Common Ground Radio

Host: Holli Cederholm
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
Maine has been experiencing a shift in the growing season, including a trend towards a longer season. Variability in weather — from unpredictable precipitation to an uptick in extreme weather events — makes it hard for gardeners to know what to plan for. On the April episode of Common Ground Radio, we discuss cultivating resilience in the face of increased weather variability with Rebecca Long, the coordinator of Horticulture Training Programs for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

List of subjects:
– Gardening
– Soil organic matter
– Irrigation
– Variety selection
– Succession planting
– Hedgerows
– Shade cloth
– Floating row cover
– Garden pests and disease

Guest/s:
Rebecca Long, coordinator of Horticulture Training Programs for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension

FMI-

What’s happening with Maine’s weather:
– Maine Climate Office — mco.umaine.edu/climate/me_monthly
– Maine Climate and Ag Network — umaine.edu/climate-ag

Gardening resources from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension:
– UMaine Cooperative Extension pollinator-friendly gardening — extension.umaine.edu/gardening/pollinator-garden-certification
– In-depth training programs: Master Gardener Volunteer, Maine Horticulture Apprentice, and Maine Gardener Trainings — extension.umaine.edu/gardening/learn
– Webinars On Demand — extension.umaine.edu/gardening/learn/on-demand-webinars
– Maine Home Garden News newsletter — extension.umaine.edu/gardening/maine-home-garden-news
– Reach out to your local extension office with questions — extension.umaine.edu/county-offices

Gardening resources from MOFGA:
– Organic gardening resources — mofga.org/trainings/gardening
– Organic gardening workshops — mofga.org/trainings/event-calendar
– Gardener Newsletter — mofga.org/newletter-sign-up-gardener
– Pest Report Newsletter — mofga.org/newletter-sign-up-pest-report
– “Succession Planting for Continued Yields and Season Extension” by Will Bonsall — mofga.org/resources/gardening/succession-planting-for-continued-yields-and-season-extension
– “Making Your Garden Less Hospitable to Disease” by Caleb Goossen, Ph.D. — mofga.org/resources/gardening/making-your-garden-less-hospitable-to-disease
– “Drip, Drip, Drip” by Eric Sideman, Ph.D. — mofga.org/resources/water-management/drip-drip-drip
– “Garden Tip: Watering During Drought” — mofga.org/resources/gardening/garden-tip-watering-during-drought
– “Water in the Garden: Too Much or Too Little” by Will Bonsall — mofga.org/resources/water-management/water-in-the-garden

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a lo0ng-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Holli Cederholm
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
Apples are a common feature in Maine’s landscape: from lone trees growing on field edges to cultivated orchards. The fruit was introduced to the region in the late 16th century and became a major part of Maine’s farm economy by the early 20th century. Over time, these early apple varieties — each with their own unique culinary use and flavor profile — have been largely replaced by a handful of commercial varieties bred for packability and shipping across the globe. As a result, Maine’s heritage apples were largely relegated to obscurity — with many facing extinction. In this month’s episode of Common Ground Radio, we talk with historian and fruit explorer Todd Little-Siebold about the Maine Heritage Orchard’s efforts to preserve rare apples for future generations. The Maine Heritage Orchard is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025.

List of subjects:
– Apple history
– Rare apples
– Apple exploration
– Apple DNA and ancestry
– Maine Heritage Orchard

Guest/s:
Todd Little-Siebold, professor of history at the College of the Atlantic

FMI:
– Maine Heritage Orchard — mofga.org/our-community/the-maine-heritage-orchard
– Seed Swap & Scion Exchange — mofga.org/trainings/annual-events/seed-swap-and-scion-exchange
– “Forgotten Fruit, forgotten farmers: North America’s earliest apple history” presented by Todd Little-Siebold at the Heritage Orchard Conference — uidaho.edu/cals/sandpoint-organic-agriculture-center/conference
– Great Maine Apple Day — mofga.org/trainings/annual-events/great-maine-apple-day
– Organic orcharding — mofga.org/trainings/orcharding

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a lo0ng-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Holli Cederholm
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
Many gardeners and farmers purchase their seeds each year from seed companies. Yet, it hasn’t always been that way. Seed saving is a practice as old as agriculture itself. In this episode of Common Ground Radio, we talk with Dan Brisebois, author of “The Seed Farmer” and host of “The Seed Farmer Podcast,” about growing your own seed. We dive into seed saving basics, as well as seed selection and stewardship.

