Hello friends- The Maine Seed Garlic Directory is a great resource, but there is no mechanism in the state of Maine to certify garlic seed, as was stated in last month's "August is the month to..." feature. We regret any confusion this may have caused. -Trisha Smith Home Horticulture Community Education Assistant, Piscataquis County
September is the month to...
By Richard Brzozowski, UMaine Extension Food Systems Program Administrator, and Trisha Smith, Community Education Assistant (Home Horticulture), Piscataquis County
Be prepared for possible frosts. Pay close attention to the weather forecast via television, radio, or internet and have adequate square footage of plastic sheets, lightweight tarps, old bed sheets, or row covers to protect tender crops. Temporarily covering crops can extend your growing season by weeks. Radiational cooling (frost) occurs when temperatures reach near 32ºF on clear, windless nights. Cold air settles in low areas first. Be aware of these "frost pockets" on your property and consider that factor when planning your garden in future years.
Help Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry track down 3 ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) trees from a nursery in an Emerald Ash Borer quarantine area. Trees were purchased from a major retailer with several branches in Maine. Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive insect, and a threat to Maine's forests.
Go to the Fair! There are still a few fairs left this season. Check out fair dates and make plans!
Shop at farmers' markets! Maine has a vibrant farmers' market scene in many communities throughout the state. Find one near you.
Check your trees for signs of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), a destructive invasive pest that kills trees. The Asian longhorned beetle has the potential to destroy millions of acres of America's hardwoods, including maple, birch, elm, willow, ash and poplar trees. Infested trees need to be removed to keep the beetle from spreading to nearby trees; ALB-afflicted trees will eventually die. To learn more about ALB, and to report an infestation, visit the USDA APHIS (Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service) website.
Sow a winter cover crop of oats. Oats will grow well into the fall until a killing frost and can be purchased from your local farm/feed store as livestock and horse feed. The normal seeding rate is about 1/2 pound of oats per 100 square feet. As September progresses, sow the oats at a heavier rate to make up for a shorter growing period. Doubling or tripling the rate is fine as the month progresses. Improve germination of oat seed by rolling with a simple homemade roller constructed of a large-diameter pvc pipe 2 to 3 feet in length. Once killed off by freezing temperatures, the oats will form a dead, brown mat, which protects the soil through the winter. In spring the mat may be tilled under or left in place as mulch.
Plant treesand shrubs. The greater rainfall amounts we typically have this time of year can provide a good start for newly installed plants before the ground freezes solid. Local nurseries and garden centers often have great deals on trees and shrubs at the "end of season" to reduce their inventories.
If you have a root cellar, clean and prepare it for new roots, tubers, or vegetables. Make sure it is set up for adequate air exchange, darkness, easy access, proper temperature and humidity control, and is rodent proof.
If you don't have a root cellar, use the season ahead to learn how one can be an effective way to store fresh foods at a low cost. See
Root Cellars (PDF) for more information.
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
September 8-Fall Field Day at Rogers Farm, Bennoch Rd., Old Town. 10-1. Free.
September 8-Wild Edibles Plant Walk with David Spahr. Fields Pond Audubon Center, Holden. $20 Audubon members/$30 non-members.
September 22-Mushroom Foray with Maine State Mycologist Seanna Annis. Hirundo Wildlife Refuge, Old Town. Adults $15/$12 members. $5/kids 12 and under. Register by Sept. 21
October 6-7-Maine Forest and Logging Museum Living History Days, Bradley. 10-4 both days. $10 adults/$5 kids 12 and under.
October 13- Fedco Fall Bulb and Plant Sale, Clinton. 9-3. Pick up your order or shop Fedco's surplus inventory for fall planting.
October 14-Great Maine Apple Day-MOFGA Education Center, Unity. $2 members/$4 non-members, kids free. Noon-4.
