In This Issue: March Is the Month to . . . Food for thought: How a Thomaston teacher and a Master Gardener Volunteer created a community garden for 8th graders Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter (2009 pp. 269) Taming the Seed Madness Backyard Bird of the Month: Carolina Wren […]
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Question: A pot of tulip bulbs kept in a dark cold cellar are sprouting. Should I bring it into the light and at what temperature? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Community Education Assistant Prematurely sprouting tulips is not an unheard of problem for gardeners overwintering bulbs, despite our best efforts at keeping things cold and dark You’re […]
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Question: Can I I buy cattail seed from somewhere in Maine? I have a low boggy yard edge where it would be perfect. Answer: Jonathan Foster, Community Education Assistant I’m sorry to say I am not aware of any local Maine resellers who carry cattail seed. There are several online sources from big box stores, […]
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Question: Two questions: 1. We are going to make raised-bed gardens this spring. What bulletins/publications do you have to help us? 2. We are going to plant a hedgerow. We have woods on our land, we hope to transplant the “nursery stock” from our forest to hedgerow. We have identified a lot of young what […]
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Question: I have a small greenhouse and had spider mites on my tomatoes and peppers last year, both in individual pots and in the permanent bed. Should I empty the soil from the pots and bed, assuring that there will be no spider mites this year or will they not winter over? Answer: Jonathan Foster, […]
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Question: Please confirm or update what I have heard about white clover: It is more drought tolerant than regular lawns (fescue mix for example)? Do bees like it? Will dog urine not kill white clover unlike a regular lawn that leaves dead patches? How tall does it grow? How frequent do you have to mow? […]
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Question: Last year many of our pear trees (we have about 10 varieties) had fruits with pits or knots in them making lots of the fruits nearly inedible. What causes this, and is there anything I can do to correct it? I always prune my trees in the same way, and also thin the fruitlets […]
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Question: I have a large 15 x15 foot cranberry bush viburnum that is heavily infested with viburnum leaf beetle. I am going to cut it down before spring but want to know how I should dispose of it so that the beetles do not spread. I do not think that it would be wise to […]
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In This Issue: February Is the Month to . . . Featured Tool: Soil Blockers Backyard Bird of the Month: American Tree Sparrow Winter Farmers’ Market Gleaning Do You Know the Four Rs to “KNOCK OUT” Browntail Moth? Kale and White Bean Soup Ask the Expert February Is the Month to . . . By […]
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Question: If I have native plants that attract pollinators can I add in annuals and still become certified for a pollinator friendly garden? Answer: Lynne M. Holland, Horticulture and Social Media Professional What a great question! Pollinator-Friendly Garden Certification focuses on the essential things you need to have in your garden but no garden has […]
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