Abigail Curtis

It doesn’t take much to get Fritz Appleby, a retired Maine State Park manager, to wax rhapsodic about his love of classic cast iron cookware. Appleby owns a couple of hundred pieces of the heavy duty, long-lived pots and pans…
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Photo by Gabor Degre Starting a community garden can be a terrific way to grow vegetables and help people in your neighborhood. But before you pick up a spade or seed catalog, it’s a good idea to keep a few pointers in mind. 1.…
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A garden journal, or garden record book, is a place to log the seeds you use, where and when you plant, the results and more. Here's how to create one. Sarah Walker Caron Every year, Ivonne Vazquez, a master gardener from Orono,…
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Folks swear by elderberry benefits, which are said to include reduction of nasal congestion and swelling and the warding off of illness. But what does science say? Miriam Watkins of Belfast makes her own elderberry syrup and uses it to…
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Donkeys can be stubborn, but they are also intelligent, attentive animals that are good draft animals, guardians for other animals and more. A visitor to the Goughan's Berry Farm in Caribou, Maine, feeds Wilbur the donkey on Thursday. |…
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Garlic needs a period of cold in order for a clove to separate and form a head of garlic. Here's how to plant garlic in the fall. Garlic bulbs | Abigail Curtis Last year, it felt as if we did some crucial things wrong when it came to…
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Watch out: Something stinky this way comes. Brown marmorated stink bugs, the voracious eater of fruit, vegetable and nut crops, that is. Photo courtesy of USDA APHIS PPQ An invasive species, stink bugs were accidentally imported to…
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Late fall is the season to scatter native seed bombs and bury bulbs. Scotch bellflower in the gardens of Heather McCargo, founder and executive director of the Wild Seed Project. Scotch bellflower is one of 60 plants sold by the Wild…
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Are backyard chickens OK in the cold? Learn about the birds' natural protections, and what's safe to help keep them comfortable in winter. Goldie, a backyard chicken and family pet that lives in Orono, Maine, was brought inside her…
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Roberta Bailey of Seven Tree Farm in Vassalboro with white oilseed poppy seeds. She is saving seeds to grow plants with next year.| Courtesy of Roberta Bailey Fall is a busy time of year for farmers who need to harvest the last of…
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Native bees could use a little help from humans to keep them healthy. Necessary in the ecosystem for pollination, Frank Drummond, a University of Maine professor of insect ecology, suggested a few things people can do to help save…
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Bean hole beans are a Maine tradition. Bean hole beans are the traditional food of Maine’s lumber camps and are often still made by groups with an affinity for the tradition. But how do you make traditional Maine Bean Hole Beans? …
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