At Seal Cove Farm, a gardener can strike it rich

On Sunday morning, Marjorie and I found ourselves leaning over the top rail of a barn door, scratching goats behind their ears as they nibbled at our rain jackets. Raindrops dripped off the roof and down our necks while inside the warm barn 125 milk goats enjoyed the comfort of dry hay strewn about the floor.

“They hate the rain,” said Lynn Ahlblad, petting the head of another Seal Cove Farm goat as she talked to us about making cheese.

Seal Cove Farm, located in Lamoine on Route 184, is run by Lynn Ahlblad and Barbara Brooks. They have been at it since 1976 when they adopted their first Saanen doe, and now they milk 125 goats daily. Seal Cove Farm produces prize-winning chevre and feta cheeses that are marketed throughout New England, including chevres filled with Maine blueberries and cranberries.

We came to buy our second truckload of “black gold,” the name any earnest gardener would give the composted manure produced by Seal Cove goats.

Lynn met us at the composting site where a horseshoe-shaped compost windrow defined the perimeter of a cement pad. At one end of the row, fresh manure mixed with hay and stable litter had just been dumped. At the opposite end was finished compost, ready for the garden.

Lynn explained that she turns the entire pile once a week with a front-end loader to promote thorough heating. The result is very uniform compost. With each turning, developing compost is moved forward in the windrow as new material from the barn floor is added at the front. Mature, ready-to-use compost waits at the end of the line to be loaded into the bed of a gardener’s truck. Seal Cove Farm does not deliver.

As Lynn worked in the rain to load our truck, I took note of the effort taken to keep the perimeter of the pad free of weeds. Too often weed seeds make their way to the garden in loads of compost, but not in this case.

Steam rose from the windrow along its length, an indication of internal temperatures high enough to kill weed seeds in the hay. Lynn told us that she regularly takes the temperature of the pile to make sure it is heating up properly.

The rain leached from the compost a dark brown tea that ran in rivulets around our feet as we worked with shovels to level the load for travel. I imagined this nutrient tea saturating the soil of Marjorie’s garden, bathing the roots of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.

Before we left Seal Cove Farm, we were introduced to Kel, the farm’s working dog, and her companion, Sophie. Lynn whispered that Sophie had failed herding school, but what she lacked in herding skills she made up for in enthusiasm. We also were given the grand tour of the milking room and allowed a peek through the window of the cheese room door.

The sun came out on the drive home and Marjorie spent Sunday afternoon top dressing every bed in the garden with black gold. She mulched the permanent plantings and spread a six-inch layer on the vegetable beds; we will dig it into the soil before planting. With a nutrient analysis of around 2 percent nitrogen in a slow-release form, this compost is the only fertilizer we need to apply.

A herd of 125 goats produces a steady supply of manure, and Seal Cove Farm has learned how to produce quality, weed-free compost. If you want some for your garden, give Barbara and Lynn a call at 667-5163. While you are picking it up, you can get a tour of the farm and meet the dogs. If you stay long enough, they promise to put you to work!

Send queries to Gardening Questions, P.O. Box 418, Ellsworth 04605, or to rmanley@ptc-me.net. Include name, address and telephone number.