List of subjects:
– Getting started with seed saving
– Open-pollinated vs. hybrid seeds
– Annual vs. biennial seed crops
– Self-pollinated vs. cross-pollinated crops
– Wet-seeded and dry-seeded crops
– Seed crops for beginners
– Seed selection
– Seed stewardship

Guest/s:
Dan Brisebois, author of “The Seed Farmer”

FMI:
– “The Seed Farmer” — danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook
– “The Seed Farmer Podcast” — danbrisebois.com/the-seed-growers-podcast
– Tourne-Sol Seeds — fermetournesol.qc.ca/en/pages/semences-tourne-sol
– MOFGA’s annual Seed Swap & Scion Exchange — mofga.org/trainings/annual-events/seed-swap-and-scion-exchange

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a lo0ng-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Holli Cederholm
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
In this episode of Common Ground Radio, we talk with Maddie Eberly, the low-impact forestry specialist with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) about the complexity of Maine’s forests and approaching forest stewardship to reduce environmental impacts, while promoting social and ecological benefits. We also discuss the impact of climate change and the role that forests can play in both mitigation and adaptation.

List of subjects:
– Low-impact forestry and forest stewardship
– Maine’s woods
– Climate change
– Carbon sequestration
– Assisted migration/range shifting

Guest/s:
Maddie Eberly, MOFGA’s low-impact forestry specialist, [email protected]

FMI:
– Low-impact forestry guiding principles — mofga.org/learn/low-impact-forestry
– District Foresters — maine.gov/dacf/mfs/policy_management/district_foresters.html
– “Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in Your Forest” — mofga.org/resources/forestry/climate-mitigation-in-your-forest
– Assisted migration/adaptive tree planting — mofga.org/resources/forestry/adaptive-tree-planting-for-climate-change
– MOFGA’s Low-Impact Forestry Newsletter — mofga.org/newletter-sign-up-low-impact-forestry

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a lo0ng-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Holli Cederholm
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
In this episode of Common Ground Radio marine biologist and policy expert Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and MOFGA’s executive director Sarah Alexander talk about climate change, with a focus on Maine. Following the release of her recent book, “What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures,” Johnson was interviewed at MOFGA’s Common Ground Country Fair by Alexander. Their conversation dives into the realities of climate change as well as how we can all harness our unique perspectives, skills, and interests to be part of the solution.

List of subjects:
– Climate change
– Ocean acidification
– “What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures” by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
– Organic agriculture
– Farming in Maine
– Back to the Land

Guest/s:
– Ayana Elizabeth Johnson — marine biologist; policy expert; cofounder of the nonprofit think tank Urban Ocean Lab; coeditor of the bestselling climate anthology “All We Can Save”; and author of “What If We Get it Right?: Visions of Climate Futures”.
– Sarah Alexander — executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA).

FMI:
– “What If We Get it Right?: Visions of Climate Futures” — ayanaelizabeth.com/writing
– Urban Ocean Lab — urbanoceanlab.org
– “All We Can Save” — allwecansave.earth/anthology
– Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson — ayanaelizabeth.com
– Common Ground Country Fair keynotes — mofga.org/keynotes

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a lo0ng-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Holli Cederholm
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
In this episode of Common Ground Radio, we talk with Mark McBrine, the director of food service at Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston, Maine. McBrine is the inspiration behind the kitchen’s from-scratch approach to cooking and 5-acre prison garden. These initiatives, including vocational training apprenticeships for residents, have led to significant cost savings at Mountain View. The food service program has become a model for other correctional facilities both in Maine and elsewhere. McBrine and Mountain View are featured in the award-winning documentary film “Seeds of Change: Breaking Free from the Prison Food Machine.”