Establishing a Wildflower Garden From Seed
Adapted by Kate Garland, Horticulturist, UMaine Extension Penobscot County, and Lynne Holland, Community Education Assistant (Home Horticulture), UMaine Extension Androscoggin and Sagadahoc Counties
A wildflower garden is a great addition to any landscape. It's a way for gardeners to enhance habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and other wildlife. Direct seeding can be an economical approach to creating wildflower gardens - especially for large-scale installations. Many people try the "scatter and hope" method where a mix of wildflower seeds are simply scattered into an existing garden, lawn, or pasture and the grower hopes for the best. While some plants may get established and thrive, others don't even have a shot at survival in such a challenging setting. Instead, consider these tips to get the most out of your next attempt at cultivating wildflowers from seed.
Plant Profile: Goldenrods and Asters: Ecologically Functional Perennials for Your Autumn Garden
By Marjorie Peronto, Extension Educator, UMaine Extension Hancock County
Fill your garden with ecologically functional perennials and build your garden's biodiversity. Encourage insects of all types - pollinators, predatory and parasitic insects, and herbivores (caterpillars, aphids, beetles, and others that feed on plant foliage). A garden border that is swarming with insects throughout the season is one that also nourishes birds, rodents, amphibians, and reptiles; i.e., a balanced mini-ecosystem.
In the late summer and early fall, there are striking combinations of goldenrods and asters blooming in the wild. It is this scene that inspired me to incorporate these native companions into our own garden border, offering an abundance of nectar and protein-rich pollen to the pollinators upon which we depend.
Contact your County Extension office to ask how you can help.
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)
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):
Slow Growth Approach and Dedicated Volunteers Produce Big Results at Manchester Elementary School
By Kookie McNerney, Home Horticulture Coordinator, UMaine Extension Cumberland County
As school gardens go, the one at Manchester Elementary in Windham had a very modest start. After the school building renovation was completed in 1998-99, then school principal Kassy Clements asked Pam Lanz, then school guidance counselor and Master Gardener Volunteer class of 2014, if she would design and plant a garden in front of the school. She accepted the challenge and, with the help of a $300 grant from Wal-Mart, established this lovely flower garden that would set the foundation for the school's future gardening efforts.
Fast forwarding to the 2017/2018 school year: 4-5 classrooms were actively involved in the garden and the entire school benefited from a bountiful
250-lb harvest. This evolution has been a boom to both the school community and the broader community of Windham.
Food & Nutrition: Specialty Ingredients Used in Preserving Pickles
By Kate McCarty, Food Preservation Professional, UMaine Extension Cumberland County
With the harvest season in full swing, September is a great month to pickle your homegrown produce. From pickled beets, carrots, cucumbers, summer squash, and even green tomatoes, the garden is full of great produce for home canned pickles. But the biggest question we get about pickles is how to ensure a high-quality final product. Here's some tips on the specialty ingredients used in pickling that will ensure you have crunchy, delicious, and safe homemade pickles to enjoy all year long.
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.
It's Fair season! There are many opportunities for volunteering with your county's UMaine Extension: help set up or clean up the exhibit hall, evaluate 4-H exhibits, greet and chat with folks interested in Extension's programs. Contact 4-H staff in your county office.
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 UMaine Cooperative Extension office.
Shared Earthly Blessings on Route 23 in Dexter (the Ripley Road) is a volunteer run garden producing free fruit and vegetables for seniors. Stop by and check us out the next time you are driving by the gazebo on the hill. See our new permaculture layout and what community gardening can do! Regular work days are Tuesdays and Fridays at 9 am. 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.
Administrative Specialist, Piscataquis County Part-time, regular twelve-month position, 24 hours per week, 3 days per week, 8 hours a day. Daily work hours are Monday, Thursday, and
Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a half-hour lunch break. This position pays $12.94/hour. The start date for this position is as soon as possible.
The Administrative Specialist performs administrative tasks in support of the Piscataquis County Extension Office and serves as the primary contact for internal and external clients and will work independently and collaboratively with the supervisor to ensure timely and effective office operations.
Click here for full job description and to apply.
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.
Graphic by Michael Mendoza
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 Atlasis 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.
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.
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.
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 TownsThe 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 Classroompromotes 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.
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.
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.
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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