Great presentation by Kristine Jenkins on Hunger and wonderful class discussion yesterday – great energy! Sorry if the Botany class might have been a bit of info overload. I promise next week will be less intense and a LOT more hands on with the hands on plant ID – fun stuff.

Homework: Good news on the reading front – mostly just review of the Botany chapter: How Plants Grow also please take a look at the UConn Plant Data Base – a great resource you will want to refer back to over and over again.

Quiz: Will be posted here by Monday afternoon.

See you on Friday

Frank

From now on I will be including the entire YC MG List Serve on these posts, so our active York County Master Gardeners can choose to do the readings in the new online manual if they would either like to come to a class, or just enjoy the review and the new manual.

Online Master Gardener Manual

For next weeks (Feb 10 Class) please read:

Food Security Chapter:

Getting What We Pay For: An Overview of Federal Agricultural Policy

Hunger in Maine

Botany Chapter:

How Plants Grow

Quiz 3

Go Pats!!!!              So Sad……

Learn, grow, eat, give:  Participate in this year’s Go Blueberry! plant sale to benefit UMaine Extension’s Master Gardener Volunteers program.  The online highbush blueberry plant sale is brought to you by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener Development Board - and everyone benefits!

For $35.95, you can purchase a set of THREE highbush blueberry plants hardy to Maine’s climate. These young healthy plants will be available for pick-up on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at your designated choice of six University of Maine Cooperative Extension locations (see below).  Each set of three plants will contain at least two different varieties to ensure good cross-pollination.  They are well rooted 3” x 7” plugs with roughly 17” in shoot height, ready to go in the ground and take off.  The plants should bear a small crop of fruit by their third year, and be in full production by their fourth year.  Within 4 to 6 years each plant should attain a mature height and breadth of up to 6’ x 6’.

With your plant purchase you’ll receive a special code for a $5 discount at the UMaine soil testing lab for your blueberry planting site. Over the next three years, you’ll receive systematic, timely expert advice (via email and online links) on growing blueberries at every stage.  Our specially developed website will provide you with fact sheets and instructional videos on how to choose your planting site, test and amend your soil, plant, prune and harvest your blueberries. As your plants begin to bear fruit, our website will provide you with healthy recipes, nutritional information, and instructions on how you can preserve your harvest.  We invite you to join us – enjoy fresh blueberries, new knowledge AND a contribution to others, through your purchase.  Learn, grow, eat, give!

Go to this link for more information and to order:  http://umaine.edu/gardening/go-blueberry/

On May 19th, 2012, your blueberry plant order (and a take-home package of instructions from UMaine Extension) will be available for pick up at one of the following locations closest to you:

• Cumberland County Extension Office — Barron Center, Portland (Pre-orders only should be picked up at the Cumberland County Master Gardener Plant Sale to held at the Barron Center on Brighton Avenue in Portland on May 19, not the Extension Office in Falmouth).
• Hancock County Extension Office – Ellsworth
• Knox/Lincoln County Extension Office – Waldoboro
• Oxford County Extension Office, South Paris
• Penobscot County Extension Office – Bangor
• York County Extension Office  – Springvale
• Highmoor Farm – Monmouth

Thank you for your support of the Master Gardener Volunteer programs at UMaine Extension.

Great class again Friday. Sorry I didn’t get to this post over the weekend. I was engaged in family time  

Your Reading Assignment for this week are to review last weeks readings:

1. Soil and Plant Nutrition: A Gardeners Perspective:
2. Soil Organic Matter:
3. Measurement Conversion Chart and pH Preference Table:

and to read from the soils chapter: What is Organic Matter? – from the university of Minnesota. That is the document I mentioned that does a nice job talking about the Active and Passive sections of Soil Organic Matter.

Also read the attached documents on Worm Composting:

Worm Composting 1

Worm Composting 2

Web Soil Survey Homework:

Use this Web Site:

Web Soil Survey

Initiate the survey by going to the address line and type in the address of a farm you would like to know more about for the purposes of learning and your homework. Hint – if the town is a subset of another town like Lyman is of Alfred, you may have to type in Alfred to get the farm located.

Click View after you type in the address and that will take you to a big map.

Up above use the 5 sided tool called AOI ((area of interest). Click carefully 1 click at a time to outline the field(s) you wish to know more about. If you make a mistake which is easy to do use the arrow key to go back – it takes a few seconds.

Now you should get a map with an area of blue lines drawn around the field(s) you highlighted. If the area of acreage is small the map will appear blurry – that is OK.

Now click on the tab called Soil Data Explorer. Now you will get a map with codes for the soil type(s) on the map.

Now click on the tab called Shopping Cart (Free). Then hit Check Out and then Get Now. This will generate a multiple pages document.

Use this Web Page for more detailed information on the soil report you generate: York County Soil Survey Types

Answer these questions

1. How much acreage in total does your area contain?
2. What soil types does it have?
3. What is the number and letter of the Land Capacity Class and Subclass?
4. What is the letter of the Hydrologic Group?
5. Describe this land, the soil types, and it’s potential for farming and woodland growth.

Note: If you have a lot of trouble with this web based exercise you don’t have to do it. No worry’s. If you are able to do it fully please hand in the answers to my 5 questions at class Friday.

Do this week’s Quiz

Quiz 2

Seating at workshops is limited, and is available by advance registration only. Please see Maine Garden Day 2012 for more information, a listing of over 35 workshop choices, and a registration form.  Questions?  Please call the Oxford County office of UMaine Extension at 1-800-287-1482 (in-state) or 207-743-6329.

It was a pleasure meeting with you all yesterday and hearing from you all – great energy and lots of enthusiasm.

