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The Wood
Prairie Seed Piece
e-Newsletter
Organic
News
and
Commentary
Friday,
May 12th 2017
Volume
25 Issue 09
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In This
Issue of The Wood
Prairie Seed
Piece:
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Helping
Neighbors.
Three-Week-Old Baby Caribou,
Aroostook County, Maine. Circa 1893.
We see plenty of moose and deer on our farm, and the occasional bear,
but the last Caribou in Northern Maine were killed a century ago.
The past weeks have been consistently
gray and dreary with plenty of rain. The wood stove has been running
more on than off. Today, for a change, it was sunny and warm (in the
60s) and more of that is the forecast for tomorrow. Then the rain
returns again on Sunday morning.
Today, Caleb hooked up our 19-foot
Vibrashank harrow to our 92 HP Oliver Diesel tractor, and mounted the
dual wheels onto the tractor. Our plan for tomorrow evening is to try
and do shallow harrowing on all of our open ground in an effort to
'break the crust' and arrest weed growth. While the weather pattern
could change next week, so far we're off to a wet spring here in Maine.
Breaking the crust will help the sun and wind further dry out the
ground. In time, drying ground will allow us to start planting crops of
seed grain and seed potatoes.
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Caleb,
Jim
&
Megan Gerritsen & Family
Wood
Prairie Family Farm
Bridgewater,
Maine
Click here for the
Wood Prairie Family Farm Home Page.
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Wood
Prairie's Mary Green. Surrounded by daughters Michelle
(l.) and Chelsea (r.).
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Wood Prairie Co-Worker Mary
Green Needs Our Help.
If
you have ever called Wood Prairie Family Farm - with a question or to
place an order - more likely than not, you have spoken to Mary Green.
Mary is our primary on answering the office phone in her role as our
Office Manager. Mary is Megan’s right hand woman.
The two of them work shoulder-to-shoulder organizing and pushing out
many, many thousands of organic orders every year.
Mary is now waging a battle against cancer and she needs our
help. Her daughters have set up a Go
Fund Me crowd funding site where our donations may be sent.
Mary and her family need help with a wide array of needs from mortgage
to transportation. She is receiving treatment in Boston, one
of the more expensive cities anywhere in the country.
The Greens and the Gerritsens are two very close families. We
can assure you these are the best people in the world and their need
for help is genuine and immediate.
Three of the home-schooled Greens have worked here a lot over the years
since they were kids. Chelsea was the champ and
worked here eight
consecutive years until last Fall when she left to marry
Justin - another Wood Prairie co-worker - and they moved to their new
home in rural southern Maine.
Please join us today in donating via the Green’s Go
Fund Me campaign to help with major expenses
ahead. Even small amounts do add up and every dollar we give is
gratefully appreciated! If you can't give right now, one way
you can help is by sharing the Green’s
Go Fund Me campaign on your social
networks. Thanks so much!
Caleb, Jim & Megan |
Special
Offer: FREE Organic
Adirondack Red Seed Potatoes.
One of
the prettier potatoes we dig from our field is the Cornell University
variety, Adirondack
Red. It has a beautiful dark red,
smooth skin and shallow eyes. The flesh is a strong pink with
a pleasing moist texture.
Here’s your chance to earn
some FREE Organic
Adirondack Red Seed Potatoes. Receive a FREE 1 Lb. sack of our Organic
Adirondack Red Seed Potatoes (Value $11.95) when your next
order totals $39 or more. FREE
Organic Adirondack Red Seed Potato Offer ends 11:59 PM on
Monday, May 15, 2017, so better act now.
Please use Promo Code WPFF409. Your order
and FREE Organic
Adirondack Red Seed Potatoes must ship by May 26, 2017.
Offer may not be combined with other offers. Please call or click today!
Click
Here for Our Organic Maine Certified Seed Potatoes
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Organic
Adirondack Red. Prime ingredient in Red, White and Blue
Potato Salad..
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Trident is
OMRI-Listed. Trident passed this big hurdle and may now be
used - with permission - by Certified Organic Farmers. |
Biological Trident Now Approved
for Organic Control of Colorado Potato Beetles.
As reported in our March
24 issue of the Wood Prairie Seed Piece,
biological insecticide Trident
was given listing by the Organic Materials Review Institute
(“OMRI-Listing”). This means that once a Certified Organic
farmer receives prior approval from their organic certifier, Trident can be used
as one technique for controlling the notorious Colorado Potato Beetle,
one of the top four most destructive agricultural pests worldwide.
Additionally, individual
States require registration of these sorts of materials within their
boundaries prior to usage. We have now received confirmation
that the registration process has been completed in both the States of Maine and Vermont.
Registration filing has been made in New Hampshire and
registration is pending. No doubt additional States have also
already come on Board and registered Trident for use.
Trident
is a type of Bacillus
thuringiensis and has low ecological profile. It
has been many years since we have used this product, but given our past
positive experience, it is is likely to now become an important tool
for managing CPBs on Wood Prairie Family Farm.
Manufacturer Certis
USA says it is going through the registration process in 27 States
where potatoes are widely grown. If you are not able to find
a source for Trident, put in a call
to Certis USA and ask them where it may be
obtained.
Click
Here for our Organic Maine Certified Seed Potatoes |
Notable Quotes: Frederick
Douglass on Injustice.
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Recipe: Homemade
Cheese Crackers.
3 T unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes, plus more for baking sheets
1 1/2 c whole
wheat flour, plus more for counter
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1 tsp fine grain sea salt
6 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 ice cube
Combine the butter, flour, dry mustard, and salt in the bowl of a stand
mixer. Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until the mixture is
crumbly and the butter starts to integrate into the mixture, about 30
seconds. Add the cheese and mix again on low speed for a few seconds.
In a measuring cup, combine 3/4 c water, the vinegar, and the ice cube
and let sit for a moment to get cold. Add 6 T of the vinegar mixture to
the dough and mix on medium speed for 20 seconds. Continue to add
liquid, 1 T at a time, until the dough clings in a ball to the beater.
Mix for an additional 30 seconds. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and
refrigerate for at least two hours, and up to 3 days.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator 15 minutes before rolling out.
Preheat oven to 325F and grease two baking sheets. Turn dough onto a
lightly floured surface and roll out until dough is 1/8" thick. Cut
into desired shapes using knife or cutter.
Bake 1" apart on sheets for 18-25 minutes, depending on thickness of
crackers. Turn off oven, prop open the oven door and allow crackers to
crisp as the oven cools, - at least twenty minutes.
Megan
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Homemade
Cheese Crackers.
Photo by Angela Wotton.
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Organic Reddale Potatoes
In Blossom On Wood Prairie Family Farm. Early and Reliable
red-skinned variety.
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Wood Prairie Farm Quick
Links
Caleb & Jim
& Megan Gerritsen
Wood
Prairie Family Farm
49
Kinney Road
Bridgewater,
Maine 04735
(207)
429 - 9765
Certified Organic, From Farm to Mailbox
www.woodprairie.com
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