Horticulture

December 2023 Garden Update

December 2023 Garden Update The growing season officially came to an end with our final planting in mid-November. Our friends from Khmer Maine and 4-H joined us as we celebrated the beginning of our partnership by planting garlic and eating delicious treats, such as homemade num kroch (or nom kroch), a traditional Cambodian snack. The […]

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October 2023 Garden Update

As the days grow colder and shorter, we begin to reflect on the season and make notes for next year. Like so many gardeners, we experienced a difficult start to the season with all the rain we received in June and early July.  This year, we started many of our flower and vegetable seedlings indoors […]

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Annual Flowers at this year’s Master Gardener Plant Sale

This year’s plant sale features a great selection of annual flowers for bedding and containers. Selections include wave petunias and geraniums in several delicious colors, white alyssum, blue ageratum, impatiens of varying shades, tall and short marigolds, blue or red salvia, snapdragons, mix verbena, and the favorite for every garden, zinnias. All come to us […]

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Jumping worms wiggle their way into Maine

Did you know? When threatened, jumping worms thrash wildly from side to side (giving them their nicknames the ‘snake worm’ or the ‘crazy worm’). If their frenzied thrashing isn’t enough to deter a predator, they can break off segments of their tail to escape. Introduced to North America in the late 1800s, Jumping Worms have […]

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Browntail Moth Caterpillar on leaf

211 Now Available for Browntail Moth Questions

Maine Government News AUGUSTA – The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), Maine Forest Service (MFS), and 211 Maine announced today a new way for Mainers to get information about browntail moths. People with questions can now call 211 Maine to speak to a specialist regarding browntail moth biology, management, pesticide options, health […]

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two hands holding soil

A Quick Reference For How To Take A Soil Test

  What does a soil test from the Cooperative Extension do? A soil test will tell you: -Nutrient levels in your soil – Soil pH levels – Presence of lead contamination, if any Why should I test my soil? A soil test will help you to optimize your garden or lawn by providing the information […]

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Common Ninebark Plant. Flowers and leaves.

Native Plants at the Master Gardener Plant Sale

Where can a gardener go to grow a thriving, easy, inexpensive garden which helps native pollinators?      Come to the Master Gardener Plant Sale! Master Gardeners are a wealth of knowledge on the selection and care of plants. Any Master Gardener will say, plants tend to do better in the habitats they are native to. […]

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A cartoon sweet potato holding a sign that reads "See me at the Master Gardener Plant Sale May 18th!" with UMaine logo

Growing Sweet Potatoes: An interview with Tom Witwicki, Master Gardener

  Did you know that you can buy a single sweet potato from the grocery store and turn it into many pounds of food from the garden? Fascinating! In this interview for our blog readers, Master Gardener Volunteer, Tom Witwicki describes sweet potato cultivation. He suggests that red garnet and Japanese purple are two varieties […]

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floral arrangements

Tussie Mussies Recap

Before the age of emails and texting there was the art of secret messages via floral arrangements. They called them “Tussie Mussies” and it was just as interesting as it’s name sounds. Said to originate in the Victorian era, Tussie Mussies are small, round bouquets made up of herbs and flowers that each hold symbolic […]

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Little Ridge Farm, rows of planted beans

Succession Planting

By Jason Lilley, UMaine Extension Cumberland Sustainable Agriculture Professional Now that the garden soil is drying out and warming up, it’s time to get planting! Many gardeners wish that they had more space to get more veggies from. One way to increase your yields without increasing your garden space is with succession planting. Succession planting […]

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