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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May 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 every month!
Happy planting!
Yours,
Donna, Kate, and Laurie
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Extend the Season with Resilient Pansies
From Penn State Extension
Lois Miklas, Former Area Master Gardener Coordinator. Pennsylvania State University
Pansies persevere in chilly spring and fall weather. This article discusses the pansy's origin and how it can be used in your garden.
The pansy's cheerful appearance and sweet, subtle scent belie its ability to survive spring freezes, fall cold snaps, and even mild winters. For those not familiar, the pansy flower has a distinctive asymmetrical five-petal arrangement. There are three front petals, with two above and one below, sometimes with dark blotches in the center resembling a face. Some have lines radiating from the center of the flower. Behind and above this face are the remaining two petals. From an original color palette of yellow and purple, pansies are now available in every color of the rainbow, and many feature multi-colored blooms. The blooms are edible (if grown organically). Popular as both a bedding and container plant, pansies are actually perennials with biennial tendencies that are usually treated as annuals.
Read more...
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For the Birds!
Laurie Bowen
UMaine Cooperative Extension
Spring is in full swing and as we tackle those spring cleaning projects around the house, let's remember our migrating birds as they return North. Spring cleaning of our wild bird feeders is important too. This article from retired University of Maine veterinarian Anne Lichtenwalner provides useful suggestions on how to clean up our feeding stations in her article; Sanitize Wild
Bird Feeders in the Spring. Lichtenwalner’s suggestions include:
1. Take down, empty, and scrub feeders in the spring, using a dilute, 10-percent bleach solution. Dry them with a hair dryer or direct sunlight. Discard old or broken feeders and wear gloves or wash hands afterwards.
2. Clean up all the old seed around the feeder.
3. If possible, relocate feeders to a “clean” site.
4. Be sure the feed you are using is fresh, has been properly stored, and doesn’t smell musty. Get rid of old or spoiled feed; incinerating is best.
5. Don’t put too many feeders out. As you attract more birds, you may spread disease.
6. Keep pets away from feeders. This protects both your pets and you, she says.
7. Don’t handle dead birds with bare hands. Bag them in plastic and dispose of them responsibly, where animals are unlikely to find them.
Looking to do more for our feathered friends? For more information on Bird Feeding Basics,
Bulletin #7124 Bird Feeding Basics is a great resource for tips and tricks on types of feeds and providing for birds.
To have more birds around your home or in your woodlot, Catherine A. Elliott, Extension Wildlife Specialist offers explanations on how to build houses for different kinds of birds in Bulletin
#7117, Birdhouse Basics.
Reap the rewards of all your hard work this spring by enjoying the sights and sounds of birds not only this spring but all season long.
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“Ticked” Off!
Laurie Bowen
UMaine Cooperative Extension
I have had quite a few encounters with ticks over the last couple of weeks and I have to say I am a bit “ticked off” at the little critters! I have found ticks on the cats, the dogs and the humans. While I know that not all ticks carry the bacterium that result in Lyme disease and not all bites result in the development of Lyme Disease, I would rather not risk it.
May is Lyme Disease Awareness month in Maine so it seems a good time for a refresher on what precautions we can all take.
The Maine Center for Disease Control wisely suggests the best way to prevent tick borne disease is to prevent tick bites in the first place. They suggest the following habits to make part of your daily routine:
1. Know tick habitat and use caution in areas where ticks may live.
2. Wear light-colored clothing that covers arms and legs.
3. Use an EPA-approved repellent like DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus on skin and permethrin on clothing.
4. Check for ticks daily and after any outdoor activity. Do not forget to check family members and pets too. Take a shower after being out in tick habitat to wash off any crawling ticks that have not attached yet.
5. Remove your clothing when you get home and put it in the dryer before washing. Use high heat for 10-15 minutes to kill any crawling ticks.
Read more….
For more information on submitting a tick for testing in Maine go to the UMaine Cooperative Extension Tick Lab webpage.
The UMaine Tick Surveillance Program Annual Report - 2022 is also available.
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Bulletin #2514 Growing Rhubarb in Maine
Adapted by Richard Brzozowski, UMaine Cooperative Extension
Reviewed by Mark Hutton, Vegetable Specialist and Assistant Professor of Vegetable Crops and Kathy Savoie, Registered Dietician, UMaine Cooperative Extension
Splitting Rhubarb
How frequently rhubarb should be split
Rhubarb crowns should be split at least every four to five years, or whenever the plant begins to produce many small stalks rather than fewer large stalks. Rhubarb splitting and subsequent planting can be done in either the spring, when foliage is not fully mature, or in the fall after the foliage has been removed. If the roots are not planted immediately, be sure to protect the exposed roots from freezing or excessive drying. As in all forms of plant propagation, it is very important to only use healthy plant material. Do not use diseased plants for propagation.
Springtime splitting is preferred over fall splitting since the plant will have the growing season to rebuild roots and root reserves in preparation for winter. When splitting rhubarb in the spring, it is important to divide the crown before the leaves develop. This will provide the leaves that do develop a full growing season to resupply the crown with enough reserves for winter survival.
