Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
Now that we’re settling into the new homestead, back on our farm-property, I’m ready to reconnect with nature and the natural world that I love so much. I’m looking at nature-inspired homeschool activities to do with the boys, taking walks in the snow–shoveling…. So when the chance to review Kathy Lepvic’s eBook “Homespun Seasonal Living…
Now that the balmy days of summer are behind us, and the time to tuck in for the long cold of winter has come–I like to play around with growing different foods inside my house. The gardening season may be over, but providing fresh and nutritious foods for family meals is a never-ending task, and…
I love the assortment of people who are drawn to beekeeping. Young and old, eccentric and conservative, financially solvent–and bootstrappers like me–those who make do with less. People from all over the state come together for the annual Maine State Beekeepers’ conference to join together in the spirit of learning; to bask in the feeling…
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…
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…
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…
These are the lettuces I planted a few weeks back. They’re looking really great. Here you can see the soaker hose I’d laid in this bed for the day, to give everything a good watering. And if you look closely, you can see the new lettuce sprouts I planted between these heads to ensure a…
After the devastation of last year’s seedling fiasco (read about that here), I was more than a little anxious about hardening off my seedlings this year. My mini hoop-houses (more about that here) have been working so well this spring that I decided to construct something similar to protect my tender tomato and pepper seedlings…
I managed to set up 2 mini hoop-houses and planted a number of lettuce seedlings, yet April was a cold and windy start to the gardening season that left me longing for more. So far May has made up for it in spades! I’ve been out in the garden practically every day for the last…
Many American gardeners cling fast to the idea that the growing season doesn’t begin until Memorial Day weekend. Yet in Europe gardeners use a variety of methods to extend their season and increase their garden’s harvest. Thanks to Elliot Coleman’s book Four Season Harvest, more and more Americans are discovering the possibilities. Even in Maine…