Mid February farm report and organic certification

February seems to be the time of year when everyone begins asking me these questions:
1) So, this is your slow time, right?
2) Not much going on at the farm right now, is there?

Excuse me, not really!

This is the season for filling out our organic certification forms for MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) – a task I chronically complain about. Very tedious, somehow I always seem to make some kind of mistake, and BORING! But after I send it in, I realize it has made me look at our past season and evaluate how I think we did. We can celebrate our successes, contemplate our failures, and look forward to our continued efforts to learn how to take better care of our planet.

Being MOFGA Certified Organic tells our recipients that we are an operation that is committed and dedicated to the philosophy and practice of organic agriculture. We think the extra work is worth it and that the programs and support MOFGA makes available to us and the entire community is invaluable. This past year MOFGA allowed us to utilize some of their grant money to have both the farm wells tested for PFAS. Thanks to MOFGA, G2G did not have to take on that expense. Don’t listen to my seasonal complaining, I am always so proud when we pass our inspection!

I am not the only one who has been busy.

Carrie took the lead on ordering our new Rimol seedling house. With input from members of our Fix-It Team and a zoom meeting with the rep from Rimol, we will now have a delivery of parts on February 23rd (weather permitting).

Carrie, Patty, and Suzanne have been busy writing grants, and Suzanne attended a grant writing workshop.

Carrie has also been working on recruiting interns for the 2023 season.

Carrie is leading our program committee, focusing on education.

Carrie and I will be giving a presentation on using no-till practices in your home garden. It’s at the farm or, if the weather won’t allow it, we will be at the Curtis Memorial Library next Sunday, February 26th, from 3:00-4:30. Same time for either location.

Carrie, Carrie, Carrie. Now I actually look like I haven’t been doing much!

My next focus is ordering our two replacement tunnels from Farmer’s Friend. We hope to stage a tunnel-raising “party” led by John Newlin and a G2G friend and expert builder E.J. The plan is to do them simultaneously with help from our Fix-It Team and volunteers. “We” (not me!) do have past experience and plenty of self-help videos. This will probably take us two Saturdays in warmer weather. I will keep everyone posted on that plan.

I hope to expand our use of heirloom seeds. I learned quite a bit of the history of some of our current favorites from an exhibit at The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, WI. The title was “Abundant Future: Cultivating Diversity in Garden, Farm, and Field” – beautiful watercolors depicting heirloom plant varieties with explanations of their origins. I wish I could share all the stories, but this one struck close to home.

Long Pie pumpkin came to Nantucket from the Azores on a whaling ship in the early 1830’s. It made its way up the coast and became especially popular in Androscoggin County, Maine. Full disclosure: I live in Androscoggin County, Maine. It is said that its smooth skin and sweet rich flavor rewarded the home baker with the best pumpkin pie. The FEDCO seed catalog states that it is probably a Native American variety. They do agree that it is the best pumpkin for Yankee pies. FEDCO has numerous fun facts about Long Pie including them being stacked up like firewood on porches in Androscoggin County! FEDCO also states–you won’t know where the whipped cream ends and the pie begins! Now who can resist that description?

Anyone up for a paper pot making bee? Like a quilting bee, but we will be making paper pots. We hope to try to use less peat moss. Why? It’s not renewable, it’s been over harvested for decades, the harvesting destroys animal life, and peat extraction releases carbon into the atmosphere. I know, another thing we aren’t supposed to use, but those are all valid reasons, so…..

I watched some YouTube videos, and this woman farmer actually uses thousands of paper pots on their farm and at their plant sale. Her site is You can’t eat the grass. Hers were super easy.

This season we will be starting over 11,000 seedlings. Yes, 11,000 seedlings. Before you start shaking your head (I know who you are), this is a trial. We will just see if it works, and if it is worth it. Plus, it’s a chance to be together and laugh, and you know we always share food at these gatherings. So, check out the video, save a wine bottle (for rolling not drinking), start saving newspapers (no glossy sheets–not MOFGA approved). I will put the word out when we think this might happen. This same woman farmer says she can roll out 100 in an hour watching TV at night. Think what we can do! Don’t worry, it will not be 11,000.

A few donation requests for the season:

Cardboard–brown, flattened, only black ink
Glass jars for bouquets–Mason, pickle, tomato sauce sizes
Newspaper–no glossy sheets

With temps in the high 50’s last week, the snow cover was disappearing, and the winter rye was emerging. The elderberry orchard lawn was green! One of our local weather people said “watch out for March!” He thinks we will get multiple Nor’easters. As the saying goes here in Maine, “Don’t like the weather?” “Wait a minute” and that’s just what we do.