News and events for gardeners from Penobscot, Piscataquis, and Somerset Counties from University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, and other trusted partners | |
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February 2023
Fellow gardeners of Central Maine,
How you care for your home garden and landscape makes a difference, and the UMaine Cooperative Extension Home Horticulture team is here to support you! Check out this month's Maine Home Garden News for the full articles linked in this newsletter, plus more! Subscribe here to get Maine Home Garden News in your inbox on the first of every month!
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!
Yours,
Donna, Kate, and Laurie
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UMaine Extension taps former state food safety specialist to fill new associate dean position
State food safety specialist and UMaine alumnus Jason Bolton has been named associate dean at University of Maine Cooperative Extension. This new position will provide leadership for strategic initiatives within the organization and help build capacity to address state needs.
The associate dean position marks a new milestone for Extension as the organization aims to bring innovative university research to individuals and industry across Maine, with a focus on workforce development and new digital learning opportunities.
Associate Dean Bolton, who officially started Jan. 3, will lead new initiatives for Extension, including a statewide needs assessment, an organizational restructuring, and improved systems for financial planning and reporting.
Read more...
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By Herb Wilson
This column is the second of two on the history of bird feeding in North America. A major resource for this column is a recent book, Feeding Wild Birds in America by Paul Baicich and co-authors.
We pick up the story in the 1941 when the Audubon Guide to Attracting Birds was published, just a week before Pearl Harbor was bombed. Roger Tory Peterson wrote several of the chapters.
Of course, the war effort prevented bird enthusiasts from spending freely on birdseed. Many found that oatmeal, bread crumbs and peanut butter served to attract birds. By the late 1940s, several companies were formed specializing in the retail sale of birdseed.
The 50s decade was a prosperous one. Suburbs proliferated everywhere and suburbanites engaged in various home-based leisure activities, including bird feeding. John Dennis was a particularly influential person through his column “Guide to Bird Attracting” in Audubon magazine. John Terres wrote the 1953 book, Songbirds in Your Garden that further stoked the popularity of bird feeding.
Read more...
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Winter is the Season for Buying Seeds from Washington State University
The season of seed buying is upon us.
Here are a few tips on seed buying to get us off on the right foot and avoid spending too much or over-committing.
1. Inventory the seeds you already have. Every year ‘our eyes are bigger than our stomach” when it comes to seed buying. Check first to see what seeds you have cached away and make note of them. Do you want to plant any of these this year?
2. Do you keep a garden journal or have another special place where you write down the names of plants you want to grow again? Make a note of these. Do you need to buy more seed for these vegetables?
3. Spend a little time with the seed catalogs BEFORE you get on-line and start ordering. What kinds of seeds do you want? Here is some seed terminology to be aware of first.
- Hybrid— these seeds are the direct product of 2 different varieties of the same plant. Hybrid plants tend to have good vigor and be good performers in the garden. The seeds from mature plants, however, will not grow back true to the mother plant.
- Open-pollinated— these plants are available to any suitable pollinator for fertilization, so these are more genetically diverse. Seeds from these open-pollinated plants will grow true to the mother plant provided they are fertilized with pollen from the same plant variety.
- Heirloom— usually plant seeds that have been passed down through generations, often for 50 years or more. These options are numerous and valued for their diversity. Heirlooms are open-pollinated plants and will perform accordingly.
- Non-GMO— All seeds sold to home gardeners are non-GMO seeds, meaning they are not genetically modified organisms. GMO seeds are ONLY available to commercial growers, so this term ‘non-GMO’ is not necessary on seed catalogues for the home gardener.
Read more...
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Mind Your B’s to Identify Winter Trees
How Branches, Bark and Buds Help You ID Trees and Shrubs
Winter seems like a lousy time to identify trees and shrubs. Without leaves to look at, things definitely get a little difficult, but with a few tricks, and maybe a good book in hand, you can up your botany game and learn to identify trees and shrubs without leaves!
For winter tree and shrub identification, it’s all about the three B’s: Branching, buds and bark.
Why might you need to identify trees and shrubs in the winter? Apart from impressing your friends and neighbors, landowners make many management decisions in winter. The frozen ground reduces the impact of heavy machinery, making in an ideal time for a timber harvest or wildlife habitat management. Knowing what trees and shrubs are on your land can help guide management.
Read more...
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Lyme Disease Awareness Month Activities
Do you have children ages 5 to 14 years old? Maine CDC developed tick curricula including videos and activities for children to help them learn more about ticks, the diseases they can spread, and prevention.
Lyme Disease Awareness Month Poster Contest 2023
The theme for the 13th annual Lyme Disease Awareness Month poster contest is: Tick Free ME
Posters should illustrate at least one of the four personal prevention techniques:
- Use of EPA approved repellent
- Wear protective clothing
- Perform daily tick checks
- Use caution in tick infested areas
For more information about tick prevention, please visit Tick Prevention and Property Management.
