Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
Since this was my first time growing garlic, I was pretty stoked to go and dig up the bulbs earlier this week. I’d planted the garlic cloves back in October (you can read about that endeavor here). I mulched them heavily with dry leaves and watched over them all winter. This spring I pulled up…
A new farmers’ market has been proposed in my local community, and I have stepped up to take on organization of this project. The town of Madison sits adjacent to my hometown of Anson, directly across the Kennebec River. While the people of Anson and Madison may not necessarily share a love for one another,…
The call came on Friday morning, the representative from Skowhegan Savings called to say that our loan request had been rejected. Apparently the underwriter felt that we just don’t have enough wiggle room if something were to go wrong during the construction process. It wasn’t a terrible shock, Keith and I know that we’re not…
Ladybugs are often touted as a safe solution to aphid problems in the garden because their use doesn’t involve harmful pesticides. The little spotted beetles are popular all over the world, and in ancient times they were thought to be indicators of good fortune and a bountiful harvest. However commercially available ladybugs are not native…
It’s been just over two weeks since we went back to the bank to formally apply for our construction loan. Back in March we were pre-qualified for an $85k construction loan, and we’ve been busy gathering all of the necessary estimates and documents together so that we could finalize the loan. When we met with…
This past weekend the hive in the backyard here in-town swarmed. They settled nearby and I was able to collect them and safely transport them to Medicine Hill to install them above a Queen-less hive. With an established colony I didn’t want to chance the workers taking exception to the introduction of a new Queen,…
Swarming is a natural tendency for bees in the spring and early summer, and making splits and nucs is just another part of good management of your hives. Whether you want to grow your apiary, or just insure against winter hive losses, making your own splits and nucs is an ideal way to grow or…
Meet the newest addition to the Runamuk farm!
It may seem juvenile, but I don’t care–I am a huge fan of Disney’s Phineas & Ferb. I think even if I weren’t a mother the show would appeal to me with it’s free promotion of creativity and optimism, not to mention the fact that every episode has at least one song. I love musicals–it’s…
You hear it everywhere these days–businesses and families alike are striving to lead a more sustainable existence. I’ve mentioned it many times myself in various posts─but what is sustainable living really? Surprisingly enough─a Google search does not produce many results to define sustainable living. From what I found I was able to ascertain that sustainable…