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MAY FOOD GARDENING EDITION 2022
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What questions do you have about making and maintaining a food garden? Our team of Certified Professional Horticulturists, Master Gardeners, and faculty is here to help! Our goal is to give you the best science-based information available so you can succeed with food gardening (or any garden topic) this season. This service is free and available to all Maryland residents.

Check out a few recent questions submitted to Ask Extension:
I received my lead testing results from my community garden plot. Can you help me?
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Why do my tomato leaves and stems look purple?

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Is it too late to plant either June-bearing and/or day-neutral strawberries?
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What to do when your seedlings grow too big

It's normal for gardeners to sometimes start seeds too early -- we are eager to get started on the growing season! If it's not warm enough to put your plants in the ground yet, here are some things you can do.

Row cover
Learn about row covers

Row covers are synthetic fabrics used to cover garden plants to enhance plant growth in spring and fall by increasing the temperature and humidity, extending the growing season by providing 2- 8 º F. of frost protection, and excluding large and small animals, especially insect pests.
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Mental health and food insecurity are two of the greatest public health challenges facing our nation. A combined effort by faculty and students from the UM School of Public Health and University of Maryland Extension teaches community members in PG Co. and Baltimore City how to grow food, and how gardening improves mental health. Funded by a grant from the National Network of the National Library of Medicine.

Healthy soil is essential for a productive garden. Good soil has organic matter, biodiversity, and a structure that supports air and water movement and root growth. Improving your soil not only helps your plants grow but also is a way to adapt your garden to the effects of climate change - greater temperature variations and more severe downpours that cause erosion.

Use these 6 practices to improve your soil for a climate-resilient garden.
Online Webinars:
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Cole Crops (recorded webinar)

Kale, broccoli, cabbage and more. Learn how to grow members of this super-nutritious plant family.
Chicken illustration
Cheep Talk: Backyard Poultry Workshop
May 19, 6-9pm

Five 30 minute topics with Q&A at the end
  • You Must Defend the Flock: Keeping External Threats at Bay
  • Girls' Rules: From Eggs to Laying Hens to Eggs Again
  • Don't Get Your Feathers Ruffled! Keeping Your Flock Clean
  • ABC & 123: Back to Basics
  • Like a Bridge Over Troubled Waters
  • Q&A
GARDEN TIPS & TASKS


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