Friday, June 27 2003
Connecticut Post - July 25, 1998
The following column appeared in the Connecticut Post on July 25, 1998. It is reprinted here with permission of the Connecticut Post. By Bing Carbone

NEW PRODUCT WORKS WONDERS, IF YOU CAN STAND THE SMELL

As garden columnist for the Connecticut Post, I am regularly being asked by manufacturers to give their latest gardening aid or product a try, in hopes that I might share any success I have using it with the readers of this paper. To be honest, most of these so-called "new and innovative" products are often spin-offs of existing products, or worse, are things that really don't work that well at all.

But every once in a while I do run across a gardening product that really helps plants grow better, a tool that makes certain chores easier, or a garden supply company that offers helpful and unique products which I
feel readers would be interested in knowing about. When I learn of these products, I purchase them and experiment with them in my own garden. Once I'm satisfied with their results, I feel a responsibility to provide an unbiased and honest opinion if there is something out on the market which I believe readers might find useful. (I accept no money, gratuities or favors from any product/manufacturer I might recommend to readers.)

However, every once in a very, very great while I come across a product that is so incredible, so amazing, and so singularly helpful that I consider it a major development and an "impact product" that could very well change the way we garden. Such is the case with a new product called
Fermented Salmon, All Purpose Liquid Organic Fertilizer, manufactured by Coast of Maine Inc. in Portland, Maine.

When I say that I have never run across a product like this ever, what I'm really trying to express is that I am totally baffled at the things I have seen this product perform. I contacted company spokesperson Terri
Jordan at Coast of Maine to help me try to understand just what it is that makes this product so unbelievable. When I called and began to tell her some of my own experiences with the product, she sounded pleased, but not at all surprised.

As for the vegetable garden, let's just say that after spraying all of the crops with Fermented Salmon product, I can rightfully claim that I have never witnessed more healthy and robust vegetable plants in all my years of gardening.

I asked Jordan what exactly Fermented Salmon is, and she said that, as the name states, "It is a salmon fish byproduct that is actually 'fermented' in large vats." I then asked her how this product differs from other fish emulsion products and she went on to say that it is a
combination of two things: the process in which the product is manufactured is unique. Fish emulsions are first dehydrated and then re-hydrated, and you end up losing a lot of the nutrients from the fish. Also, fish emulsion products are made from "white fish," which does not contain any of the effective oils that salmon fish has.

She explained that as the salmon is fermented in vats, it remains a true liquid, there is no loss of nutrients. It is also true that fish emulsions, because they are first dehydrated before becoming a liquid again, also contain a fair amount of sediment. Fermented Salmon contains
basically no sediment (all you need to do is shake the bottle once before using), and Jordan suggests that perhaps because it is a very fine sediment product, it is able to get through spray nozzles much more evenly and thoroughly.

In a column a few weeks ago I wrote about the virtues of fish/kelp foliar feedings and how this type of product supplies an enormous array of micronutrients very quickly to plants. Fermented Salmon does all of that, but it is somehow able to do it better, faster and more effectively than any type of liquid fertilizer I have ever used. Fermented Salmon is also approved by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners' Association for use in the production of organic crops.

One word of caution, however, in using Fermented Salmon: its smell can be quite horrendous. Only a teaspoon per gallon of water is required, and if you spray your garden plants with the product, avoid doing it on a weekend when you plan on having guests over for an outdoor picnic. The
yard is going to smell quite fishy for several days, but at least the scent seems to be contained to the proximity of the plants sprayed.

The scent does dissipate in a few days (either that, or I am now used to the smell of rotted salmon in my yard), but also be sure to wear gloves when working with the product, since even soap will not remove the scent from your hands for several days....

Friday, June 27 2003
Coastal Living - September/October 1998
The following column appeared in the September/October 1998 issue of Coastal Living. It is reprinted here with permission of Coastal Living. By Laurence Sheehan.

COASTAL COMPOSTERS

The label says, "Penobscot Blend". An artful aerial view of Penobscot Bay washes across the front of the bag. Gourmet coffee? No; gourmet compost created from the finest by-products of the Maine aquaculture
industry.

"It's an all-purpose soil conditioner made from composted salmon, herring, mussels, and the twiggy 'blowout' from the harvest of wild blueberries, plus sphagnum moss peat," says Carlos Quijano, nodding to 40-pound sacks of the stuff piled outside his office. "And it all comes
from Maine."

Carlos and his family moved to Maine nearly a decade ago, after he spent more than 20 years as a banker in Europe and the Far East. But he was no stranger to the state.

"I have been coming to Maine literally every summer, save one, since the year I was born," he says. "My grandparents, New Yorkers, started the tradition in the 1920s when they bought a place in Lincolnville, on an
inlet of the Penobscot called Duck Trap. My grandmother basically ran a summer camp for all her grandchildren every year."

Even when Carlos' job with Chase Manhattan Bank took him to London, Copenhagen, Brussels, Hong Kong, and other cosmopolitan locales, he and his wife, Jean, returned in the summer to a sheepherder's 200-year-old cedar shake Cape on North Haven Island in Penobscot Bay. Daughters Lisa, Sacha, and Jenny grew to share their parents' love for the state. Cookouts on the beach, blustery sails out of Pulpit Harbor, and bicycle rambles on lonely roads became rituals.