I’ll outline the parts of the manual you should read for next week:

Here is the link to the Manual http://umaine.edu/gardening/master-gardeners/manual/

In the Soils Chapter:

1. Soil and Plant Nutrition: A Gardeners Perspective:
2. Soil Organic Matter:   
3. Measurement Conversion Chart and pH Preference Table:

In the Propagation Chapter:

1. An Introduction to Seed saving for the Home Gardener
2. Seed Starting at Home
3. How to Build a Seedling Stand (Video)

Note: If you have dial up internet connection you may have trouble viewing the video. If you do don’t worry it is a review of what I presented in class yesterday. Also if you have any trouble accessing any of the fact sheets I listed please contact Becky or Sue at our office for assistance.

Quiz

Week 1 Quiz  in a Word Document

Week 1 Quick in a pdf Document – in case you can’t open the Word version.

Oh and in case you are interest here is the link to the Beginner and Intermediate Bee School Classes

Intermediate Bee School
What:   5-week intermediate beekeeping course, textbook & materials included 
When:  Thursdays, March 22 – April 19, 6:00 – 8:30 pm
               plus Field Lab Saturday, April 21
Cost:    $95/individual, or $145/pair sharing text & materials
Intermediate Bee School Registration Form and brochure

    The beekeeping classes will take place at the Anderson Learning Center at 21 Bradeen Street in Springvale.  In the beginner level course, instructors from the Maine State Beekeepers Association and the York County Beekeepers Association will cover such topics as the Honey Bee Colony, Constructing Hives, Pests and Disease, Medications and Honey Production.  

    The intermediate level course, for those with at least one year of beekeeping experience, will cover advanced topics including Honey Bee Anatomy and Communication, Foraging and Botany, Problems of the Hive, Mating and Rearing Queens, and Hive Manipulations. Students will also have the opportunity to visit local hives for observation and hands-on experience, through the York County Bee Club. 

   Both courses are co-sponsored by UMaine Extension and the Maine State Beekeepers Association. Any person with a disability who needs accommodations for the program should contact Frank Wertheimat 800-287-1535 to discuss their needs at least 7 days in advance. Questions? Please contact the York County office of UMaine Extension at 1-800-287-1535 (in state) or 207-324-2814 or rebecca.gowdy@maine.edu.

2.  4-H Foundation Post-Secondary Education Scholarships
The 4-H Foundation’s Post-Secondary Education Scholarships are available to participants in the 4-H Program, pursuing higher education. Because some scholarships have different sets of guidelines, please refer to the 4-H Foundation’s website (http://umaine.edu/4hfoundation/funding/) when applying. Deadlines for the applications are as follows: March 2, 2012 to the UMaine Cooperative Extension County Office, March 9, 2012 to the 4-H Foundation Office.  Recipients receiving the scholarship awards will be invited to the Foundation’s Annual Meeting on May 16, 2012.

3.  Market Beef Forms
All 4-Hers in the Market Beef project who plan to raise a steer for the Windsor Fair or Fryeburg Fair in 2012, need to send in an “Intent-to-Sell” form to their County Cooperative Extension office by January 3, 2012. The forms are available at your county office and on-line at http://umaine.edu/4h/youth/4-h-projects/animal-science-resources/beef/

In January, you will be contacted about the time and place to tag your steer. The person tagging your steer will have an approval form for you to fill out and s/he will record your tag numbers. The person tagging your steer will send your Market Animal Approval Form to the State 4-H Office and they will send you an embossed copy of your Approval Form.  If you have questions, please contact Michaele Bailey at the State 4-H Office at 581-3872 or 1-800-287-0274.

4.  National 4-H Trips Applications Due
National 4-H Trips are excellent opportunities to meet 4-H members from across the nation. Participants learn about many career options, and learn through educational workshops at Congress or become a part of a team making recommendations to National 4-H Council at Conference. To learn more about these trips, visit: http://umaine.edu/4-H/home/national-4-h-trips/.    

Any Maine 4-H Youth, ages 14 to 18, is eligible to apply. Application packets must be sent to your county office and postmarked by March 16, 2012. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Sparks at 1-800-287-1458 or sarah.sparks@maine.edu.

5.  4-H Dairy Project members—Hold the Dates in 2012
Please hold the following dates for your participation in the State 4-H Dairy Programs:

- Dairy Quiz Bowl – February 19, at the Farm Bureau office in Augusta. Time to be announced. Open to all 4-H Dairy project members.
- Dairy judging – April 14, time and location to be announced. Open to all 4-H Dairy project members.
- Intent to Participate Form due May 1, 2012 for 4-H Dairy Team to Eastern States: http://umaine.edu/4h/youth/4-h-projects/animal-science-resources/dairy/
- Fitting Competition – July 21, 5:00 pm at the Windsor Fairgrounds
- Maine State 4-H Dairy Show – July 22, 9:00 am at the Windsor Fairgrounds. The new dairy packet will be posted in February.

6.  Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF)
Start making plans now to visit our Nation’s Capitol during the week of July 1 to 7, 2012. CWF is a leadership program conducted by the National 4-H Council for high school youth ages 15 to 18. Delegations of 4-Hers from across the country spend six days touring the city and attending leadership skill-building workshops. This summer, the Maine delegation will travel on July 1 to July 7, 2012. You will stay at the National 4-H Conference Center just outside Washington, DC. Visiting the most popular sites in Washington will be a part of the trip, including spending the 4th of July in our nation’s capitol. There is a mandatory orientation for Maine delegates on April 28th.  For more information visit http://umaine.edu/4-H/youth/4-h-events/citizenship-washington-focus/. Contact your county 4-H office for details about how to be a part of this experience.