April 2025 Master Gardener Volunteer Newsletter

In this issue…

From the President

Seasons flow in a cycle.
Life, too, passes through difficult winters.
But after any winter, spring will follow.
~ Toshikazu Kawaguchi

My yard is snow-free!  With eagerness and hope, just yesterday I tested my new soil thermometer in several of my raised beds. While the temperatures weren’t great, it’s the beginning of hopefully an upward trend. My new thermometer is a wonderful improvement with its large display, as I no longer have to dig out my reading glasses to decipher the results. I’ve spent a few days organizing my seed collection and planning our seed starting routine. I’ve been up to my usual antics of adding a few new varieties (large slicing tomato, new zinnia color, and pumpkin variety for the grandchildren) while phasing out a few of my previous selections. With the addition of grow lights, our seed starting rack’s winter role of storing produce from last season will now transition to growing new seedlings.

The CCMGV Advisory Committee Board met this past month. Highlights of our meeting were:

  • Approval of the 2025 Budget 
  • Update from the Plant Sale Committee of the Plant Sale 2025
  • Planning for the “Spring Fling” (formerly the Annual Meeting)
  • Search/selection of new Advisory Committee Members

The Advisory Committee will meet in person on March 24th at the Cooperative Extension Office in Falmouth.

As I mentioned last month, we have three Advisory Committee members who are terming out this year. On behalf of our Association, we wish to thank them again, Elizabeth “Bonnie” Barthmaier, Leigh Mundhenk, and Jim Casey for their dedicated service to the CCMGV as Board members.  I encourage you to PLEASE personally thank them if you have the opportunity for their spirit and enthusiasm for our association.

The Advisory Committee is a great opportunity if you are interested in shaping the future of the CCMGVA and to assist the Association in achieving our vision and mission. While we had Advisory Committee (Board) opportunities available this year (we may still have one) we will also have openings next year!

The following are the qualifications for being an Advisory Committee Member per our Guiding Document:

  • Term commitment: Serve a term of three years and can be re-appointed for an additional three-year term. Members can serve two consecutive terms and may return after taking a one year leave from the committee.
  • Minimum qualifications: To serve as a member, MGVs must successfully complete the MGV training and their internship (initial 40 hours of volunteer service). They must also be enrolled in the program, up-to-date on their background check, and actively volunteering on approved projects.
  • Attendance: Attend and engage in all committee meetings. There are typically 9 meetings in a year with no meetings held in July, August, and December. 
  • Subcommittees: Volunteer for and engage in the work of at least one standing committee.

If you are interested in being considered for the Advisory Committee, please send me an email of interest: garyhoyt50@gmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you at the Spring Fling!

Gary Hoyt
CCMGA President

MGV Plant Sale Update

Planning for the plant sale is underway. More information on the Saturday, May 24 (9am – 12pm) event coming in the May newsletter. Please feel free to reach out to Patricia Wheeler if you have questions in the meantime.

Roots – Meet Project Leader Adele Wise

Adele Wise is a true Mainer, born in Brunswick, summered in Woodstock, educated in Bar Harbor, and a Portland resident ever since. One might also say that she’s a gardener through-and through. “Every summer growing up I helped my mom weed and tend her beautiful flower garden. She still grows giant peonies and large beds of iris and daffodils. It wasn’t until I went to college and worked on a farm, however, that I experienced growing vegetables for the first time.”

Person holding leafy vegetables in a garden setting
Adele Wise

As a first year at College of the Atlantic, she was assigned to work at the college’s vegetable farm – Beech Hill – for her work-study program. As a result of that experience, she “fell in love with the idea of growing one’s own food, the hard physical labor involved, and the deep connection to the earth that goes along with it.” She went on to study food systems and agriculture, and then worked at a few other farms in the midcoast and volunteered at the Cultivating Communities Youth Growers program for a summer.  

Adele served as the Local Food Access Program Manager at the Cumberland County Food Security Council from 2021 until March 2025. During her tenure, the gleaning Initiative was one of the projects that she managed, which is where excess produce is harvested from farms and delivered to food pantries and distribution sites. “The Gleaning Initiative has been a longtime partner with the MGV program, and the volunteers have been invaluable to our program. Since we started in 2017, we’ve rescued over 145,000 lbs of fresh produce and continue to expand our farmer reach and capacity each season. I’ve met so many lovely and dedicated individuals through this program, and we couldn’t do our work without the Master Gardener Volunteers!” If you’re interested in joining the gleaning email list, sign up here. Adele joins MOFGA in April as an organic inspector. 

While having ample experience working on larger farms and gleaning through her job at the Cumberland County Food Security Council, this past summer was the first time she was able to plan and grow her own plot at the local community garden. She learned a lot and is looking forward to seeing how season 2 goes – specifically how the seaweed compost overwintered. Adele’s favorite thing to grow? Brussels sprouts and snap peas! Her best gardening advice – unsurprising given her professional experience – is to “Remember to share with your neighbors!”

When not playing in the garden, Adele enjoys spending time outside running, hiking, camping, and cooking meals with her friends. 

Is there a Master Gardener Volunteer or Project Leader you’d like to see featured here? Nominate them by emailing Heather Wiggins Berger.

Volunteer Opportunity Spotlight

The Gorham Middle School Giving Garden: Growing Food, Learning, and Community

In 2003, the Gorham Middle School garden was started as a hands-on, interdisciplinary, service-based learning projectRaised bed garden in season
designed toconnect students with their environment and community. Founded by Alternative Education teacher
Heather Whitaker, the garden has since become an integral part of her curriculum, engaging students in real-world applications of their learning while fostering a sense of responsibility and citizenship.

