I hadn’t had an infestation of hornworms before, or I just hadn’t noticed them (which seems rather impossible!), but the tobacco hornworms have had a good year this year and there’s no avoiding them. One day all your beautiful tomato and pepper plants are healthy and fine, and the next–bam! –you’re…
Recently I went around to the various Runamuk apiaries to perform my annual mite-tests, and while the 12 colonies under my care have struggled to produce surplus honey, I am happy to say that compared to last year when mite problems ran rampant throughout the state–and even my own hives–this year mites have posed less…
At the August meeting of the Somerset Beekeepers, we hosted two of UMaine’s academics who have been actively researching native bees in Maine and in the agricultural system. Dr. Sam Hanes’ is an anthropologist studying the perceptions growers have relating to the benefits of incorporating native pollinators into their farming efforts, and the methods they…
Tuesday night the Somerset Beekeepers met for their monthly meeting, and were joined by a number of the county’s master gardeners in welcoming Dr. Sam Hanes and Eric Venturini, a masters degree student, both of whom came over from the University of Maine at Orono to speak with us. I’ve mentioned before the good work…
I haven’t written in a while, I know. It’s been a difficult summer for me, to say the least. And it’s been hard enough to admit to myself that we’re not moving, let alone admitting it to the world in writing here on the blog. We’ve attempted construction loans with 2 banks, and failed.
I’ve been hard at work on this, and it’s taken a bit of finagling since it’s all happening rather last minute, but I am now confident in announcing the Grand Opening Event for the new Madison Farmers’ Market!
Despite my best efforts this spring to make successful and productive splits and nucs (read more about that here), I still found myself with 4 out of 12 hives Queenless come July. I do not claim to know it all when it comes to bees and beekeeping, and after talking to beekeepers with 30 and…