Read more...
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Facts about Great Horned Owls
Food and Feeding Behavior
- Great horned owls primarily eat small mammals such as rabbits, skunks and rodents. They also eat various birds, including songbirds, ducks and even wild turkeys.
- To a much lesser extent, they eat reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects.
- Owls have keen hearing and vision, particularly in low light conditions. Both adaptations are for hunting at night. Since their eyes do not move in their sockets, they have very flexible heads; they can rotate their heads as much as 270 degrees.
- Great horned owls use a sit-and-wait approach, watching from a perch and swooping on passing prey to seize it with their talons. (Fig. 1)
The Great horned owl's large-headed, neckless silhouette and large ear tufts that resemble "horns" set it apart from all other owls in Maine. (Fig. 1)
Reproduction
- Great horned owls are Maine's earliest-nesting bird. Pairs form from mid-January to mid-March, depending on the north-south location in the state.
- The male owl chooses a nest site and attempts to attract a female by frequent hooting.
- The female incubates one to three eggs for 28 to 35 days. The male provides her food and guards the nest and young.
- The young remain in the nest for about six weeks, then climb out onto nearby branches. They begin taking short flights at seven weeks of age. They can fly at nine to ten weeks of age.
- Both parents feed and tend the young for several months, often as late as September.
Nests and Nesting Sites
- Great horned owl nests are usually located high in tall trees, generally in the crotch of a branch next to the trunk. Where suitable nest trees do not exist, owls will use rock ledges, power-line towers, hay lofts and nest platforms.
- Great horned owls make little if any effort to construct an elaborate nest or even repair an existing one. Rather, they customarily usurp a nest that a red-tailed hawk, crow, great blue heron, or other large bird made the previous year.
- An owl seldom uses the same nest more than once, because trampling by the young usually reduces the nest to a disintegrating mass of sticks.
Mortality and Longevity
- Adult great horned owls may be killed or seriously injured when feeding on road-killed animals or attacking prey. These owls have been found, for instance, riddled with porcupine quills or reeking of skunk scent.
- About fifty percent of the young that leave the nest die within the first year from starvation, vehicle collisions, or various other causes.
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The oldest banded great horned owl recovered in the wild was 13 years old. Captive birds can live nearly 30 years.
Read more...(other owl facts)
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How to Dress Warm in the Winter
by Courtney Moulton
The key to a fun day of walking, ice fishing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, or wildlife watching in the winter is staying warm and being prepared. Here are a few tips from Maine Game Wardens, biologists, and staff to make sure you (and your children) stay warm and dry this winter:
1. Wait to put your socks and boots on until you arrive at your destination.
“My feet and fingers get cold remarkably easy so I’ve learned to keep my boots under the foot heat vents with a dry pair of socks so they’re pre-warmed and ready when I get to my destination. I also really love wool everything to keep comfortable: hat, socks, glove liners, and base layers. I always keep a thin shell in my backpack in case I need something to block the wind, usually just lightweight rain gear. My favorite winter activity is cross country skiing, but this winter I hope to do more ice fishing.”
– Sarah Spencer, Wildlife Biologist
2. Regulate body temperature, keep yourself dry from the inside out, and pack multiple pairs of mittens, especially when venturing with children.
“While out winter trapping with my kids, my number one priority to ensure a fun, rewarding experience is keeping them dry. Moisture from the inside (sweat) and the outside (rain, snow) can quickly ruin an outing and in extreme situations lead to hypothermia and life-threatening situations. Hauling tote sleds and pack baskets full of traps through the snow can be hard work. Ensuring my kids are dressed appropriately from the inside out begins before leaving the house. Suitable materials (no cotton) and numerous lighter layers with zippers which can be opened and closed are key to regulating their body temperature and ensuring they do not work up a sweat as we walk to our spot. Once we get to a location and begin our setup (which may cause us to be stationary for an hour or more) fleeces can be zipped back up and wool hats donned to trap body heat inside a base-layer which is as dry and warm as we started. In windy conditions, a windbreaker pulled on as an outermost layer can make all the difference to how long we can stay.
Read more...
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Good Red Versus Bad Red
By Nancy Donovan, Ph.D.,PT
Master Gardener Volunteer
In the past three gardening columns I focused on plants that produced striking red colors in the winter
(Bunchberry, Winterberry Holly, Red-osier dogwood). These are all native to Maine and are welcome
additions to gardens and landscapes. With the frigid temperatures of last weekend, I began to “see red”
as I was isolated to inside activities that included making sure that all faucets were allowed to drip to
decrease the chance that pipes would freeze. I had to put on extra layers of clothing just to spend a
couple minutes outside to ensure that my birdfeeders had extra food in them, including the safflower
seeds that the red cardinals enjoy. My seeing a bad kind of red occurred when I was snowshoeing on my
land earlier this year. I saw some red berries that identified the invasive Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus
orbiculatus) vine. I also saw some very thick vines climbing up the majestic oak trees and our native pine
trees and birches. While many people collect the vines with the red berries on them to use in decorative
wreaths, these vines are doing extreme damage to our native plants, shrubs and trees.
