My Treadlite broadfork arrived! Some assembly required.
#broadfork #gardening

#Maine - Want to try something new in the new year? Check out a ‘library of things’

#Libraries are expanding their offerings beyond books and audiotapes, broadening the potential pursuits of patrons.

by Sophie Burchell, January 2, 2026

CUMBERLAND — "If your New Year’s resolution is to try a new hobby — cooking more diverse recipes, taking up knitting or digging into gardening — but you are not yet ready to make a commitment for all of 2026, there is a shelf at the library for you.

"Stacked with items including a #MortarAndPestle, a #SpinningWheel and a #broadfork, the #LibraryOfThings at Cumberland’s #PrinceMemorialLibrary has objects for all types of pursuits ready for patrons to borrow like they would a book.

" 'The tortilla press is quite popular. A lot of people, they want to have a taco party or something, they want to try it out,' said Kelly Greenlee, community outreach librarian at Prince Memorial Library, which serves #CumberlandME and #NorthYarmouthME.

"Categories of 'things' include arts and craft supplies, science and technology devices, health and wellness equipment and home and garden tools. When acquiring items for this collection, librarians look for items that are typically only used once or twice a year, or things that someone would want to test out before they purchase it for themselves. The collection is intended to save library patrons time and money, as well as broaden their horizons — much like books.

" 'It’s designed to encourage people to have a #SharingEconomy, essentially,' said Greenlee. 'Libraries have always been about sharing resources, and it’s really just an extension of that.' "

Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/12/30/want-to-try-something-new-in-the-new-year-check-out-a-library-of-things/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/cWBiQ

#SolarPunkSunday #LibrariesRule #MaineLibraries #LibrariesOfThings #BorrowDontBuy

Farm renovation has hit a hard patch — a cobble layer one or two handspans below the current soil surface, much too densely packed to #broadfork apart, and extending further than I had hoped in a couple of directions. I wind up prying them apart with a San Angelo bar while kneeling.

Plus the occasional bit of metal or old electrical standoffs.

Ungeschlagen, mein #Gartenwerkzeug des Jahres: die #Broadfork 💚
Perfekt zum Vorbereiten des Bodens. Aufbrechen von #Grasnarben oder Lockern und Lüften.
Dieses Jahr schon meterweise Beete neu angelegt und #Erdbeeren zu frischen Leben verholfen. Kann mir nicht vorstellen, das wieder mit Spaten und Gabel zu machen.

Almost ready to plant my patch of flour #corn! I spent a couple of hours over a couple of days running the sprinkler here, to get the ground nice and damp. The floppy fence netting arrived today, and I’ve got a piece of bird netting to go over the top. It was time to break up some rows!
The #broadfork finally had a chance to shine, and it really made short work of this. I spent no more than 45 minutes digging this 12x20 patch! I’ll pay tomorrow, but not nearly as much as if I’d tried to hoe.
This was mature sod over local clay two years ago. Last year, I forgot that I already bought seed potatoes, not once but twice, so I needed more space stat. I smothered the grass with cardboard, held the cardboard down with 12 honest inches of not-really-composted horse manure and stall bedding. Then I added some little mounds of bagged potting soil and planted my extra (double extra) potatoes. The plants grew fine, but little worms migrated up from the grass roots and made tracks in the tubers - very sad.
So I spent the fall and winter encouraging the chickens to eat there. They’ve sterilized and fertilized the soil really well! The ground had just started getting some weeds, and the grass was trying to creep back in from the uphill side, but the bed was largely grass free.
There’s much less topsoil at the top of the bed, of course. I spent extra time breaking up the clay on the first few rows, and I’ll see if I can find some finished #compost to add to them, too.
#gardening