Question: We would like to paint the side of our barn where we have clematis growing on a trellis. There are already new buds appearing on last year’s vines. I want to be very careful not to disrupt it and damage this year’s blooms. Do you have any advice on how to accomplish the paint […]
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Question: We live on Little Deer Isle and are writing with a question about growing Maine wild blueberries. We have a patch approximately 15’x40′ that we had transplanted two years ago. We have added peat moss and sulphur, but the plants are not thriving. The patch abuts a field. We are having a dreadful time […]
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Question: I live in South Portland. Every summer for about 10 years I’ve had a vegetable garden on the same 50 x 25 ft plot. This year I won’t have time for a garden. What should I do this spring, summer and fall to improve the soil for next summer? Answer: Tori Lee Jackson, Extension […]
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Question: I live in Saco and am in the process of a multi-year (lifelong?) effort to control the spread of Japanese Knotweed on my property, using a combination of methods. My property abuts a community garden/park, which is infested, so I have no illusions of ever eradicating it but am trying to control its spread […]
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Question: We recently purchased a home in North Lubec and are eager to create two large raised beds for vegetables and herbs for this June-September growing season. We have 8+ hours of south and southwest sun, which is where the beds will be located. We noticed that many vegetable gardens are not anywhere as close […]
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Question: Is it acceptable to plant butterfly bushes in Maine if they are sterile? Answer: Lynne Holland, Community Education Assistant (Home Horticulture), Androscoggin and Sagadahoc Counties That is a great question and it also brings up a problem we often face-the use of common names for items that have both invasive and non-invasive members in […]
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Question: I own six acres on Islesboro, approximately two acres of which I would like to turn into a field of wildflowers with a few assorted apple trees and the existing birch and ash trees. I have included an image of the property with a key showing the main “environments.” This property was historically a […]
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Question: Our camp is on Schoodic Lake. I want to grow a vegetable garden, but we aren’t there every day. Sometimes we are gone a few days, sometimes a week back home. I am looking for ideas for watering while we are away. Is there some kind of small pump I can use to water […]
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Question: I want to start a rose garden. What do I need to get started (soil, drainage, etc.)? Answer: Tori Lee Jackson, Extension Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Androscoggin and Sagadahoc Counties As with many plants, your new rose garden will need well-drained soil and lots of sun. Your […]
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Question: We’re in the process of building our new net zero home and we have a rooftop garden that will be roughly 14×13 and about 6-8 inches of soil mixed with some raised beds. We were wondering what kind of options we might have for plants that would do well in a well drained, part […]
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