Category: Farming

Syrup Grading & Maine Maple Sunday

| Posted in Farming

The Press Herald Food & Dining section has published an article on syrup grading,

Take that darker syrup, which in Maine is called Grade A Extra Dark Amber. In Vermont and New Hampshire, that same syrup would be labeled Grade B. In New York, the label might read “Extra Dark for Cooking.” And in Canada, it’s called “No. 2 Amber.”

and The Root blog has published an article about Maine Maple Sunday.

The 1983 Maine Maple Sunday was the first-in-the-nation event. A dozen Maine producers hosted open houses. “Come and see Maine maple syrup made,” they broadcast. Entertainment featured syrup making, sleigh rides, sap collecting tours, syrup tasting, pancake breakfasts, maple sundaes, and syrup selling. Acceptance by the public was unexpectedly high. Maple Hill Farm in Farmington counted 1500 visitors.

Favorite Dishes, Lobster Market, SoPo Farmers Market

| Posted in Reviews, Farming, Fisheries

Today’s Press Herald includes a survey of chefs and food writers about standout dishes from the past year,

This week, in honor of Maine Restaurant Week, I asked local chefs, food writers and food bloggers to name the best dish they’ve had in a Maine restaurant over the past year.

Some of them couldn’t resist waxing poetic about an entire meal. Others cheated a little and named two dishes.

an article about the 2013 lobster market,

With last year’s glut of lobsters and plummeting prices still a vivid memory, Maine lobstermen are hatching strategies to cultivate new markets and more customers for the state’s leading fishery.

and a report on plans (or lack thereof) for the South Portland farmers market.

The South Portland farmers market, which was established in 2011, is without a home for the upcoming summer season, according to its manager.

Farms in Winter & an Urban Farm Store

| Posted in Under Construction, Farming

This week’s Portland Phoenix explores the planning and preparation that Maine farmers do in winter.

While this farm manager admits that winter hours are much less demanding…there’s still a lot going on this time of year. Seed orders were placed at the beginning of the year, and the 2012 financial books were balanced and closed. The hay baler and tractor need maintenance. Firewood needs to be chopped. Soon, Kroeck will start interviewing and hiring apprentices…And in a couple weeks, “we’ll start getting the greenhouse ready to start seeding for the summer,” he says.

Under Construction: The article also reports that the owners Broadturn Farm in Scarborough are planning on opening a “urban farm store” in Portland this spring.

Broadturn Barns

| Posted in Farming

The Broadturn Farm Blog has a new post about the renovation and repurposing of their barn and other outbuildings.

The buildings at Broadturn Farm have been a consistent focus over the years. The farmstead space is graced with a collection of connected buildings and stand alone outbuildings. It has a quintessential New England working farm aesthetic. Each building has been one thing, an then another. Renovated and re-renovated, torn down and re-built, these structures have evolved as the various enterprises of the farm saw periods of success and growth. Dating back to the early 1800s, the buildings tell us a story of who came before us and the legacy of hard work that is required to make a living off the land.

Phoenix Does Pork

| Posted in Cooking, Farming

This week’s Portland Phoenix has published a pair of articles about pork, both by Laura McCandlish:

The nomination process for the Phoenix Readership Survey is still ongoing. Go to make your recommendations for the top restaurants, bakeries, bartenders, food blogs, etc.

Pie Day & Maine Food Strategy

| Posted in Events, Farming

The Food & Wine section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about National Pie Day celebrations taking place in Portland and Rockland, pie facts, and pie recipes,

[Ned] Swain is a member of the elusive “Portland Pie Council,” a group of five or so Portlanders who fancy pie and for the past four years have organized a Pie and Art Gala at the Mayo Street Center for the Arts to celebrate Jan. 23, National Pie Day. Generally, they keep their identities secret, so Swain has become their spokesperson, using his pie hole to promote pies made of sweet potatoes, chocolate, pecans, berries, summer vegetables and just about any other ingredient you can think of that tastes good in a crust.

and an article about the Maine Food Strategy Initiative.

“Right now Maine imports the vast, vast majority of its food and most of it comes in on trucks,” said Lapping, who is a distinguished professor at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Policy. “But many of us believe Maine has the capacity to produce more food.”

Buying a Fruit Tree

| Posted in Farming

The Root has interviewed author David Buchanan to get his advice on buying fruit trees.

Which fruit tree is your favorite to grow?
I love apples, particularly for the hard cider they produce, and other trees like cherries, despite the work involved in harvesting and preparing them. But nothing beats a good peach. Peach trees grow very quickly, often yielding substantial crops in their third or fourth years, and varieties like Red Haven and Madison produce excellent fruit in the Portland area.

Interview with Phil Gaven

| Posted in Farming

The Root has published an interview with Phil Gaven, owner of The Honey Exchange on Stevens Ave, about Winter hive maintenance.

I spend many hours a day giving advice to beekeepers on all manner of subjects but the one thing I try to stress more than anything is “worry less.”  Good beekeepers want to do everything we are able to do to help our bees survive.  It’s important to remember bees survived for millions of years without human help.  Admittedly, given the world we live in today most beehives can’t survive more than a year or two without human help so we do what we can, in as natural a way as possible.  With responsible stewardship, most hives will survive.  Some will die, and while that’s sad it is also the natural order of things.