Monthly News for Gardeners
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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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March 2022
Fellow gardeners of Central Maine,
Yours,
Donna, Kate, and Laurie
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Maine Maple Syrup Sunday March 27, 2022 |
Maine Maple Sunday®
Always the fourth Sunday in March! Maine Maple Sunday® is a long-standing tradition where Maine's Maple producers open their doors to their sweet operations for a day of educational demonstrations, Sugarbush tours, fun family activities and samplings of syrup and other great maple products.
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Now You See It, Now You Don’t By Nancy Donovan, Ph.D.,PT Master Gardener Volunteer |
As I walked down my pathway to feed the birds this week, the phrase “Now You See It, Now You Don’t” came into my mind. The stimulus for that was the fact that my gardens went from my being able to see the soil and mulch under some of my perennials to the disappearance under several inches of snow overnight. While I do enjoy winter activities, and the comforting emotion that results when I see the bright red cardinals perched on my evergreen trees among the white cottony snow, this is the time of the year when I begin to yearn for the many colors that perennial blooms provide. It also reminds me that I need to initiate activities/exercises that will allow me to not only get on my knees to perform gardening activities, but also to be able to get back up to standing without a need to crawl over to my red wagon for its passive assist. I do want to avoid having to call out, “I’m stuck in my garden, and I can’t get up.”
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The University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the Waldo County Extension Association (WCEA) will offer four online weekly workshops with a rural living theme starting 9–11 a.m. on April 2. Additional dates are April 9, 16 and 23. "Rural Living Month" workshop topics include homestead livestock choices; working with children and teens in the garden; Maine’s invasive forest insects; and home cheesemaking. This series is organized by WCEA in lieu of its annual Rural Living Day event, postponed the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fee is $10 per workshop; registration is required. Register on the event webpage. Financial assistance is available. All proceeds go to the WCEA scholarship fund. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact 207.342.5971; sadee.mehuren@maine.edu.
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Maine CDC 2022 Lyme Disease Awareness Poster Contest |
Each year, Maine CDC hosts an annual Lyme Disease Awareness Month poster contest for
K-8th graders in Maine. Despite COVID-19, ticks and tickborne diseases are still a threat, especially among children in this age group. The topic of this year’s contest is “Tick Wise,” reminding everyone to be “tick wise” and take steps to prevent tickborne diseases, including Lyme disease.
The contest rules and release can be found under the “Lyme Disease Awareness Month” heading at www.maine.gov/lyme.
Posters will be accepted through Friday, April 29, 2022. Only one poster per participant will be accepted and posters must be accompanied by a signed release waiver. Winners in each category (K-1st grade, 2nd-3rd grade, 4th-5th grade, 6th-8th grade) receive a one-day park pass to any Maine State Park for their family and tick removal kits for their classroom. One grand prize winning poster will be chosen to feature as the 2022 Lyme Disease Awareness poster for Maine CDC.
Examples of previous winners and submissions are found at:. Please contact Maine CDC’s Vectorborne Disease Health Educator with any questions at megan.porter@maine.gov
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Saturday, March 26th, 2022
Pruning Fruit Trees With CJ Walke
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The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) is excited to host CJ Walke, Orchard Specialist at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, for another installment in our orchard series. PCSWCD has been working with CJ for 8 years, bringing his knowledge and expertise to Piscataquis County! CJ will teach a hands-on workshop on pruning fruit trees on Saturday, April 9th, 2022, with a snow date on Sunday, April 10th. The workshop will be held at a private orchard in Parkman, Maine.
Mainers love having their own orchards! Whether you are starting a small orchard, have a few older trees growing in the front yard or would like to plant fruit trees, this workshop will give you the skills to prune any age or sized tree. This workshop is all about hands-on learning and participants will be out in an orchard actively pruning with CJ offering guidance and instruction. Participants will leave feeling confident and ready to tackle their trees at home. Additionally, CJ will talk about techniques to help increase fruit yield, protect trees from disease and pests and ways to help your trees flourish.
CJ Walke has years of experience teaching and mastering organic orcharding practices, and has worked alongside many orcharding experts such as John Bunker of FEDCO Trees and Michael Phillips, author of The Holistic Orchard, among others. CJ has taught orcharding workshops covering topics such as grafting, pruning, pest management, restoring and revitalizing old trees and much more.
Registration is required to attend this workshop and spaces are limited to 30 participants. Each year, the PCSWCD has seen these popular workshops fill to capacity quickly, so we encourage folks who are interested in attending to be sure to register soon. We have received numerous requests for CJ to teach a pruning course, so we are happy to fill that demand and provide this workshop in 2022!
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UMaine Extension Master Food Preserver Program applications open |
2022 Master Food Preserver Course
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Piscataquis Regional Food Center (PRFC) is partnering with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Piscataquis County Office for the second year to bring the Garden in a Box learning program to the region. Garden in a Box aims to bring gardening know-how and enthusiasm to people with limited mobility, small space, or lack of resources.
Sign-ups to be a Garden in a Box participant are limited but many of the program resources will be available to the general public through local libraries that plan to host the Garden in a Box resource binder and a demo garden. In addition, a 5-part Garden in a Box education series will take place at Thompson Free Library, Dover-Foxcroft. These presentations are free and open to everyone.
Small Space Gardening; April 28th @ 6 pm. Thompson Free Library, Dover-Foxcroft (Facebook Live Event)
Program Description: Are you short on space? Many kinds of vegetables can be easily grown in containers by following a few basic guidelines. What to grow and where will be the topic of conversation in Part 2 of this series.
To learn more about the program or to sign up to be a Gardener, visit prfoodcenter.org/garden-in-a-box or call Kazia Knepp, PRFC Community Food Services Coordinator at (207) 802-8230. If you are interested in becoming a Garden Coach, please contact Laurie Bowen, UMaine Extension Food Systems Program Assistant at (207) 942-7396.
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On Demand Webinar Bundles |
The On Demand Webinars series includes bundles of three to four prerecorded webinars about starting and maintaining a home orchard, gardening with native plants, composting and soil health, and seed selection and starting. The webinars allow viewers to watch and learn at their own pace and include lists of recommended resources.
The webinar bundles are offered on a sliding scale fee of $0–$30. More information about how to purchase the bundles is available on the gardening webpage. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Rebecca Long, 207.743.6329; extension.gardening@maine.edu.
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New Garden Resources to Meet New Needs
- Timely UMaine Extension Publications
- Bulletin #7036, How to Tap Maple Trees and Make Maple Syrup
- Bulletin #2026, Establishing and Using a Support Network
- Tips for Purchasing Soil for Gardens and Landscape Projects
- Bulletin #4300, Steps to Organizing Your Community Garden
- Bulletin #1075 Tarping in the Northeast: A Guide for Small Farms
- 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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Garden Mentorship Program: direct technical assistance and encouragement via phone or email throughout the season from trained Master Gardener Volunteers
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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. For example, see Rogers Farm Demonstration Garden’s short educational Facebook videos (also on Instagram).
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
Guidelines for Master Gardener Volunteers (Updated 6/8/21):
Reminder for MGV
Check out Kate Garland's information about the "Take Five" Winter Walk Series for Master Gardeners starting in January that was sent to MGVs in a separate email.
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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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