will I survive Maine Winter (Ellsworth, Hope: high school, income, to live)

[msina]

Originally Posted by CapeCodder

Oh I took this to mean she lived in the town of China in Maine. There's some different town names here...like Peru, and Mexico.

I should have clarified that,... She is from the country of China,.. very nice young woman. She did wonders with her small garden.

[CapeCodder]

Originally Posted by msina

I should have clarified that,... She is from the country of China,.. very nice young woman. She did wonders with her small garden.

*grin*
I'll catch up eventually!

[boonelsewhere]

thanks msina, my hope to grow asian veg still alive.

[elston]

Originally Posted by boonskyler

thanks msina, my hope to grow asian veg still alive.

Skyler: I see lots of asian greens in my seed catalogue and if I remember correctly greens have a relatively short growing season and will do well in Maine gardens. (40 to 45 days to full size for the various greens; only 35 days for Hon Tsai Tai; and 45 days for Pac Choi) You should be all set where ever you garden. They also have Japanese and chinese eggplant and in the description it says the variety they feature is able to set fruit in cool weather) Good Luck! I want to hear how your garden grows.

[elston]

The winning candidates in Iowa ran on a message of HOPE.

What better representation of "hope" is there than this--people who are hoping to move to maine and buy land or houses conversing with people who are buried under feet of snow and ice in single digit weather about......planting and harvesting their Maine gardens. Indeed HOPE springs eternal...

[j1n]

hey boonskyler,
this is a really interesting thread. i greatly respect what ou are trying to do. definitely keep everyone here in the loop as to the progression of your adventure.

[SportFury59]

Reading about the mixup of the country of China and the China in Maine........The other day at work I mentioned to a few guys what I read on the forum.....that you could buy land in Northern Maine for $300 to $900 per acre (I think I read that Anyway another person overheard part of the conversation and got all excited because he thought I was talking about "The Town of Maine". We have a township here in Wisconsin a few miles from where I live whose name is "Maine". Needless to say he was kind of disappointed. I think I'll do some research and see why it was named "Maine".

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by SportFury59

Reading about the mixup of the country of China and the China in Maine........The other day at work I mentioned to a few guys what I read on the forum.....that you could buy land in Northern Maine for $300 to $900 per acre (I think I read that Anyway another person overheard part of the conversation and got all excited because he thought I was talking about "The Town of Maine". We have a township here in Wisconsin a few miles from where I live whose name is "Maine". Needless to say he was kind of disappointed. I think I'll do some research and see why it was named "Maine".

Forest land around here sells for $350 per acre.

Forest land with river frontage goes for $900 per acre.

In both cases they would be expected to have paved county-maintained road with power / phone / DSL are the pavement.

Go back in a ways away from the paved road with services and you would not be paying so much.

[TexasSkyPilot]

Having lived in Maine for 25 years, I found this thread to be very interesting. Maine was one of the most interesting, inspiring, beautiful, and harsh places I've ever been, and I was amazed when I realized I'd lived there for 25 years. I knew I'd been there a long time, however, when the folks from my town started talking about the Flatlanders right there in front of me and asked me what I thought! That's an honor rarely extended to folks who weren't born there. That officially made me a Mainer. My Dad fell ill and I moved here to Texas. I miss Maine every day, but I know I won't be moving back to Maine. I still own and maintain my place in Plymouth, Maine, right in the center of the state. In fact, I have finally, and reluctantly, put it up for sale.
Reading this thread, I remember 1985, my first year in Maine, and the plans I had. I felt as though Maine was my own personal frontier. The first winter came, and with it deep, frequent snowstorms, relentless wind and temps of 35 below zero (before wind chill was added)for 6 weeks straight. Locals simply stated; "That's about right..". It was a normal winter for Maine in the pre-global warming days. That scared me a little. And that was good, because Maine is a harsh place in the winter, and one should never forget that. And I never did. It never did get any easier, in Maine you have things to do year-round just to stay with the weather and the bugs and the mud. And STILL you fall in love with the State.
As the years pass, you learn how to do things in Maine. You learn how to grow food in the rocky soil (remove the endlessly-appearing rocks, no offense to the no-tillers present). You learn how to handle the snow through a progression from snow shovels to snow blowers (The rocks break them every 5 minutes) to plow trucks (expensive to license and maintain) to paying the guy to come and just DO it for you(the winner!). You learn about "Banking", which has nothing to do with money other than saving it on heating fuel by keeping your house sealed around its foundations. You learn how to seal and insulate and do the myriad little details that help to keep your house warm. You learn where to drive and where NOT to drive, and at what times of the year for each, and you learn to manage in the snow and the mud. Learning discretion and making good choices all go a long way in what it takes to keep you alive, healthy and happy in Maine.

One of the most important things I learned while living in Maine was to be a good neighbor. For as long as Maine has been the State of Maine, and even before that, people depended upon each other and made sure they were there for each other. When my business had trucks and tractors and bucket-loaders, they were always available for an emergency within our little town. In 1997, the devastating Ice-storm of 97 took down the power lines all over Maine. After 4 days Central Maine Power projected that our electricity would not be turned back on for at least another week. My business was on a generator, but we dropped everything and my crew used our trucks, ladders, and ropes to go all over the town and tie the power lines back up onto the poles. Central Maine Power turned the town's power back on a week ahead of the projected date. It was what we could do, and folks who could do so came out and joined us and helped us in whatever way they could.
If I heard that somebody was having a problem making ends meet, I might give them some work, or just drop by with a bag of groceries. And while I was there I would ask their advice on some problem I was working out. Two things you'll soon learn about REAL Mainers; they're proud people, and good friends.
When we lost a dear family member, the house was soon filled with casseroles of every type and description, and folks asking what they could do for us.
When I first moved to Maine, foolishly determined to live off the grid and back in the woods, with no snowplow or anything and a half-mile of gravel road between the main road and our place, the snow started falling and falling. I sat there in the house looking out, knowing that I could never shovel all this snow if I started now and kept shovelling until spring. I was scared. Later that night, I heard a motor, and lo and behold, up and around the corner came a pickup truck, plowing all the way up to my house. A fellow named Art popped out with a 6-pack and a big, friendly smile, and declared he decided it was time that he came up for a visit! Art lives 2 miles down the road. I could have cried. Art plowed us out that whole year, and we were better prepared after that. I never forgot how he saved us.
Years later, when Art grew old, I cut and split all his firewood every year, and stacked it in his barn. Though I lived in another town by then, I stopped in every few days and grabbed a big armload on the way into his house so he wouldn't have to carry so much, and then went out for a few more. I still talk to Art now and again.
I used to think when folks said; "Once a Mainer, ALWAYS a Mainer!" that they were just stating that out of pride. And to an extent, that's true. But Maine has a way of attaching itself to your heartstrings, a feeling like nothing else you'll ever feel.
25 years came and went, and now I'm no longer in Maine, but OH, how I wish I was. Because I'm a Mainer.

And once a Mainer, ALWAYS a Mainer!

~ Jim ~

[brokemama6]

if the only winters you are used to is virginia area, your first winter in maine will be a real experience lol.
i currently live in n.b. canada, and am planning to move to maine this summer God willing.
just a small word of advice...living off the land is nowhere near as easy as you might think or the books might say. have you considered that the growing season in maine is nowhere near as long as va?
lots to think about before you move...but i hope it all goes well for you