Sam Schipani

Image by photoAC from Pixabay Whether you are suddenly interested in gardening and buying equipment for the first time or back on the market looking to replace a pair of worn-out gloves, you may experience choice paralysis when…
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When I made sourdough starter for the first time, I did not discard the starter after every feeding, as is recommended by many professional bakers. I’d like to say that it was because I was optimistic about how often I was going to use the…
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Newspaper seedling pots. | Photo by Sam Schipani Getting started with gardening can be intimidating and expensive at the outset, though. Plus, when you are trying to limit time spent in stores in accordance with social distancing,…
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Between the stress-reducing benefits of spending time in the garden and the self-sufficiency provided by being able to grow your own food, you may be thinking more and more about getting into gardening. Kate Garland, horticulturist at…
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Image by Pexels from Pixabay First-time gardeners may be surprised by the array of gardening tools available. However, with a few good tips -- and a solid list of must-haves -- you can stock up on what you need for a successful…
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Sam Schipani tending to her raised garden bed at the Bangor Community Garden. | Photo by Linda Coan O'Kresik Perhaps the pandemic and the increased scrutiny of food security has you suddenly interested in gardening. Maybe you’re late to…
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With so many options out there -- from drip irrigation to timed sprinklers -- it can be intimidating for gardeners to figure out what they need when it comes to watering tools.
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New gardeners and experienced gardeners alike can fall victim to pests. When the pest is a furry woodland creature, though, managing the havoc it wreaks is a little bit different than if your garden is afflicted by a bug or pathogen. …
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Stewart Smith the owner of Lakeside Family Farm in Newport in the farm's potato storage and packing facility. | Photo by Gabor Degre Planning for the end of your life can be intimidating. When you are a farmer, your business is not only…
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In the age of the coronavirus, living simply and well is more than just a matter of principle -- it can be a matter of survival. Julia Watkins did not know the world we would be entering when she published her book, "Simply Living Well:…
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Robert Elwell (left), 87, talks to Derek Jones, 21, at Elswell's Unity dairy farm. | Photo by Bridget Brown Aging is a fact of life. In farming, it is also a fact of the industry. In 2017, farm producers in the United States…
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The changing world while COVID-19 sickens more people has left many Mainers at once panicked and adrift, shopping for shelf-stable foodstuffs and supplies. For Maine’s homesteaders, who have built their lifestyles around practicing…
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