If the crowns have to be divided in the fall, the splitting should be done late enough in the season that the leaves will not have time to regrow (mid- to late September), but before freezing temperatures shut the plant down for the winter. Splitting a plant too early in the fall encourages the plant to produce new leaves, but without sufficient time to establish those leaves and allow them to replenish root reserves, the plant may not survive the winter. Waiting too long may allow the ground to freeze and prevent the plant roots from being dug up until the following spring.
How to split rhubarb. Begin the splitting process by digging all around the plant. Try to avoid damaging the crown with the shovel; simply focus on digging a trench around the plant (at least as wide as the width of the shovel). How far down to dig depends on the age of the plant, as the crowns of older plants will have settled deeper. Do not be overly concerned about severing the longer roots with the shovel since only the knots of roots and buds that make up the crown are essential for propagation.
Once the soil around the plant is removed, the crown should be exposed. When splitting the crown, it is important to pay attention to the number of buds on each piece, as well as the amount of root mass attached to each piece. Rhubarb buds usually grow with natural separations among them. So, as much as possible use these natural weak points when dividing the crown. Each piece should have one to two healthy buds and at least a 2-inch cross section of storage root for each “eye” (or large bud).
Pieces with more than two cubic inches of storage root can be planted without any negative effects; however, additional storage root mass will not positively affect the plant either. The crown can be divided with a shovel, cleaver or an ax. Handsaws do not work for splitting rhubarb crowns because they cause extensive root damage during the cutting process. However, a reciprocating saw with a fine tooth blade might work well.
Read more…..
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UMaine Extension Tick Lab adds Powassan virus and Heartland virus to tick testing service
April 17, 2023
Editor’s note: Story updated April 18, 2023.
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension Tick Lab is adding two new pathogens to its tick testing panels.
The Tick Lab will now be screening ticks for Powassan virus and Heartland virus in addition to testing for the pathogens that cause Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis and tularemia.
Powassan virus is a rare but serious pathogen that can be transmitted by infected deer ticks, woodchuck ticks or squirrel ticks; Heartland virus has been linked to the bite of a lone star tick. Powassan virus can cause severe neurological symptoms and is a potentially fatal illness.
“We are constantly striving to improve our tick testing service to better serve our clients and help understand the changing dynamics of tick-borne disease in Maine,” says Griffin Dill, UMaine Extension Tick Lab coordinator. “The addition of Powassan virus and Heartland virus to our testing panel underscores our commitment to providing comprehensive and reliable tick testing solutions for the people of Maine.”
Dill also notes that while cases of Powassan virus have been reported in Maine dating back more than 20 years, Heartland virus has only been found in certain Maine wildlife species.
To reflect the increased scope of the tick testing service, the price will change from $15 to $20 per tick sample.
The Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee recently unanimously recommended additional funding to support the growing demand on UMaine’s Tick Lab and maintain affordable access to testing for Mainers. If the state appropriations is ultimately approved, the university plans to return the testing fee per sample to $15, well below what other public university labs in the Northeast currently charge.
More information on ticks in Maine and submitting tick samples to the lab is available on the tick laboratory website, or by contacting 207.581.3880, 800.287.0279 (in Maine); tickID@maine.edu.
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In April, Loons Return
April 11th, 2016 by Tiffany Soukup The Outside Story
When I was a child, I looked forward to spending summers with my grandmother at our family cottage on a Canadian lake. Every year, as soon as I was out of the car, we would run to the point to look and listen for loons.
As an adult, I still watch loons. But it wasn’t until this past fall, when the loons began to migrate, that it occurred to me that I had no idea where they were going.
According to Eric Hanson, a conservation biologist with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, the common loon, Gavia immer, makes its way east from our region, out into the New England coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Some adults might leave their breeding lake in September, but usually to a nearby lake at this time. The bulk of adults migrate to the ocean in October, while chicks usually remain until early November. By some instinct, juveniles find their way to the ocean without the guidance of adults.
Migration is not always a one shot flight, nor is it always a solo endeavor. Some loons flock together on lakes and fly in groups, although these flocks are often diffuse and appear unorganized. The birds fly fast, and can cover impressive distances in short periods. One was recorded making a journey of almost 670 miles in a single day.
Migration is a dangerous time for all birds, but for loons, there’s an extra danger because they may become trapped if they land in the wrong place. Loons have difficulty getting airborne. They have legs that are much farther back on their body than other birds. This design makes them excellent divers, allowing their legs to extend laterally like oars when kicking down. However, it also comes with a disadvantage. “Other birds such as ducks or Canadian geese are able to walk on land and thus give themselves a small running start to take off,” explained Hanson, “… loons can’t do that.”
Read more...
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Somerset Extension Open House
Dig In and Grow!
Saturday, May 6, 2023
(Snow Date: Saturday, May 13, 2023)
10:00 a.m-2:00 p.m.
UMaine Extension Somerset County Office
7 County Drive, Skowhegan, Maine (directions)
Our staff, board members, and volunteers will be hosting an open house to showcase Extension’s programs and services. Come find out how Cooperative Extension can help you!
