Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
Moving into January and the second month of our #WinterGrowingChallenge I’ve decided to step up my seed-sowing activities. Initially I had imagined I would be eating delicious leafy green salads every night when I undertook to grow my own greens, yet I’ve eaten a mere 3 salads since the start of this project. Sure that’s…
When I first started selling vegetables nearly 8 years ago, I was a stay-at-home homeschooling mom to 2 rowdy young boys. I wanted to earn an income without having to get a job outside the home, and what started with a 10-family CSA has grown and transformed into a diverse apiary operation with supporting acts…
Here we are at another year’s end. This always seems to be an introspective time for me. A time for reflection and review, for letting go of what no longer serves us and for embracing new things into our lives. Before we move on to 2018 and all that a new year brings with it,…
11 days after sowing my first seeds for shoots as part of my #WinterGrowingChallenge, I am still patiently waiting for those leafy-greens. I’m fairly lusting after a pea-shoot salad with my favorite homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing─maybe with a little crumbled feta. The idea makes my mouth water even now. There was one thing I overlooked…
Yesterday I received the news I have worked long and hard for. Nathan contacted me from Maine’s Pensobscot County Farm Service Agency to say that my loan request was approved by the state’s Farm Loan Manager. I can scarcely believe it! Honestly I hadn’t expected to hear anything until later next week, so it came…
It’s been 54 days today since I dropped off the bulk of my FSA farm loan application with the Somerset County branch of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Surprisingly enough, things continue to progress in the direction of ownership of the Swinging Bridge Farm for Runamuk. The Story So Far: Making an Offer Negotiations Hesitation…
Brighten someone’s day with a gift basket from Runamuk Acres! With raw honey, beeswax soaps and wildcrafted herbal salves, our baskets are unique and useful even beyond the holiday season. Healthful and practical, all natural and bee-friendly, just about anyone would be happy to be blessed with such a gift. It’s a great way to…
There were 9.5 hours of daylight yesterday. Here in Maine the Persephone Period has begun. If Halloween festivities and the celebration of Samhain weren’t enough to indicate the turning of the Wheel of the Year, day light savings really drives the message home. Darkness descends upon the landscape right now at 4:30 in the afternoon,…
With the FSA’s monster loan application submitted for review, and the FarmRaiser party behind us, all focus has turned toward preparing for the winter looming ahead of us. The unseasonable warmth we’ve experienced so far this fall can be deceiving, but make no mistake─winter will come to Maine. When it does I intend to be…
Yesterday morning I had a meeting with Janice Ramirez at the Somerset County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) regarding my loan application, their requirements, and the process involved in government financing of the Swinging Bridge Farm. I’ve visited them 2 or 3 times before, but the representatives there are always patient and kind; they seem…