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Your Monthly News & Updates
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May is the month to...
By Frank S. Wertheim, Extension Educator, UMaine Extension York County, and Trisha Smith, Community Education Assistant (Home Horticulture), Piscataquis County
Find a plant sale near you! UMaine Cooperative Extension CEA Lynne Holland has compiled a statewide list. Check it out HERE.
Plant cold-season transplants (vegetables and herbs that tolerate frost and do well in cold weather) into the garden
: lettuce, spinach, parsley, onions and cabbage family crops (broccoli, kale, radish, mustard greens).
Sow seeds of cool-season vegetable
s such as beets, carrots, peas, and Swiss chard directly into the garden.
Start warm-season transplants
(vegetables and herbs that won't tolerate frost and grow best in warmer temperatures such as tomatoes, peppers, basil, cucumbers) indoors and plan to transplant them after all danger of frost has passed. Typically for Maine this would be late May/early June.
Have your lawn mower tuned up and the blade
sharpened. Consider purchasing a battery-powered mower to reduce energy use and carbon emissions. They are also a lot quieter and, therefore, more pleasant to run.
Prune spring flowering trees and shrubs
such as lilac, magnolia, flowering crabapple, and spirea after they flower.
For more information, see Pruning Woody Ornamental Plants.
Check for ticks!
Be sure and do body checks after coming in from the outdoors. For more information, see Ticks in Maine and Their Identification.
Use wire hoops with row covers to increase production and protect crops such as broccoli, cucumbers,
and melons from insect pests. Remove the row cover while fruit-producing plants (cucumbers, melons) are flowering to allow for insect pollination.
Get ahead of annual weeds as they sprout.
Remove weeds when they are small through shallow cultivation with tools such as a stirrup hoe or collinear hoe, which are designed to till just below the soil surface. Hoeing deeply with a traditional hoe will look nice initially, but brings more weed seeds to the surface. Cultivating shallowly and more often is a much more effective weeding technique.
Consider installing drip irrigation
in your vegetable and flower gardens. Save water and reduce plant diseases by avoiding wetting the foliage. Water catchment and drip irrigation can work together for conservation and convenience.
Keep Maine-based nurseries and seed companies in mind when you shop for plants and seeds for your garden and landscape. Fedco ("cold-hardy selections especially adapted to our demanding Northeast climate"), Johnny's Selected Seeds ("employee-owned seed producer and merchant headquartered in Winslow, ME"), Pinetree Garden Seeds ("founded with the simple mission of offering low prices on quality seeds to the home gardener"), Allen, Sterling, & Lothrup ("Maine's oldest seed company"), Wood Prairie Family Farm ("farm-direct and organic"), The Maine Potato Lady ("organic seed potatoes, fingerlings, onion sets, shallots, and garlic"). These companies have all signed the "Safe Seed Pledge;" they do not knowingly sell GMO seed.
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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 4-5-Fedco Tree Sale. Fedco Warehouse, Clinton. 9-3 each day.
- May 6-Grow it Green! Plantings for your home garden. MOFGA education center, Unity. 1-4 pm.
- May 5-6-First session of Maine Permaculture Design Course, 5-weekend format. See The Resilience Hub FMI and to register.
- May 9-Organic Farming:Principles and Practices, MOFGA EducationCenter, Unity. 9:30-4. Registration $100, discount for MOFGA members, MOFGA farm apprentices and journeypersons free.
- May 10-Healthy Soils, Healthy Farms. Stoneyvale Farm, Exeter. 6-8 pm. Free. RSVP by May 9 to ellen@mainefarmlandtrust.org
- May 12-Bird Walk at the Law Farm with Bob Duchesne, Lee Cemetery Rd., Dover-Foxcroft. 8-10 am. Free.
- May 12-Top Grafting Fruit Trees-Learn to graft new varieties onto existing trees. 3 locations. $50/$40 MOFGA members.
- May 12-Fiddlehead Harvesting 101. Abbott and Greenville. Registration $50, lunch included. 12-4.
- May 19-Hampden Garden Club's annual Perennials, Plants, and Pie sale. Harmony Hall, 24 Kennebec Rd, Hampden. Hundreds of plants, reasonably priced, which have been dug, potted, and labeled. Also for sale there will be homemade pies, house plants and a special group of peonies. 8-noon. FMI call Anne Bennett 862-3467
- June 2-Lady Slipper Walk. See Lady Slippers and other wildflowers. Walden-Parke Preserve, Bangor. Meet at Tamarack Trail kiosk. 10-12
- June 23-Farm and Homestead Day, MOFGA fairgrounds and education center, Unity.
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Invasive Blooms That Belie Their Nasty Tendencies
By Tori Lee Jackson, Extension Educator, Androscoggin and Sagadahoc Counties
Most avid gardeners know about invasive plants like Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus), Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica), and Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), but there are others that don't make headlines (yet!) that you should be aware of and actively remove from your landscapes, despite their lovely appearance.
One such example is Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus). Yellow Iris is the only completely yellow iris on the North American continent and is very striking in the marshes and wetlands it prefers to grow in. Unfortunately, this beauty comes at a steep price as Yellow Iris will completely take over a wetland area, displacing native species and impacting all of the organisms in the ecosystem.