Read more...
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Tools and Tips for Helping To Knock Out
More Browntail Moths
AUGUSTA, Maine – To draw increased attention to the risks presented to humans by the browntail moth (BTM), the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry announced February as Browntail Moth Awareness Month. Winter is the best time to spot, clip and destroy the caterpillars lying dormant in their winter webs. Web removal prevents more caterpillars from emerging, thus reducing the risk of toxic hairs, which can cause poison ivy-like rash and asthma-like reactions in humans. BTM has been in an outbreak phase since 2015, and the rash- and itch-causing pest cannot be eradicated. Comprehensive BTM tools and tips and data-informed resources compiled by the Maine Forest Service, Board of Pesticides Control, Maine Center for Disease Control, the University of Maine, and other partners, including research, infestation tracking, FAQs, and educational materials for communities, municipalities, businesses, and healthcare providers, are available on maine.gov/dacf/knockoutbtm.
Read more...
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Winter Crystals - Snowflakes
Finally, the snow is here! Crystals of ice float through the sky, shimmering as they catch the angled morning sunlight, then gently land to join the thousands of others that fell to the ground before them. Each of my footsteps produces a muffled squeak… I breathe in and my nostrils stick together… yes, it is cold… and snow is falling… but I’ll have to wait for another snowfall to make a snowman! Do you know why?
Though no two snowflakes are exactly alike, they all share some characteristics. Do you know what they are? Look at the snowflake pictures. How may arms, or main points, does each have? Do you count six? What is the shape that forms the center of each flake? The central shape can be tiny or large. It is six sided… a hexagon.
Snowflakes are made of one or more ice crystals. They form when water vapor freezes onto a tiny particle of dust. The ice crystal grows within a cloud of water vapor until it is so heavy that it falls toward the ground as a snowflake. If the snowflake passes through warmer air as it falls it may melt and hit the ground as rain or sleet. If it melts on its way down then refreezes it may become hail.
Read more...
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Exploring the Outdoors on Private Land
Roughly 94% of Maine's forest land is privately owned, and more than half of that land area is open to the public. In total, landowners voluntarily open up more than 10 million acres of working farms and forests.
This access is an incredible gift, and in order to preserve it, everyone who ventures outdoors needs to understand the contribution that landowners make.
Most private landowners are happy to allow outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing, on their land, as long as their property is treated with respect.
But it's important to remember that the private land you use for recreation belongs to someone else, just as surely as your car or home belongs to you, and accessing it is a privilege, not a right.
Read more...
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Mainely Dish: Hot Cocoa Convenience Mix
By Alex Gayton, Assistant EFNEP Coordinator & Social Media Coordinator, Expanded Food Nutrition and Education Program (EFNEP), University of Maine Cooperative Extension
I love this simple Hot Cocoa Convenience Mix, once you make it, all you have to do is measure out a serving and add hot water or milk. Using milk or a fortified milk alternative instead of water can help boost your calcium, vitamin D intake, and protein. Calcium is beneficial because it helps build and maintain strong bones, while vitamin D helps maintain proper calcium and phosphorus levels. You can read more about the benefits of dairy on MyPlate.
This recipe also uses unsweetened cocoa powder, which more closely resembles dark chocolate flavor rather than milk chocolate. If you have more of a sweet tooth like me, you can increase the sweetness by adding 1 teaspoon of sugar, mini marshmallows, your favorite creamer, or whipped cream right before drinking. I personally like adding a New England staple, like marshmallow fluff, to mine!
This is a great last-minute homemade gift to give for the holidays. To make it a complete gift, simply add a fun winter-themed mug and mini marshmallows with it. For more food gift ideas go to our Gifts from the Kitchen blog post.
Visit EFNEP’s recipe website for the Hot Cocoa Convenience Mix recipe and recipe video.
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Preserve It Fresh, Preserve It Safe: 2023, No. 1 (January/February)
Burning Issue: Canning Homemade Soup's
The winter season means soup season! Enjoying a warm bowl of homemade canned soup is a great way to stay warm and cozy in these cold months. The key to canning a safe, high-quality soup is to follow directions provided by a reliable science-based source such as USDA, the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), or a state Extension service.
Vegetable-based soups are mixtures of low-acid ingredients, and they MUST BE pressure canned to control for botulism food poisoning. There are no recommendations to can a vegetable or vegetable-meat soup in a boiling water bath canner.
