Sam Schipani

The scientific results are in: in a sustainability contest between wooden and plastic shipping pallets, wood reigns supreme. You may not think the findings impact you, but shipping pallets play a bigger role in daily life -- and global…
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Headshot courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Peter Loewer has had quite a life. He was headed for a career in graphics and art after graduating college, but a computer error sent him to the United States Army as a cryptographer…
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Photo by Sam Schipani Scientists may have found a new way to promote crop growth in degrading agricultural conditions: by looking to the roots. A new study conducted by the University of California at Riverside revealed that a…
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Forget the white picket fence. Hedgelaying may be the perfect fencing option for your homestead. Here's what you need to know to try it. A European buckthorn hedgerow in Caledon laid in the Midland style. | Photo by Jim Jones …
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Fragrant flowers make a lovely, aromatic addition to any garden. If you are accustomed to growing primarily edible crops, though, there are a few considerations for fragrant gardening for your first foray into these beautiful blooms. The…
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Sugar maple trees at Coopers Maple Products in Windham, Maine. | Photo by Abigail Curtis Temperature plays an important role in determining where plants can and can’t grow. In fact, growing zones are determined primarily by minimum…
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Mealworm in an oat substrate. | Photo courtesy of Robert Nathan Allen & Little Herds Good news: if your mealworms eat something nasty, you can still feed them to your chickens — even if they’re munching on plastic laced with toxic…
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Prepared for dermatological disaster. | Photo by Sam Schipani The scourge of acne snuck up on me in my early twenties. I was able to escape high school with little more than the occasional forehead zit, but midway through college, I…
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Photo by Linda Coan O'Kresik Inexpensive, simply stored and packed with protein, fiber and essential vitamins, beans really are the magical fruit -- or legume, rather.  Though beans are purchasable pre-cooked and ready-to-eat from a…
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This is part two of a two-part series about stress on the farm. Read about the causes of stress among farmers here. James Gagne and Noam Brautigam relax for a few minutes after the morning chores were done at Dickey Hill Farm in Monroe.…
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When I was a child, I used to sneak into the pantry to enjoy an illicit snack: peanut butter, straight from the jar, usually scooped with a spoon but just as often dug out with my sticky kid fingers. I wish I could say that I left…
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This is part one of a two-part series on stress on the farm. Brian Wright, one of the owners of the Wright Place Farm in Burnham, Maine, in a field of corn stunted by exceptionally cold, wet weather. | Photo by Gabor Degre For…
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