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Wood
Prairie Farm
The
Seed
Piece Newsletter
Organic
News
and
Commentary
Thursday,
June 24 2015
Volume 21 Issue 13
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In This
Issue of The Seed Piece:
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Land of
Woods and Potatoes.
Stuart’s Map
of the Timber Lands, Central Aroostook County, Circa 1890 (Click to
enlarge). Back in 1890, the Town of Bridgewater
had around 220 residents. The railroad has just come in a few
years prior. With this new transportation, a huge demand for
Aroostook potatoes for East Coast markets was born. The
resulting growth in potatoes and population which followed was
staggering. Within decades, Bridgewater’s
population peaked at 1200. Now, in recent decades, Bridgewater’s
population hovers around half of its peak.
Our Wood Prairie Farm, in the adjacent
Township D, Range 2 (shown on the map simply as “D”, we occupy the
northern portion of “Lot 53”), was still part of the uncleared wild
lands in and around the southwestern corner of Bridgewater.
It would be another quarter century before local farmers cleared the
trees off what in time would become our future farm. The land
clearing exposed the high, dry soil which proved to be very good for
growing potatoes.
So here we are. After a rainy
Spring, all 2015 crops are now planted. Wheat, corn, potatoes, beans,
onions, parsnips and other crops have emerged and are growing
fast. Right behind them are later planted carrots and
beets. Everything looks good.
We hope wherever your crops are growing you have
plenty of moisture and plenty of sunshine to help push them along.
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Jim
&
Megan Gerritsen & Family
Wood
Prairie Farm
Bridgewater,
Maine
Click here for the
Wood Prairie Farm Home Page.
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Forward Thinking Gardening.
For many regions, now is the time to be planting Fall crops.
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Yes It's
Time to Plant Fall Crops.
While it may be hard to believe where the weather
stays warm well into the Fall, now is the time to plant crops for the
Fall in many of the shorter season areas of the country.
In locales where winters are not real
cold and snowy, some hardy crops will live right through the winter.
Which crops will do well where you live?
We've come across a very helpful guide
to help answer that question. It is entitled, The
Big Willamette Winter Gardening Chart, prepared
by Nick Routlege and our friend, Andrew Still of Adaptive Seeds.
Nick & Andrew's chart runs the
gamut from Arugula
to Swiss
Chard and all crops hardy in-between. While targeted for
Oregon's west-of-the-Cascades mostly-mild Willamette Valley, the
information contained is valuable and well-articulated. We found the
discussion interesting and helpful, even for short-season and cold
regions like we have in Maine.
We think you will want to print out
this seven-page chart and add it to your Garden Library.
Jim & Megan
Click Here for our Certified Organic Vegetable Seed.
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Special
Offer: FREE
Organic Yukon Gold Seed Potatoes.
Since its introduction thirty years ago, Yukon Gold has
earned as much name-recognition as any potato variety in North
America. And for good reason, because genuine Yukon
Gold potatoes are a beautiful and excellent
eating variety. However, we must now be wary because there
are tricksters out there who have been mis-branding sacks of eating
potatoes and calling one substandard production variety or another a
‘Yukon Gold’ in order to cash in on its fame.
In the garden Yukon Gold is an early variety and plants
exhibit strong upright growth. To ensure a good yield, we recommend
that you do not space your Yukon Gold seed pieces more than 10” apart
in row.
We ship our Organic
Certified Seed Potatoes every year until the 4th
of July, so this is your last chance to order prior to the new harvest
which will be ready in September.
Want to try out Yukon Gold in YOUR garden? Don’t
miss this chance to trial this fine variety. Get a FREE 1 lb. Sack of Yukon
Gold Organic Maine Certified Seed Potatoes (value $11.95)
on your next order where the goods total $25 or more. Please
use Promo Code WPF465.
Offer may not be combined with other offers. Your order and FREE
Yukon Gold seed must ship by 7/3/15. Offer Expires
11:59p.m., Monday, June 29, so please hurry!
Click
Here for our Wood Prairie Farm Organic Maine Certified Seed Potatoes.
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Farmers
Losing Property Rights.

Only in
agriculture. Only in today's out-of-kilter agriculture
have the private property rights of family farmers been subordinated to
powerful Big Ag and Biotech forces.
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Recipe: Cornmeal
and Quinoa Skillet Bread.
1
c whole wheat
or spelt
flour (I used spelt in this
recipe)
3/4 c cornmeal
1 tsp baking
powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
(optional)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c cooked
quinoa, room temperature (quinoa is cooked just as you would oatmeal)
3 T unsalted butter, barely melted
3 T natural cane or brown sugar
3/4 tsp sea
salt
2 c milk
1 1/2 T white or white wine vinegar
1 c heavy cream
Preheat
the oven to 350ºF. Roughly ten minutes before you are
ready to bake the skillet bread, while you are mixing the batter, place
the
skillet in the hot oven.
In
a large bowl stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking
powder, baking soda, and dried herbs.
In
a separate bowl, beat the eggs, quinoa, and melted butter
until well-blended. Add the sugar, salt, milk and vinegar and stir
again. Then
add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until the
batter
comes together. It will be quite thin.
Pour
the batter into the heated skillet. Pour the heavy
cream into the center of the batter - do not stir. Carefully place in
oven and
check after 45 minutes. The skillet bread is done when the top becomes
lightly
browned and the center just set.
Best
served warm from the oven.
Megan.
Click
Here for our Certified Organic Granary Section.
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Cornmeal and
Quinoa Skillet Bread.
Photo by Angela Wotton.
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Our Mailbox:
Validity of Organic and Momentum on Our Side.
Validity of Organic.

Dear WPF.
NEW LONG-TERM STUDY SHOWS THE
SUPERIORITY OF ORGANIC FARMING'S BENEFICIAL IMPACT ON SOIL LIFE.
Not really news to those of us in the choir...
MP
WWW
WPF Replies.
Organic farming has always represented
a threat to powerful forces which benefit from the status quo of toxic
agriculture. These forces have financed and created a false culture of
skepticism towards organic farming. Honest scientific work such as this
study is important because it establishes the validity of organic and
in doing so undermines the propaganda campaign waged against us.
Jim
Momentum on Our
Side.
Dear WPF.
Judge upholds Jackson County GMO
ban. There shouldn't be any regulation against
banning GMO crops.
MH
WWW
WPF Replies.
To
the detriment of the Commons, Monsanto has concocted many snares to
promote its self-interest and institutionalize it's flawed death
technology. One-by-one they will need to be dismantled. Momentum is on
the side of the people and Monsanto is on the wrong side of history.
Jim.
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Wood Prairie Farm Quick
Links
Jim
& Megan Gerritsen
Wood
Prairie Farm
49
Kinney Road
Bridgewater,
Maine 04735
(800)829-9765
Certified Organic, Direct from the Farm
www.woodprairie.com
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