In 1990, Carlos left the bank and the family went "home" to Maine. Fortuitous contact with the Great Eastern Mussel Farms, a shellfish processor in Tenants Harbor, launched him and Jean on a new career in compost.

"With help from state composting experts, Great Eastern had figured out how to effectively compost the mussels they couldn't bring to market," Carlos says. "But it wasn't saving them any money."

While doing consulting work for Great Eastern, Carlos discovered that many of the state's fish and shellfish farms, and the wild blueberry industry in Washington County, had to dispose of organic wastes. The
materials created excellent compost, but most of it was sold at bulk rates to local landscapers.

Working with Great Eastern, state officials, and a soil science lab, Carlos produced 150 tons of high quality compost. In 1996, he test-marketed the product in suburban markets of Boston, coastal New Hampshire, and Fairfield County, Connecticut. The first 7,500 bags sold out in ten days.

"Jean and I looked at each other and said, 'Let's get serious about this!'" Carlos says. Coast of Maine Organic Products, Inc., was born. Jean, who helps with the bookkeeping and morale, and Carlos raised venture capital and invested a chunk of their savings in the
start-up.

Today, those 40-pound bags of "Penobscot Blend" sell for about $6 to $8. Although Coast of Maine is a long way from making a profit, it has already developed other premium products for the organic gardening market, including fermented liquid salmon fertilizer, a range of organic
fertilizers based on marine by-products, and potting soil.

Carlos, wearing jeans and a T-shirt instead of a banker's suit, talks confidently about the company in its new offices on the Portland waterfront. The once prosperous harbor area is staging a comeback and the Quijanos are in the thick of it.

Friday, June 27 2003
Taunton's Fine Gardening - October 1998
The following column appeared in the October 1998 issue of Taunton's Fine Gardening. It is reprinted here with the permission of Taunton's Fine Gardening.

NEW FERMENTED FISH FERTILIZER

I've been spraying diluted fish emulsion on both vegetable crops and ornamentals for years, and I always notice a marked increase in plant vigor after spraying. Now, there's a new fish fertilizer that's fermented, which renders the nutrients in it more readily available than
in emulsified products. According to its manufacturer, Coast of Maine, Inc. (800-345-9315), Fermented Salmon Organic Fertilizer is four times more concentrated than emulsions on the market. A 16-ounce bottle of
concentrate (one teaspoon per gallon when watering) retails for under $10. One caveat: This product is not for gardeners who find fish odors offensive; it's pretty strong smelling.

Tuesday, June 17 2003
Garden Center Merchandising & Management - June 2003
The following column appeared in the June, 2003 issue of Garden Center Merchandising & Management magazine. It is reprinted here with permission of Garden Center Merchandising & Management.

Coast of Maine, organic soils and fertilizers

Matterhorn Nursery in Spring Valley, N.Y. has a strong environmental focus. "I'm all for the environment," owner Matt Horn said. "We try to limit the amount of chemicals we use. We are on a environmentally precious piece of land, a lot wetland and we are all on wells."

Coast of Maine mulches and soils are the No. 1 sellers for Horn in its category. The ingredients for the mulches include fermented salmon, dried kelp and blueberries, mixed to make various composts. "We're also using a highly decayed pine bark. The material is beautiful looking and smelling. We use it all over the store."

Horn also approves of the packaging and points out that it's certified organic. "That's important to a lot of gardeners," he said.

What you need to know. The company limits its shipping of soils and mulches to New England, Long Island, N.Y., northern New Jersey and the Hudson Valley to preserve quality. It has a line of liquid fertilizer available to the Pacific Northwest. Customers in New England have more flexibility in order sizes (can order as little as a single pallet).

For more: Sarah Powers, Coast of Maine Organic Products Inc., 145 Newbury St., Portland, ME 04101; (800) 345-9315; fax (207) 879-0554; www.coastofmaine.com.

Monday, May 5 2003
People Places & Plants - Spring 2003
The following column appeared in the Spring 2003 issue of People Places & Plants. It is reprinted here with permission of People Places & Plants.


2002 READERS CHOICE POLL RESULTS

... No amount of grandstanding was needed for our two six-time winners of the poll. Johnny's Selected Seeds and Coast of Maine Organic (Products) won again in landslides in their categories...

FAVORITE COMPOST, SOIL OR FERTILIZER

Make it six straight victories for the small company from maine with big-name appeal...

Coast of Maine, Portland, Maine 256
Neptune's Harvest, Gloucester, Mass. 201
Moo Doo, Middelbury, Vt. 129
Jolly Gardener, New Gloucester, Maine 122
Espoma, Millville, N.J. 75
Scott's, Marysville, Ohio 48
Peter's, Marysville, Ohio 38
Living Acres, New Sharon, Maine 33
Agway, Syracuse, N.Y. 20
Fafard, Agawam, Mass. 19