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Your Monthly News & Updates
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June is the month to...
By Richard Brzozowski, Food System Program Administrator and Trisha Smith, Home Horticulture Aide, Piscataquis County
Plant for pollinators and register your garden with millionpollinatorgardens.org. Any size garden-even a windowbox-can provide nectar and pollen to feed pollinators. To attract more butterflies, check out Bulletin #7151 Landscaping for Butterflies in Maine.
Sign up to get MOFGA's Pest Report in your inbox. Every 1-2 weeks during the growing season, Eric Sideman sends emails about pests to watch for. Information includes
biology of the pest organism, its effects on the plant, and recommended solutions. Archives and fact sheets are also available.
Check for insect pest damage to your plants by making "walk throughs" weekly. Look for leaf, stem, and blossom damage. Check the undersides of leaves for egg masses. Make an accurate identification of the pest(s) before making any treatments. Visit UMaine Extension's Insect Pests, Plant Diseases &Pesticide Safety website for fact sheets about common insect pests in Maine. Submit an Insect Specimen for free identification and diagnostic help.
Continue to be prepared for possible frosts in the early part of June. Be aware of weather forecasts each evening. If you use a mobile device, consider an app for warnings about frosts. Shop around for features and price-many are free.
Improve your landscape with native plantings. Educate yourself about non-native invasive species and their effect on Maine's ecosystem . Use Bulletin #2500,
Gardening to Conserve Maine's Landscape
, as a guide when you shop. Remember to check plants' Latin names to be sure you're getting what you want. Try Plant Something! Maine's website to find a garden center near you.
Be aware of the threat of ticks! Learn more about ticks at
Make a short list of problems you faced last growing season with your yard, gardens, and trees. Develop a plan to address one or more of these issues this growing season with a goal of improving the situation.
Plant additional vegetables and flowers this month, if you have the space in your garden. It's still not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or to sow seeds of cucumbers, summer squash, beans, beets, carrots, etc. Out of space? Try containers-see
Growing Vegetables in Container Gardens for more information.
Use a liquid starter fertilizer (or starter solution) around your newly transplanted seedlings to reduce root stress and encourage new growth. These products are readily soluble and contain suitable amounts of phosphorus to encourage new root growth. Examples of such starter fertilizers have analysis such as 10-20-10 and 15-30-15. These pulverized fertilizers are typically dissolved in water at a rate of 1 tablespoon per gallon to make the solution. Approximately one cup of solution is applied around each seedling after planting. Be sure to follow all product label directions and precautions. Organic fertilizers usually have lower numbers for their analysis. For organic starter fertilizers, seek one with a 1-2-1 ratio.
Start seeds for fall crops. See UMaine Extension Cumberland County's
Keep Your Garden Growing guide, and adjust dates for your area. Johnny's Selected Seeds' handy
Succession Planting Calculator can help.
Remove flowering stalks from your rhubarb plants. For more information, see Bulletin #2514
Growing Rhubarb in Maine.
Harvest your asparagus. If you are considering growing asparagus, see Bulletin #2071
Growing Asparagus in Maine and our
checklist for the best chance of success with your asparagus plants.
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Upcoming Events and Activities-
Do you know of a class, activity, or event that may interest gardeners in Piscataquis, Penobscot, or Somerset Counties? Please forward information to trisha.smith1@maine.edu for possible inclusion in our next newsletter.
Check UMaine Extension's calendar for educational opportunities all over the state.
- June 9-Pond Construction and Maintenance Workshop-Dover-Foxcroft, 9:30-3. $30. Presenters will go over everything from engineering to construction, pond biology, constructing for wildlife to managing unwanted wildlife and DEP permitting. After hearing from presenters, we will travel to and explore two nearby ponds - one built for wildlife, one for agricultural purposes.For more information or to register, contact the PCSWCD at 42 Engdahl Drive, Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426, by phone at (207) 564-2321 extension 3, or by email at info@piscataquisswcd.org.
- June 10-Bangor Blue Seal Grow Center Grand Opening. Stillwater Ave., Bangor. 9am-5pm.
- June 14-Raised Beds and Containers Gardening Series, Session 2: Starting Your Garden. UMaine Extension Somerset County office in Skowhegan, 9-11am. This workshop series will teach you how to go from start to finish, or more appropriately, from boards to harvest. In this series you will learn, hands-on, how to build, plant, maintain, and harvest from raised bed, square foot gardens and containers. $20-take one or all of the classes. Register here.
- June 17-Peony Society of Maine-2017 Garden Tours, 9a-4p. Tours begin at 1348 Ohio St., Bangor, and include several gardens. $3 donation appreciated. Learn more about Peony Society of Maine.
