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Your Monthly News & Updates
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March is the month to...
by Tori Jackson, Extension Educator and Trisha Smith, Community Education Assistant
Spring forward!
Set your clocks ahead 1 hour before you go to bed Sunday,
March 12!
Watch for signs of spring and contribute your observations to a national database. You can be an important part of tracking weather patterns and climate change. See Nature's Notebook, and sign up to be an observer!
Prune your perennial fruits and woody landscape plants. When the snow has begun to melt but everything is still dormant, it can be a great relief to get back outdoors to manage your yard and garden. Prune out weak, diseased, or superfluous canes and branches to improve airflow and increase yields of healthy fruits.
-Tree Fruits
-Grapes
-Woody Landscape Plants
-Forsythia
-Raspberries and Blackberries
Plan your vegetable garden. Use graph paper or spreadsheet software to create a scale map of your vegetable garden to help you decide how many seeds or seedlings you will need and how much garden hose or drip tape it will take to keep things watered. See our Planting Chart for the Home Vegetable Garden for the earliest and latest safe dates to plant in Maine.
Test germination rates. If you have leftover seed from years past, or saved seed from your own garden, you should consider testing the germination of the seed you have saved. Check out the section on "Storing Seed" in UMaine Cooperative Extension's Seed Saving publication.
Start seeds for long-season crops. Check out Starting Seeds at Home. Calculate your planting schedule with this handy tool from Johnny's. You'll need the frost-free dates in your area-look up by zip code. Download the plans and materials list for a seedling stand here. Learn more about the science of plant propagation here.
Prepare to mitigate drought. Following the drought of 2016, farmers and gardeners should plan now for a potential lack rainfall in the upcoming season. A new resource has been developed for farmers that contains information gardeners can use as well. Read Resources to Navigate Drought Successfully to learn more.
Make plans to visit a garden or flower show. Real spring is right around the corner, and there are lots of opportunities to learn from and be inspired by landscape, garden, and floral pros. We've listed several in the Upcoming Events section below.
Consider joining a CSA. Community Supported Agriculture helps farmers with a needed financial boost early in the season. Come harvest time, you get a share of the bounty. See MOFGA's interactive list of farms by county. Select your county and put "CSA" in the search bar.
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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.
- March 4-Seed Swappers of DDATT-10-noon, Abbott Memorial Library, Dexter. Bring seeds to share or just come to learn.
- March 4-Spring Growth Conference: Soil Microbiology -9a-4p, MOFGA's Common Ground Education Center, Unity. $75 for individuals, $100 for couples; $25 for students and apprentices; free for MOFGA Journeypersons.
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March 7-Cooking for Crowds- Sebasticook Healthcare Facility, Pittsfield, 9-noon. A workshop on Safe Food Handling designed specifically for volunteers. $15. Register online.
- March 11-Winter Family Fun Day, 11a-3p, Lily Bay State Park, Beaver Cove (north of Greenville). $1.50 admission for those 12-64. Kids and seniors free. FMI: (207) 695-2700
- March 11-Veterans' Farm-to-Table Breakfast, 8:30-11, Columbia Street Baptist Church, Bangor. Meet local farmer-veterans. Check out their Facebook event.
- March 15-Maine Vegetable and Fruit School, 8:30-4 pm, Bangor Motor Inn Conference Center. $45 course fee, 3 pesticide applicator re-certification credits offered.
- March 16-Deadline to order from Piscataquis Soil and Water Conservation District's annual tree and plant sale. Check out the catalog.
- March 16-19-Maine Science Festival. Bangor, various times and venues. See schedule.
- March 19-Bangor CSA Fair, 2:30-5 pm, Sea Dog Brewing Company. Learn more about farmers and CSA options available to folks in the Bangor area.
- March 18 & 25, April 1 & 8-Pruning Woody Landscape Plants Course, 8:30-noon, UMaine Cooperative Extension Hancock County, Ellsworth. $55 course fee. Register online.
- March 24-26- BDN Garden Show, Cross Insurance Center, Bangor. March 24: noon-6; March 25: 10-6; March 26: 10-5. Check website for updates.
- March 25-Organic Orcharding-Pruning Fruit Trees,10-3, Unity. $50 general public/$35 MOFGA members. Bring bag lunch. FMI and to register.
- March 26- MAINE MAPLE SUNDAY! Find a nearby sugaring operation and go check them out. Many Maine syrup producers schedule tours and demonstrations on the 4th Sunday in March-come to learn, stay for free samples!
- March 26-Seed and Scion Swap, 10-3, MOFGA's Common Ground Education Center, Unity. Details here.
- March 25-26- Open Farm Day/Maple Sunday, 10-4, Tessier Farm, 337 Malbons Mills Rd., Skowhegan.
- March 29-April 2-Maine Flower Show, Thompson's Point, Portland. Order tickets online to reduce waiting in lines. Proceeds benefit Good Shepherd Food Bank.
- April 1-Open House, Hammond Tractor Company, Fairfield. 9a-2p.
- April 29-May 1-Art in Bloom, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Book a tour for a group of 10 or more.