List of subjects:
– Mountain View Correctional Facility
– Prison food system
– Prison garden
– “Seeds of Change: Breaking Free from the Prison Food Machine” documentary

Guest/s:
Mark McBrine, Director of Food Service at Mountain View Correctional Facility

FMI:
– “Serving Time and Good Food at Mountain View Correctional Facility” — mofga.org/stories/community/mountain-view-correctional-facility
– “Seeds of Change: Breaking Free from the Prison Food Machine” documentary — seedsofchangefilm.com

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a lo0ng-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Holli Cederholm
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
In this episode of Common Ground Radio, we discuss PFAS “forever chemical” contamination on farms and actions that are being taken on the state and federal level to protect farmers and eaters, including the recent lawsuit filed against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calling for regulation of a primary source of PFAS contamination — sewage sludge applied to farmland as fertilizer — under the Clean Water Act. Due to the practice of land-applying sludge containing PFAS, farmers here in Maine and across the country have been unknowingly contaminating their land, and consequently the food we eat. Sarah Alexander, MOFGA’s executive director, and Laura Dumais, staff counsel with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, talk about ways to mitigate contamination and reduce public health risks.

List of subjects:
-PFAS “forever chemicals”
-PFAS contamination on farmland
-PFAS in sewage sludge
-Impact of PFAS contamination on farmers
-PFAS legislation in Maine and at the federal level
-Lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Guest/s:
Sarah Alexander, executive director of MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association)
Laura Dumais, staff counsel with PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility)

FMI:

• About PFAS — mofga.org/pfas
• Take action on PFAS — mofga.org/advocacy/take-action-on-pfas
• “Lawsuit to Prevent PFAS in Biosolid Fertilizer Expands” — mofga.org/news/epa-lawsuit
• Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility — peer.org
• PEER petition to tell EPA to get PFAS out of pesticides — peer.org/petition-tell-epa-to-get-pfas-out-of-pesticides
• PEER petition to save America’s farms from toxic contamination — peer.org/petition-save-americas-farms-from-toxic-contamination

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a lo0ng-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host: Holli Cederholm
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
Dairy farms are the backbone of Maine’s rural communities. In addition to maintaining working agricultural landscapes, organic dairy farms protect natural resources, and also act as economic drivers for their communities by creating jobs on the farm and for related agricultural businesses. But these farms are in crisis, with many farmers exiting the dairy industry due to a confluence of factors: from loss of contracts to lower pay prices in relation to soaring production costs. In this episode of Common Ground Radio, we’ll address these topics and others related to the state of organic dairy in the Northeast — as well as how communities can support local, organic dairy farms.

List of subjects:
– Organic dairy industry
– The state of organic dairy in Maine and the Northeast
– Origin of Livestock USDA organic rule
– Cost of organic dairy production
– Organic dairy pay price
– Where to buy local, organic milk
– Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership
– Dairy breeding and genetics

Guest/s:
Jacki Martinez Perkins, MOFGA’s organic dairy and livestock specialist
Chris Grigsby, MOFGA Certification Services (MCS) director
Olga Moriarty, executive director of the Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership (NOFFP)

FMI:
Find Local, Organic Farmers and Producers — mofgacertification.org/find-mofga-certified-organic-food-and-products
Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership — saveorganicfamilyfarms.org
Pledge to Support Northeast Organic Family Farms — saveorganicfamilyfarms.org/pledge
Ways to Support Organic Dairy — mofga.org/advocacy/support-organic-dairy
Common Ground Radio 12/8/22: Maine Organic Dairy Farms Are In Trouble – How You Can Help — archives.weru.org/common-ground-radio/2022/12/common-ground-radio-12-8-22-maine-organic-dairy-farms-are-in-trouble-how-you-can-help

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a lo0ng-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download