- June 17-As You Like It with Recycled Shakespeare Company, Coburn Park, Skowhegan, noon-2pm. Free. Bring a picnic and a blanket or chair to the amphitheater. (I know it's not gardening, but it's in a park, and the play is set in a forest)
- June 24-Peony Society of Maine-2017 Garden Tours, 9a-4p. Tours begin at 1348 Ohio St., Bangor, and include several gardens. $3 donation appreciated. Learn more about Peony Society of Maine.
- July 19-Raised Beds and Containers Gardening Series, Session 3: Caring for Your Garden. UMaine Extension Somerset County office in Skowhegan, 9-11am. $20-take one or all of the classes in the series. Register here.
- August 16-Raised Beds and Containers Gardening Series, Session 4: Extending Your Growing Season. UMaine Extension Somerset County office in Skowhegan, 9-11am. one or all of the classes. Register here.
- September 13-Raised Beds and Containers Gardening Series, Session 5: Using Your Harvest. UMaine Extension Somerset County office in Skowhegan, 9-11am. $20 for the series, take one or all of the classes. Register here.
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Summer's Flowers: Sunflowers
By Lynne Holland, Community Education Assistant, UMaine Extension Androscoggin and Sagadahoc Counties
The most famous images of sunflowers are probably the series of nearly a dozen paintings by Van Gogh of various sunflowers featuring the summer beauties that, to many, symbolize summer. The sunflower is a flower with a great work ethic, not only looking good, but also tasting good and accomplishing good in its environment. It is such an important plant it even has its own association-The National Sunflower Association.
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Understanding Weeds to Understand Weed Control
by Donna Coffin, Extension Educator,
UMaine Cooperative Extension Piscataquis County
Correct identification of the problem weed gives access to information about its life cycle and, in turn, information about best methods and timing for eradication. Weed identification keys, such as
this helpful ID tool from Cornell
, often start off asking whether a weed is grass-like or broad leaved and then take you into more in-depth questions to narrow down the options for what you might be dealing with.
Once your weed is identified, you can determine what life cycle the plant has-annual, biennial or perennial.
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Photo by Dennis Connelly
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Community Garden at the Dempsey Center for Cancer, Hope and Healing Grows!
By Lynne Holland, Community Education Assistant, UMaine Extension Androscoggin and Sagadahoc Counties
The headline is stolen, but this article is not fake news. This is an update on a project first written about in
Maine Home Garden News
in July 2014 by Tori Jackson.
The Dempsey Center
initiated a garden for hope and healing in 2013 with help from the UMaine Cooperative Extension and area partners. Like any garden, the Dempsey Garden has grown and had changes over the years. The biggest change to date started in the summer of 2016 when project partner Cascade Fiber abruptly closed and put the land and buildings the garden is situated on up for sale. The newest thing growing in the garden was uncertainty.
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MASTER GARDENER VOLUNTEERS
Check in with the MGV coordinator in your county to discuss plans and ideas, make sure your enrollment is current, and pick up Extension publications to support your endeavors. We appreciate all you do in our communities!
It's important that our county, state, and federal funders know about your efforts and impact in our communities. Choose the link to the online form for the county where you were trained (unless you have made other arrangements):
Extension's reporting deadline is September 30, but you may enter your hours anytime. Google forms will magically compile your entries!
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Food & Nutrition: Garlic Scapes and Freezing Pesto
By Kate McCarty, Food Preservation Community Education Assistant, UMaine Extension Cumberland County
Growing garlic is one of the more satisfying experiences for the patient gardener. The bulbs may take about a year to form, but springtime brings another edible offshoot from the plant - garlic scapes. Hardneck garlic sends up curly stalks in the spring that should be trimmed to prevent the growth of the scape from impacting with the size of the garlic bulb.
If you didn't plant garlic in your garden last fall, garlic scapes can also be found at the farmers' market this time of year. Scapes can be used in cooking to add mild garlic flavor or made into pesto.
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Volunteer and Employment Opportunities
Summer is here, and kids are looking for things to do. If you're interested in working with youth, consider becoming a 4-H volunteer leader. Learn more about 4-H here, and find out what it takes to be a volunteer.
Piscataquis Master Gardener Volunteers are gearing up for summer. Dover Cove Farmers' Market and Dover-Foxcroft Area Food Cupboard are among the organizations that rely on volunteers to be successful. See more detailed descriptions
here. Call (207. 564.3301) or email
Trisha if your Piscataquis MGV project didn't make this list.
Free Summer Meals is a national program offering free meals to anyone under 18. In many locations, adults are welcome to eat for a low price (under $5). Inquire with site coordinators about offering enrichment activities.
Find a site near you.
