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Your Monthly News & Updates
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Image source: Bill Buchanan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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May is the month to...
By Donna Coffin, Extension Professor, and Trisha Smith, Home Horticulture Aide
Be on the lookout for Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds! Males generally arrive first to stake out nectar sources. Place hummingbird feeders outdoors and make your own feed by mixing one part table sugar with four parts boiling water. Enhance Hummingbird Habitat in your garden and landscape.
Plant for pollinators and register your garden with millionpollinatorgardens.org. Any size garden-even a windowbox-can provide nectar and pollen to feed pollinators. Read more about Maine's native bees and how to garden for them here.
Start the following seeds indoors and plan to transplant after all chance of frost has passed in your region (typically late May or early June): cucumbers, melons, pumpkin, sunflower, morning glory, and zinnia (all may also be sown directly in the garden later in the month). Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower can be sown indoors in mid-May to establish transplants for a fall crop. Be sure to harden off transplants before setting them out (gradually exposing them to cooler temperatures along with great amounts of light and wind). See Bulletin #2751, Starting Seeds at Home for more information.
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.
Start shopping at farmers' markets! Most markets start their outdoor seasons sometime in May. If you haven't had good luck starting seeds yourself, buy from local farmers. Find a farmers' market near you.
Harden off and transplant cool season vegetable seedlings (lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, onions, leeks, cauliflower, kale, etc.) outdoors. Hold off on transplanting peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant, until the weather is consistently warmer. Cool weather will actually set peppers back.
Direct sow outdoors: beets, carrots, leaf and head lettuce, peas, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnips.
Improve your landscape with native plantings. Educate yourself about non-native invasive species and their effect on our 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.
Consider putting in an automatic watering system. Automatic watering can be especially helpful with container gardens that have a high demand for water. For more information, see Bulletin #2160, Trickle Irrigation: Using and Conserving Water in the Home Garden.
Plant an outdoor herb garden. Hardy perennials (chives, mint, thyme, etc.) can be planted in May, but wait until later in the month or early June to install the more tender herbs (basil transplants and direct sown dill and cilantro, for instance).
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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.
- May 5- DDATT First Friday Discussion, Abbott Memorial Library (Dexter), 6-8 p. Pegg Gannon and Liz Brealt will lead discussions of gardening as we get older, new garden pests, and growing berries.
- May 5-6-Fedco Tree Sale, Clinton. 9a-3p each day. Click for details and directions.
- May 6-Maine Greenhouse and Nursery Day, Country Junction Greenhouse, North Bradford. 9a-5p.
- May 8-Non-Chemical Pest and Disease Management, Millinocket Memorial Library, 6-7:30p. Free and open to all ages.
- May 9-Introduction to Beekeeping, Millinocket Memorial Library, 6-7:30p. Free and open to all ages.
- May 10-"Black Gold from Green Waste" composting workshop. Brewer Public Library, 4-6p. Free and open to all ages.
- May 8-12-Maine Composts! Week-
- May 13-Kids Garden Event, Farm in the Woods, Monson, 1-3p. Learn more and pre-register. $10/child 3 and over.
- May 13-Root Cellaring with DDATT. Meet at Abbott Memorial Library (Dexter) at 9:30a for a short discussion of principles and techniques, then drive to tour nearby examples.
- May 19-21-Home Garden Flower Show, Fryeburg Fairgrounds, Fryeburg. $10 adult admission ($8 pre-sale), $4 youth 11-16, 10 & under free.
- May 20-Hampden Garden Club's annual Perennial Plant and Pie Sale, 8-noon. Harmony Hall, 24 Kennebec Rd., Hampden. For more information contact Anne Bennett, 207.862.3467 or Barbara Packard, 207.862.3080
- May 20-Skowhegan Home Show, Skowhegan Fairgrounds, 10a-5p. Learn about services and products for your home building, remodeling, or landscaping project.
- May 20 - Hancock County Master Gardener Spring Plant Sale, 8-noon (rain or shine). Hundreds of perennials including Maine natives along with children's activities, a raffle, and the following scheduled talks: Gardening for Biodiversity 9am, Self-Irrigating Planter Systems 10am, and Square Foot Gardening 10:30am. Location and full details.
- May 24-Screening of the documentary Forgotten Farms, Railroad Square Cinema, Waterville, 7:15 p. Sponsored by Maine Farmland Trust, $5 suggested donation.
- June 2- DDATT First Friday Discussion: Permaculture 201. Abbott Memorial Library, Dexter. 6 pm.
- June 3-Black Fly Festival, Milo waterfront. 8a-4p. Music, vendors, and family fun.
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Testing Your Garden Soil - Use a Home Test Kit?
By Caragh Fitzgerald, Associate Extension Professor, UMaine Extension Kennebec County
Go to any University of Maine Cooperative Extension gardening talk, and you'll hear advice to take a soil sample and follow the recommendations. After all, measuring what is already in the soil is the best way to know which nutrients are lacking and how much is needed. It's like looking in the pantry before going grocery shopping. We usually bring boxes and forms for the UMaine Soil Testing Laboratory to our presentations, and there are private labs that can run nutrient analyses as well.
Read the full article
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Fiddleheads and Rhubarb: Maine Foods for May
By Kathy Savoie, MS, RD, UMaine Extension Cumberland County
Two of spring's early edible treats in Maine include rhubarb and fiddleheads. Both of these foods are a pleasure to enjoy in your favorite recipes and these are both very easy to preserve. Once preserved, they can be used and enjoyed again in the off-season. If you are looking to amp up your intake of local foods, preserving is a skill to learn to help extend your access to local foods year round. See a listing of our
hands-on food preservation workshops
for dates and locations.
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The first Maine Composts Week, a collaboration of groups and individuals from around the state, is an event for all of Maine that will promote reductions in unused food, sharing unserved food with those who are food insecure, and diverting unused food to composting and anaerobic digestion facilities thereby minimizing the amount of food being disposed.
Events will occur across the state simultaneously and include everything from documentary screenings, composting open houses, to children's book readings at libraries. There are challenges, contests, and resources geared towards schools, businesses, communities, and households. Participants can try the hand-drawn or digital art challenge or take a selfie of their compost pile or their school's share table.
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The Tom Settlemire Community Garden, Brunswick, Maine Master Gardeners Linton and Bonnie Studdiford
By Kathleen McNerney, Home Horticultural Coordinator, UMaine Extension Cumberland County
In 1994 the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust began a 14-year effort to conserve the 321-acre Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick, Maine. In 2008 the acquisition of the farm was completed and it was placed into conservation. The idea for a community garden was not envisioned at the time of the capital campaign. As far back as 1998 community members expressed an interest in starting a community garden at Crystal Spring Farm, but it was not until 2010 when UMaine Extension Educator, Dr. Richard Brzozowski went to speak to the leaders of the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust that the idea began to take shape. It was Dr. Brzozowski's suggestion that an outreach program, involving the community in a meaningful way, would be a great benefit to both the Land Trust and the wider community. This suggestion revived discussion about a community garden and was the seed that sparked the growth of the Tom Settlemire Community Garden.
Read more
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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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Volunteer and Employment Opportunities
Summer is coming, and kids will be 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 spring and 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.
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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