- May 8-12-Maine Composts! Week-Travis Blackmer, UMaine School of Economics, is looking for composting sites willing to open their facilities for students to learn about composting. To find out more, email travis.blackmer@umaine.edu.
- May 19-21-Home Garden Flower Show, Fryeburg Fairgrounds, Fryeburg. $10 adult admission ($8 pre-sale), $4 youth 11-16, 10 & under free.
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Gardening for Biodiversity
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Pollinator Day at Rogers Farm |
By Marjorie Peronto, Extension Educator, UMaine Extension Hancock County
We live in the sixth mass extinction period of Earth's history, a period of unprecedented plant and animal
species loss. Conservation biologists tell us that overall extinction rates are now 1,000 times higher than the
historical rate of one to five species per year, with future extinction rates likely to be 10,000 times higher.
Habitat loss is the number one cause of Earth's biodiversity crisis.
Read the full article, including a list of easily-sourced plants for your landscape.
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Staff Picks: Acer species
By Kathy Hopkins, Extension Educator, UMaine Extension Somerset County
Many of my favorite plants any time of year are members of the
Acer genus, more commonly known as maple trees. They produce the first agricultural crop of the season, maple syrup, usually beginning in February or March. They are one of the first to bloom, coloring the woods with a delicate tracing of red or yellow in late spring. In the summer, they provide luxurious shade from the hot summer sun providing a blessing for plants and animals. In the fall, they provide a last explosion of color before the pristine whiteness of winter descends on Maine.
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"Plant a Pollinator Garden!" Kicks Off at Maine Flower Show
If you attend the Maine Flower Show this year, you will have a chance to pick up a FREE pollinator seed packet and take part in the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge. That's because the Maine Landscape and Nursery Association (
MELNA) was just awarded a grant from the Maine Department of Agriculture to provide seed packets for attendees of our inaugural Maine Flower Show. The seeds will be a mystery until you visit our website and unlock the code to find out which pollinator-friendly plants your packet contains, along with directions to grow and care for them. Each packet will also have instructions on how to register your planting as one of the gardens in the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge.
Pollinators are responsible for 1 out of 3 bites of food we take each day, and yet pollinators are at a critical point in their own survival. Many reasons contribute to their recent decline. We know for certain, however, that more nectar and pollen sources provided by more flowering plants and trees will help improve their health and numbers. Increasing the number of pollinator-friendly gardens and landscapes will help revive the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators across the country.
MELNA and Plant Something Maine are proud to support this effort to create pollinator-friendly gardens across the state of Maine, and very excited to launch our first Plant a Pollinator Garden! at this year's Maine Flower Show. Tickets are now on sale; buy them here on Eventbrite.
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| Bench in Native Plant Showcase garden |
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A 1+ acre demonstration garden takes many hands and great gardening minds to plan, plant and maintain. The Rogers Farm team of Master Gardener Volunteers is well into the process of developing a welcoming, beautiful, and productive outdoor classroom for the 2017 season and
we want you to plan on stopping by this year
. Please consider coming by ANY Tuesday evening starting in June to ask the experts your gardening questions or consider coming to one of our two public events: Backyard Blueberries (tentatively scheduled for 8/1 at 6pm) and our 3rd annual Fall Field Day on September 9th. The garden is free and open to the public 7 days a week (even this time of year) during daylight hours. Find us on Facebook or instagram for more information and fun gardening posts throughout the year @rogersfarmdemonstrationgarden.
Recipe signs in the Bangor Area Giving Gardens plot
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MASTER GARDENER VOLUNTEERS
Now is the perfect time to line up your volunteer project for the upcoming season. 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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Volunteer Opportunity
Hammond Tractor in Fairfield will have their annual
Open House on
April 1, 2017 from 9:00 - 1:00. We need volunteers to staff an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer booth that day. We have a table, a couple displays from which to pick, handout materials and soil test kits. We just need some MGVs willing to spend some time sharing their excitement about gardening. This is a great opportunity to showcase Extension and the Master Gardener program. Please call the
Somerset office at 474-9622 before 2/23 to pick your time to pick up the booth materials before April 1. Thanks for your help supporting our friends at Hammond Tractor, Cooperative Extension and the Master Gardener Volunteer program.
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Reader Tips, Tricks, and Techniques
This section is for you, our readers, to share some of your favorite gardening "hacks." Send your clever ideas to
trisha.smith1@maine.edu.
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Red clover sprouts-photo credit William Keene, CSU
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Food & Nutrition: Sprout Safety
By Kathy Savoie, MS, RD, Extension Educator, UMaine Extension Cumberland County
With the arrival of spring, some gardeners like to get sprouting early with bean and seeds sprouted at home. Like any fresh produce that is consumed raw or lightly cooked, sprouts may contain bacteria that can cause foodborne illness. Sprouts are often served on salads, wraps, sandwiches, and Asian foods. Unlike other fresh produce, sprouts from seeds and beans need warm and humid conditions to sprout and grow. The warm and humid conditions are also ideal for the growth of bacteria, including
Salmonella, Listeria, and
E. coli.
If just a few harmful bacteria are present in or on the seed, the bacteria can grow to high levels during sprouting. Home-grown sprouts also present a health risk if they are eaten raw or lightly cooked.
Read more...
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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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