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Article and images by Ivonne Vazquez of Bas Rouge Farm & Forge for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener Magazine, Fall 2023. See Pages 16-17 for "A Grower's Journey" a personal story about my earliest gardening experiences in Maine and how these shaped my homesteading, small acreage farming and ultimately my native plant nursery grower's journey. View the article here.

Quote from the article: "I could not provide many extras or man-made luxuries, but I could give them butterflies and bees, pretty flowers and tomatoes from the vine. This was the beginning of my grower's journey."

Photo credit: Cover of The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener Magazine, published by MOFGA, Fall 2023

A book review of The Ecological Farm: A Minimalist No-Till, No-Spray, Selective Weeding, Grow Your Own Fertilizer System for Organic Agriculture by Helen Atthowe, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2023 can be found on page 43 of The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener Magazine, Winter 2023/2024. The review was written by Ivonne Vazquez of Bas Rouge Farm & Forge. Download the full magazine or read the review here.

DIY Feature & images by Ivonne Vazquez of Bas Rouge Farm & Forge for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener Magazine, Summer 2023. See Page 23 for "Build a Simple Cold Frame" with step-by-step instructions on how to build a simple and inexpensive cold frame with items you may have on hand view the full MOF&G article with step-by-step instructions and images here.

The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener Magazine, Fall 2022. See Page 50 for "Make Your Own Compost Bin from Pallets" with step-by-step instructions on how to build a cold compost bin from pallets. Or see the full article with step-by-step images online. 

The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener Magazine, Summer 2022. See Page 26 for instructions on how to create an easy and inexpensive DIY vertical planter. Or view the step-by-step with images online.

To learn more about container and vertical gardening, turn to Page 35 for a book review written by Ivonne Vazquez on "The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening: How to Grow an Abundance of Herbs, Vegetables and Fruits in Small Spaces" by Mark Ridsdill Smith, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2022