More on yellow iris and other dastardly bloomers
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Planting For Fall-How Late Can You Plant?
By Caragh B. Fitzgerald, Extension Educator, UMaine Extension Kennebec County
Now that the snowy, icy, cold winter is finally giving way to spring, most of us are thinking about planting our spring vegetable gardens. Some may plant early, others may wait for the unofficial Weekend of Gardening, a.k.a. Memorial Day weekend. Some have a plan and are ready to go. Some are wondering how to reconcile the winter's planning and seed ordering optimism with the time and space realities that are being revealed in April and May. Still others have life situations or plans that may not allow a standard planting time. Succession planting (planting smaller quantities at bi-weekly or monthly intervals) and mid-summer plantings can be key components to help address those time and space constraints. Many cool-season crops thrive in the fall as well as in the spring, and that later planting can help even out your production, processing, and eating workload.
How late can you plant? Not as late as you might think! In particular, if you hope to do a later planting of cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower, you need to start planning now.
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Volunteering with UMaine Cooperative Extension
Volunteers are essential to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension achieving its mission to bring University research to people in our communities. Master Gardener Volunteers, 4-H Leaders and advisors, and County Extension Associations are some ways to get involved. Orientation and required trainings are available online. Explore the
Cooperative Extension Volunteers
page and/or contact your County office to indicate your interest.
Penobscot County
307 Maine Avenue
Bangor, ME 04401-4331
Phone: 207.942.7396 or 800.287.1485 (in Maine)
Piscataquis County
165 East Main Street
Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426
Phone: 207.564.3301 or 800.287.1491 (in Maine)
Somerset County
7 County Drive
Skowhegan, ME 04976-4209
Phone: 207.474.9622 or 800.287.1495 (in Maine)
Signs of the Seasons
Hundreds of volunteers are trained to observe and record the phenology (seasonal changes) of common plants and animals living in their own communities - a citizen science project that fills a gap in regional climate research. Volunteers across Maine and now New Hampshire record the growth of milkweed, the nesting of robins, and more. The goal is to build a rich, detailed record of the region's seasonal turns, a resource too costly to build without a network of citizen volunteers. The collected data are made available to our collaborating scientists and resource managers.
2018 Training Dates
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MASTER GARDENER VOLUNTEERS
Master Gardener Volunteers: 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):
Somerset
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Kids Can Grow:
20 Years of Youth Gardening and Still Growing
By Frank S. Wertheim, Extension Educator, UMaine Cooperative Extension York County
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Kids Can Grow participant with her first broccoli harvest
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The Kids Can Grow (KCG) 4-H Youth Gardening program began in York County in 1999 and is now in its 20th year, introducing children ages 7-12 to a love of gardening. When developing KCG, I thought back to my school gardens experience with the US Peace Corps in Southern Chile from 1980-82 where I developed what I then called "the individual plot technique," as a means of providing the children the opportunity to grow their own fresh vegetables in a small section of the school garden. The kids were each assigned their own 1-square-meter plot in the garden where they could choose what they grew and were responsible for their own small garden space. I saw a spark lit with the children's sense of "I did it" accomplishment and corresponding boost in their self-esteem. I wanted to carry that spark forward with KCG.
Learn more about Kids Can Grow
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Food & Nutrition:
Let's Preserve Spring Vegetables
By Kathleen Savoie, Associate Extension Professor, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Cumberland County
Asparagus, ramps, parsnips, radishes, and pea pods are some of the first spring vegetables to appear and what better way to take advantage of these harbingers of spring than to make quick refrigerator pickles!
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Volunteer and Employment Opportunities
There is always a need for quality activities for kids. 4-H is a great way to share your interests and skills with the younger generation. 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.
County Extension Association Executive Committees are crucial to the success of Extension in our communities. In partnership with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension staff, the Executive Committee of each County Extension Association assists with providing input on local educational programming needs, helps hire staff, and oversees the county budget appropriations that support educational Extension programs for county residents.
Read more here, and contact
your county's Cooperative Extension office.
Citizen scientists are needed by the Maine Wild Leek Project to document the distribution of wild leeks in Maine. To log locations of wild leeks, please use
this form. Information on location of wild leeks is confidential and will not be distributed.
Read more here
Shared Earthly Blessings community garden in Dexter welcomes volunteers. 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.
Good Shepherd Food Bank In addition to distributing food to Mainers in need, the Food Bank is leading a statewide effort to combat the root causes of hunger by engaging in advocacy, nutrition education, and strategic partnerships. Good Shepherd welcomes you to join in this effort.
Hirundo Wildlife Refuge is a 2,400 acre nature preserve spanning Pushaw and Dead Streams, Lac d'Or, vast wetlands (including a gently raised bog),
Silver Maple Floodplain Forest, mixed hardwood and evergreen forests. Accessible by canoe and trails.
Maine Audubon is a member-based organization that engages people in conservation, education and advocacy to advance wildlife and wildlife habitat conservation in Maine.
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 Gleaning Network
A collaborative farm surplus rescue effort gathering crops from Maine's fields and engaging communities in resourceful and equitable food system activities
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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. Check out their
Native Plant Blog.
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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