This is a FREE event. All community members are invited.
RSVP encouraged, not required.
Ongoing Events and Activities:
- Make a native seed ball! (FREE activity for ALL ages. Take it home and grow native plants near your house. Native seeds donated by Wild Seed Project)
- 4-H Expo
- Homemaker Expo and bake sale
- Crafts, games, and activities
- Food and snacks
- Pressure gauge testing
- Resources and information
- Interact with your local Extension staff
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Fire Safety Tips for Spring Fire Season
Contacts: Kent Nelson (207) 287-4989, Jim Britt (207) 480-0558
Old Town: The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Forest Protection Division urges caution and preparedness for spring wildfire season. Maine has already experienced over 40 wildfires, consuming over 100 acres, in 2023. Spring weather conditions are extremely conducive to wildfires. Ninety percent of all wildfires are caused by people, destroying natural resources and property and threatening human life.
- Wildfire safety starts with knowing and obeying local laws and regulations.
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Everyone is asked to check with their town hall, local fire service, or the Maine Forest Service before burning. Refer to maineburnpermit.com for open burning permits.
- Other critical steps to preventing wildfires include mindfulness of weather conditions, particularly wind, and using only easily controlled locations for burning.
- Allow woodstove and fireplace ashes to cool before disposing of them. Place ashes in a tightly covered metal container and keep the ash container at least 10 feet away from the home and any other buildings. Never empty the ashes directly into a trash can.
- Most importantly, never use flammable gas-propellants.
Maine Wildfire Prevention Resources:
Maine Wildfire Common Questions:
Q: What are the leading causes of wildfires in Maine?
A: The most common cause is escaped debris burning. Other leading causes include unattended campfires, equipment malfunction, and inappropriately discarded cigarettes. Ninety perfect of all fires are caused by people, so they are preventable.
Q: Why is spring known as wildfire season in Maine?
A: Most wildfires usually occur in April and May, when land- and homeowners are cleaning up their property. Dead vegetation makes for excellent fire fuel because it lacks moisture, making them highly flammable. The highest risk for spring wildfires occurs on dry, windy days, which can spread fires quickly.
Q: How do I properly prepare for fire on or around my property or at a campsite?
A: Keep fire extinguishers, buckets, shovels, ladders, and hose lengths handy. Have reliable telephones or two-way radios, and keep the local number for reporting fires handy.
Q: Is there a proper way to extinguish a campfire?
A: Drown the fire with water, ensuring all embers, coals, and sticks are completely soaked. Use a shovel to move rocks, check for embers, and stir/mix the coals with the water. Use the back of your hand to feel if the remaining coals are still hot. If you still feel the heat, add more water and stir the coals repeatedly until no heat can be felt.
More questions? Contact Maine Forest Service Forest Ranger Specialist Kent Nelson (207) 287-4989.
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Fiddleheads
Fiddleheads, an early spring delicacy throughout the Northeast and Canadian Maritime Provinces, are the young coiled fronds of the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris). Nearly all ferns have fiddleheads, but not all fiddleheads are edible. The Ostrich fern fiddleheads are edible, and can be identified by the brown, papery scale-like covering on the uncoiled fern. Fiddleheads are approximately 1 inch in diameter, have a smooth fern stem (not fuzzy), and also a deep “U”-shaped groove on the inside of the fern stem. Look for ostrich ferns emerging in clusters of about three to twelve fiddleheads per plant on the banks of rivers, streams, brooks, and in the woods in late April, May, and early June depending on your location. Make sure that you obtain landowner permission before harvesting fiddleheads.
Potential Foodborne Illness
A large foodborne illness outbreak occurred in 1994 which the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) determined was the result of consumers eating raw or undercooked fiddleheads. Since then, several reported cases of foodborne illness have occurred associated with fiddlehead consumption. Researchers have yet to determine what the origin of the illnesses are from, but they do know that proper handling and cooking helps reduce the risk of foodborne illness related to the consumption of fiddleheads. Under no conditions should fiddleheads be consumed raw or under-cooked.
Symptoms of Illness from Eating Improperly Cooked Fiddleheads
Health Canada and the CDC have investigated a number of foodborne illness outbreaks associated with the consumption of raw or lightly cooked fiddleheads. The described symptoms of this foodborne illness were diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and headaches. These symptoms generally occur within 30 minutes to 12 hours after eating raw or undercooked fiddleheads. These symptoms typically last less than 24 hours, but some cases could last up to three days.
If you experience symptoms after eating fiddleheads, you should seek the advice of a health care professional and contact your local public health unit to report this illness.
Harvesting Fiddleheads
Harvest the tender ostrich ferns as soon as they are an inch or two above the ground. Carefully brush off and remove the papery brown scales. Before harvesting in the wild, make sure that you can properly differentiate the ostrich fern fiddleheads from other fern fiddleheads. Not all ferns are edible; in fact, bracken ferns are carcinogenic and should not be consumed. (See Bulletin #2540, Ostrich Fern Fiddleheads for more information.)
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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