Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
October is a tricky month for farmers. One day it’s mild and beautiful─you take pause to admire the spectacle of Maine’s glorious fall foliage; the next day the temperature plunges, the wind picks up, and the threat of snow looms in the forecast. For the last few weeks I’ve been walking this line between preparing…
Since closing on the Hive House nearly 2 months ago I’ve been jacked on farming. There’s so much to be done, and so many things I want to do! Farming is a drug I just can’t get enough of. Each morning I awaken eager for the day ahead, and for the chores and projects I…
Beekeeping in today’s modern environment is probably one of the hardest forms of agriculture that exists. If you can think of a worse one, by all means leave a comment below to share with us lol. Meanwhile, the 2017-2018 winter was another rough winter for beekeepers here in Maine; many beekeepers lost a lot of…
What a great time we had at the Farmer Talent Show Sunday night! It was a hugely successful event, and thanks to those who participated and came out to see the show, we were able to raise the funds needed to keep the Maine Harvest Bucks program going at the Madison Farmers’ Market. If you’re…
This past weekend Runamuk kicked off it’s 2018 growing season with a bang. We joined our fellow farmers at the Madison Farmers’ Market on Saturday, retrieved the first round of new bees for the apiary, and made a chicken-run for the 50 new layers I’d ordered several months back. The flurry of activity kept my…
Runamuk has been invited to participate in Maine School Garden Day to talk about bees! It’s been a while since I was able to get out in the community to talk bees, so I’m pretty stoked to have been invited. On Saturday, April 28th teachers from across Maine will gather at the Maine Academy of…
Potential new beekeepers often ask me what are the essential tools needed to get started in beekeeping? What do I really need? Beekeeping is a big expense up front, and it can be 2 years sometimes before you see a return on that investment. People usually want to know which tools they absolutely have to…
We’ve reached the end of my #WinterGrowingChallenge for the 2017-2018 winter season and I already know I’m going to do it again next year. I’m determined to provide as much of my own food for my family as I can, and growing shoots and sprouts in a kitchen window is an easy and inexpensive way…
Peter Burke’s book: Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening has served as a bible of sorts throughout my #WinterGrowingChallenge. I found it amongst the reference books in the library at Johnny’s Selected Seeds and borrowed it for my project. Note: In case you missed it, you can check out the #WinterGrowingChallenge to learn more about what it…
When we left off, I’d been waiting for the appraisal to come back on the Swinging Bridge Farm before the FSA would proceed to the final stage of their loan process for Direct Farm Ownership. Everything hinged on that figure, so it was a fairly monumental milestone. I’d expected to hear from Nathan over at…