There is only one version of pressure canning directions for home canned soups available on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website. Consumers should follow these directions exactly as written: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/soups.html. If additional ingredients or thickening is desired, the soup should be canned as described in the recipe, and those additional ingredients should be added when the jar is opened for serving.
Read more...
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Garden & Home Resources
Timely UMaine Extension Publications
- Webinars & Videos
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Garden Chats: Growing Resilience From the Ground Up- You may have missed the live Zoom presentations, but we've rounded up fact sheets for each week's discussion for your reference
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Victory Garden for ME series: videos for first time vegetable gardeners
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Growing Maine Gardeners: An initiative led by UMaine Extension’s Home Horticulture team to address the increased demand for gardening education throughout the state of Maine and to provide additional support for beginner gardeners.
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Free Distance Nutrition Education Classes through UMaine Extension Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program is free to income eligible adults with children or your adults and if you are eligible for programs such as SNAP, WIC, or Head Start.
- Other
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Maine Farm Products and Pick-Up Directory: The directory provides information on available local farm products and alternative pick-up options developed by farmers statewide to accommodate the recommended social distancing in light of COVID-19.
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Learn at Home: Educational Resources to Use During School Closures: From science to financial literacy, whether for toddlers or teenagers, we encourage you to take advantage of these activity books, guides, and other resources to help children remain engaged in educational experiences throughout their school closure.
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Learn at Home with 4-H Friday Fun! Each Friday, watch for a new hands-on activity that you can try out with simple materials you have at home. Watch a short video clip to see how it’s done or download our 4-H Learn from Home activity sheets. Each activity outlines materials needed, easy-to-follow instructions, reflection questions for discussion and activity extensions.
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Social Media: Many of our staff are stepping up efforts to communicate to audiences via social media.
Traditional Services Being Offered in New Ways
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Identifying insect pests: Charley Armstrong, will identify pest samples via images. See instructions for submitting an insect specimen.
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Identifying plant diseases: Dr. Alicyn Smart will identify plant disease samples via images. See instructions for submitting a sample.
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Tick testing: Ticks are being tested on a limited basis. See instructions for submitting a tick sample.
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Publication orders: We are still processing orders from our publication catalog, including pesticide application training materials.
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Soil testing: The Analytical Lab and Maine Soil Testing Service remains open and is taking samples with a priority on commercial samples. If you need to drop off a sample, you can place it in the box outside of Deering Hall; do NOT enter the building.
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General gardening questions: Contact your county office. Emails are preferred. If it’s necessary to leave a voicemail, please leave your email address (if available) or a mailing address in addition to your phone number.
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Extension Programs in other states:
If you find a great program when you're poking around online, let me know so I can share with your fellow gardeners: donna.coffin@maine.edu
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Garden Organizations and Allies
Click the links to learn more, find a chapter near you, and get involved.
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Master Gardener Volunteers
Reminder for MGV
to report their time and activities in the on the Master Gardener Volunteer Reporting Volunteer Hours website.
Did you forget the password? Contact laurie.bowen@maine.edu
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Mission
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is the major educational outreach program of the University of Maine with offices statewide. UMaine Extension provides Maine people with research-based educational programs to help them live fuller, more productive lives.
Mention or display of a trademark, proprietary product, or firm in text or figures does not constitute an endorsement and does not imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.
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The goal of the Central Maine Gardening Newsletter is to connect gardeners with resources and events that encourage and inform.
Quick Links
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Local Weather Anytime
Most outdoor activities are driven by the weather. Our local National Weather Service in Caribou has meteorologists on staff 24 hours a day. They are willing to talk with you about predictions for your town. Give them a call at 492-0180. Or check out their online detailed maps at http://www.weather.gov/car/.
Need Pesticide Credits?
Interested in Volunteering with UMaine Extension?
Nearly 8,000 volunteers devoted more than 150,000 hours to their communities last year through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension! Look around our
Photos: Edwin Remsberg, Donna Coffin, or Laurie Bowen unless other listed.
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Contributors
Donna Coffin, Extension Professor
Kate Garland, Extension Horticulturist
Laurie Bowen, Food Systems Program Assistant
The goal of the Central Maine Gardening Newsletter is to connect gardeners with resources and events that encourage and inform.
The University of Maine does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including transgender status and gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director, Office of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, 207.581.1226.
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Piscataquis County Office | |
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Open Monday - Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm
307 Maine Ave Bangor, ME 04401 207.942.7396 or 800.287.1485
Piscataquis County Office - website
Open Monday, Thursday, Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm
165 East Main St Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426 207.564.3301 or 800.287.1491
7 County Drive Skowhegan, Maine 04976-4209
Tel: 207.474.9622 or 1.800.287.1495 (in Maine)
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