Through both indoor and outdoor activities aligned with academic standards, students gain firsthand experience in environmental sustainability, social issues, and food security. Whether it’s testing soil samples and enriching them with manure, composting food scraps, troubleshooting pest issues, or designing garden layouts, students play a central role in every aspect of the gardening process. They plan, implement, care for, and harvest a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and berries – most of which are donated to the Gorham Food Pantry. Each year, the garden contributes
over 1,000 pounds of fresh produce to local families in need, with some seasons exceeding 1,500 pounds of donations!

student on picnic table with fresh picked harvestThe Gorham Middle School garden spans a large area and consists of 16 raised beds, 8 in-ground beds, fruit trees, blueberry bushes, decorative shrubs and flowers, 8 asparagus beds, rows of strawberries, and additional blueberry bushes on the opposite side of the road. 

The scope of the garden requires year-round dedication and Heather supplements her students’ efforts with volunteers from MGV’s, high school students fulfilling community service hours, local community members, and even the Gorham Police Department, which refers individuals needing community service opportunities.

Although the school garden produces an impressive yield, it does not consistently generate the quantities needed to supply the school cafeteria on a regular basis. Instead, the program prioritizes donations to the Gorham Food Pantry, where the fresh produce is distributed to families experiencing food insecurity. This approach ensures that every bit of the garden’s harvest finds a home where it’s most needed.

Garden Volunteers Needed!

The success of the Gorham Middle School Giving Garden relies on the support of volunteers! There are many ways to get involved:

  • Planting seeds and seedlings
  • Harvesting produce
  • Weeding and watering
  • Participating in garden art installation projects
  • Mowing and weed-whacking around the garden beds
  • Delivering donations to the Gorham Food Pantry
  • Filling bird feeders

We hold work sessions throughout the summer on Wednesday mornings to ensure that food is harvested and delivered fresh to the pantry for its Thursday open hours. Volunteers can sign up for just one session or multiple days—every bit of help makes a difference!

We also collaborate with local businesses that support the garden as part of their workplace outreach programs. Businesses like IDEXX, UNUM, Sevee & Mahar Engineers, and Chalmers Insurance have held workdays at the garden, reinforcing the importance of school-business partnerships. We love working with local companies to strengthen our community connections!

A Sign-Up Genius will be finalized in the upcoming weeks, and Heather can share it with interested members once available. For more information or to sign up as a volunteer, please contact Heather Whitaker. 

We’re looking for volunteer projects to feature in our Master Gardener Volunteer Newsletter. If you are interested in having your project featured – or if there is a project you would like to learn more about – please reach out to Kerri Frazier.

Ask an MGV: Tips & Tricks for your Best Garden Yet

Q: The sun’s out, the snow’s gone, and I’m itching to get outside! Is it too early to get going on my gardening? 

A: [Excerpted from Maine Home and Garden News] As tempted as we all are by the spring weather and so much sunlight, it might not yet be time to clean up our garden beds. The debris is still serving as insulation for a wide range of insects including a variety of pollinator species so consider holding off on mowing and leaving winter pollinator habitat, like those old stalks from fall’s woody plants and any leaves where they are for just a little longer. 

But – there are some activities that are perfect to tackle in April, including prepping your gardening tools. (If you put them away without sharpening and performing maintenance on them in the fall, you’re not alone!)

According to UMaine Extension’s “Starting Seeds at Home” bulletin #2751, the following plants can be started indoors in April: pepper, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, coleus, statice, impatiens, larkspur, cosmos, tomato, basil, marigold, and calendula. And Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners recommends starting the following outdoors in the middle of the month: beets, carrots, cilantro, dill, leaf and head lettuce, parsnips, peas, arugula, radishes, salad turnips, shallots, spinach, bunching onions for summer harvest, and onions from seeds or sets.

Browntail moth caterpillars will start to emerge by mid-April, so this is your last chance to remove their nests. Identification resources and information about management techniques is available from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

We want to help you with your gardening issues. To get help from your fellow MGVs, submit your questions to Heather Wiggins Berger.

Upcoming Events

Spring Fling Potluck – The Most Bloomin’ Event of the Year! 

Wednesday, April 9th from 5:00 – 8:00 PM – Wolfe’s Neck Farm’s Smith Center in Freeport – RSVP and Potluck Sign-Up here.

Speaker Series 

The Education Committee is pleased to present the following learning opportunities for the rest of the spring: 

Thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions for workshops and presentations.  Keep the suggestions coming to catzrul1@live.com

The Education Committee has been meeting to create the schedule for September 2025-June 2026.  Please stay tuned for information on a tour of Pineland Farms and Gardens, creating a meadow, Holiday wreath-making, seasonal nature walks, and a special event featuring “How to” build a raised bed, construct a monarch station, and other fun projects. 

University of Maine Extension Events

Community Events

Past Editions: Missed a previous newsletter? View them all HERE  (password: ladybug)

About this Newsletter: The Cumberland County Master Gardener Volunteer Newsletter is edited by Clarissa Brown, Kerri Frazier, and Heather Wiggins Berger. If you would like to submit an event, article,or help with any aspect of the Newsletter, please contact Heather Wiggins Berger, the newsletter coordinator.