Shared Earthly Blessings community garden in Dexter welcomes volunteers. Work days are Saturdays 9-11 and Wednesday afternoons at the Sherburne Farm, about 2 miles out of Dexter on the Ripley Rd (Rt 23). Produce is grown, harvested, packed, and delivered to local seniors. For more information call John Gornall at 207.924.5232.
University of Maine Cooperative Extension has employment opportunities across the state. Find the list
here.
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The Maine Food System, What's That?
University of Maine Cooperative Extension helps support, sustain, and grow the $3.9 billion food-based economy in Maine. We are the only entity in our state that touches every aspect of the Maine Food System, where policy, research, production, processing, commerce, nutrition, and food security and safety are integral and interrelated. Read more here.
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| Graphic by Michael Mendoza |
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If you eat, you are part of the Maine Food System!
You may also be growing food for yourself and/or others, supporting farmers' markets and CSAs, volunteering at food cupboards, community meals, or soup kitchens. If you aren't, we're trying to make it easier for you to get involved.
Organizations that address food insecurity with distributions of free food and meals exist in most communities. Many welcome volunteers as well as donations of food, including fresh garden produce in season. Access to refrigeration and timing of food distributions can limit an organization's ability to accept donations. It is best to contact them first. With this in mind, we aim to provide a comprehensive list of these organizations. Please do not hesitate to email trisha.smith1@maine.edu with additional or corrected information.
The Maine Food Atlas is an interactive mapping project created by the Maine Network of Community Food Councils and the Center for Community GIS. Explore or even contribute-The Maine Food Atlas relies on individuals to submit and update listings.
Click here to see a list of organizations tackling food insecurity in Penobscot, Piscataquis, and Somerset Counties.
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Organizations of Interest
Click the links to learn more, find a chapter near you, and get involved.
The Garden Club Federation of Maine National Garden Clubs, Inc. provides education, resources and national networking opportunities for its members, to promote the love of gardening, floral design, civic and environmental responsibility.
Maine Federation of Farmers' Markets' mission is to cultivate a vibrant, sustainable farmers' market community as a vital part of Maine's local food network. The Federation works with farmers, consumers, and communities to make wholesome, locally-grown foods available to all residents, to educate consumers about food resources, and to support farm viability.
Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) The purpose of the Association is to help farmers and gardeners: grow organic food, fiber and other crops; protect the environment; recycle natural resources; increase local food production; support rural communities; and illuminate for consumers the connection between healthful food and environmentally sound farming practices.
Maine State Beekeepers Association
Northern Penobscot County Beekepers Association
The Grange provides opportunities for individuals and families to develop to their highest potential in order to build stronger communities and states, as well as a stronger nation.
To inquire about finding a nearby Grange, contact Walter Boomsma at
grange@boomsmaonline.com
Transition Towns The Transition Movement is comprised of vibrant, grassroots community initiatives that seek to build community resilience in the face of such challenges as peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis. Transition Initiatives differentiate themselves from other sustainability and "environmental" groups by seeking to mitigate these converging global crises by engaging their communities in home-grown, citizen-led education, action, and multi-stakeholder planning to increase local self reliance and resilience.
Transition Skowhegan meets every 1st Thursday at 6 pm, Skowhegan Public Library.
Contact Iver Lofving 474-7370 or Jason Tessier 474-4380
Dexter Dover Area Towns in Transition (DDATT) meets every first Friday at 6 pm, Abbott Memorial Library, Dexter. Contact Sam Brown 277-4221 or email info@ddatt.org
Wild Seed Project works to increase the use of [Maine] native plants in all landscape settings in order to conserve biodiversity, encourage plant adaption in the face of climate change, safeguard wildlife habitat, and create pollination and migration corridors for insects and birds.
Maine Agriculture in the Classroom promotes the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public. Curricula and resources for educators and others working with young people. Check out newsletters and/or subscribe
here.
Maine Farm to School Network supports the rapidly spreading farm to school movement in Maine. This network knits together a wide diversity of students, teachers, school nutritionists, parents, farmers and groups who support child nutrition and Maine agriculture.
Search their resource database,
join the network.
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Mission
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.
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Quick Links
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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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Contributors
Donna Coffin, Extension Educator
The goal of the Central Maine Gardening Newsletter is to connect gardeners with resources and events that encourage and inform.
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he 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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Open Monday - Friday
8 am to 4:30 pm
307 Maine Ave. Bangor, ME 04401 207-942-7396 or 800-287-1485
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Open Monday, Thursday, Friday
8 am to 4:30 pm,
Open By-chance on Wednesday
, Closed Tuesday
165 East Main St. Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426 207-564-3301 or 800-287-1491
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Open Monday - Friday
8 am to 4:30 pm
7 County Drive Skowhegan, ME 04976-3117 Phone: 207.474.9622 or 800.287.1495 (in Maine)
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