Category: Farming

Today’s Press Herald takes a look at the challenges facing Maine farms and how they’re responding to changing weather and business conditions.

 

Vertical Harvest, the hydroponic farm under construction in Westbrook, has received $59.5M in funding, reports the Press Herald.

Vertical Harvest Farms, an indoor farming company focused on microgreens, said $59.5 million in financing will advance its work to develop and operate the 51,000-square-foot vertical farm. The Westbrook business is expected employ 47 workers, with half the workforce including people with intellectual and physical disabilities, CEO Nona Yehia said.

Goronson Farm (website, facebook, instagram) in Scarborough has kicked off a project to farm etrog, a type of citrus which play an important part in celebration of the Jewish festival of Sukkot.

Citrus trees might not seem a natural fit for Maine weather but owner Maureen Goronson has a lot of experience growing rare fruit. She currently grow a variety of fruit trees that include Chinese Honey Peaches (Shui Mi Tao), French apricots (Paviot), apricots from Iran (Shakarpara), and persimmons.

Goronson plans to build out a new greenhouse and to plant an orchard of 30 etrog trees. The fruit will be a certified-organic and certified-kosher crop. She was prompted to take on this project by a customer who knew of her passion for raising rare fruits. If all goes according to schedule the first crop will be available in 2027. When they reach maturity each of the thirty trees will be able to produce 150-250 fruit. Goronson hopes her orchard will address the lack of a source of kosher organic etrogs.

For more information visit the page on the Goronson website about the project, and support the initiative visit the Go Fund Me page for the project.

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a report on the wide range of work Maine farmers engage in during the offseason.

In a challenging landscape for the mostly family-run operations, many use the winter months to enhance their survival, finding ways to boost production or diversifying what they offer.

September has arrived and with it the leading edge of the Maine apple season. Take a look at the updated Maine Heirloom Apple Guide for detailed information on where and when to find dozens of heirloom apple varieties grown at  fifteen outstanding Maine orchards.

The orchard guide is a co-production of Portland Food Map and the intrepid apple expert Sean Turley at The Righteous Russet (instagram). We hope this provides you with all the information you need to go out for a self-directed exploration of Maine orchards and the many heirloom apples they offer. Use it throughout the fall to go exploring so you can take advantage of the entire season.

For those of you who like to consume Maine apples in liquid form also check out our Guide to Maine Cider Producers—a list of the 20+ cideries in Maine. Many have a tasting room that you might visit after a day of apple picking.

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a very interesting article about an heirloom apple research project.

Since 2019, Bunker has been working with College of the Atlantic history professor Todd Little-Siebold, Laura Sieger, orchard manager for the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and MOFGA intern Lydia Pendergast to collect samples from hundreds of Maine’s unidentified apple trees. They send the samples clear across the country to their partner in the project, Cameron Peace, a horticulture scientist at the University of Washington who runs tests to reveal the DNA.

“It’s almost like 23andMe, but for apples,” Sieger said, referring to the popular human genetic testing web service, 23andMe.com.