Videos for Home Gardeners

General Gardening ⋅ Fruits ⋅ Vegetables ⋅ Pruning ⋅ Insect Pests and Plant Diseases ⋅ Lawn ⋅ Composting ⋅ Invasive Plants

General Gardening

Extending the Gardening Season Using Raised Beds, Parts 1-4
Learn how to build a raised-bed garden that will allow you to grow food in smaller spaces and expand your growing season.
Gardening in Limited Space Using Container Gardens, Parts 1 & 2
Learn how to grow a vegetable garden in containers when you have limited or no garden space.
Garden Safety
Garden and food safety will teach you how to select the correct site for your garden, how to properly prepare your garden, and what contaminants affect your garden.
How To Build A Seedling Stand To Extend the Gardening Season
Learn how to extend your growing season by growing your own seedlings and building your own seedling stand. A list of materials and a diagram are provided with this video.
How To Get Rid of Invasive Plants
Learn what types of plants are invasive, where they come from, the damage they can cause, and what types of plants you can use to replace invasive plants.
Native Plants in Maine
Learn what plants are truly native to Maine, their impact on our wildlife, and their effect on our landscape.
Putting the Garden to Bed
Learn how to use the organic matter from your garden, after you have harvested your garden, to improve soil quality for next year’s garden.
Soil Testing
Learn when is the best time to test your soil, how to sample your soil, and where to send your soil for analysis.
Starting Seeds at Home
You can get a big jump on Maine’s short gardening season when you grow your own seedlings. Instead of waiting for the ground to warm up enough to sow seeds outside, start enjoying flowers and harvesting vegetables four to six weeks earlier by starting seeds at home.

Fruits

Apples
- How To Harvest and Store Apples
  Learn when to pick apples in Maine and what criteria determines the correct time for picking apples.
- How To Prune Apple Trees
  Learn when to prune your apple tree, how much to prune, and whether to prune for aesthetics or to improve fruit production.
Blueberries
- How To Grow Blueberries: Site Selection
  Learn how to grow blueberries, where to plant them, and what affect the environment and other plants have on the berries.
- How To Prune Blueberry Bushes
  Learn how and what parts of a blueberry bush to prune to improve plant quality and fruit production.
- Planting Blueberries
  Learn how to select good blueberry plants, how and when to plant them, and what types of organic matter and mulch you should use.
Grapes
- Caring for Young Grape Vines
  Learn how to prune and care for young grape vines in Maine.
- Umbrella Kniffin System for Growing Grapes
  Learn how to prune and trellis young grape vines using the Umbrella Kniffin System.
- Four Arm Kniffin System for Growing Grapes
  Learn how to prune and trellis young grape vines using the Four Arm Kniffin System.
Raspberries
- Different Varieties of Raspberries, Parts 1 & 2
  Learn about the many varieties of raspberries, their hardiness and fruit production, and which varieties are best suited for Maine’s climate.
- How To Grow Raspberries
  Learn about the different parts of a raspberry plant, how to grow raspberries, and when your plant will produce fruit.
- Pruning Raspberries
  Learn how and when to prune raspberries, how to thin canes and remove fruiting canes, and how to narrow rows.
Strawberries
- Getting Strawberry Plants Ready for Winter
  Learn steps on how to protect your strawberry plants during the winter and what kind of mulch to use.
- How Do I Grow Strawberries in the Off-Season?
  Learn how to select the right variety and production system to grow strawberries in off-seasons.
- How To Grow Strawberries: Planting a Strawberry Bed
  Learn how and when to plant strawberries, how to determine if plants are healthy, how to test your soil and what type of fertilizers to use.
- How To Grow Strawberries: Renovating an Old Strawberry Bed
  Learn how to renovate your strawberry beds in just a few easy steps.
- Picking Fresh Maine Strawberries
  Learn about the different types of strawberries, when to pick strawberries and what to look for when selecting berries.

Vegetables

Asparagus
- Planting Asparagus
  Learn how and when to plant asparagus.
- Caring for Asparagus
  Learn how to care for and harvest asparagus.
Garlic
- Garlic in the Home Garden: Removing Scapes
- How Do I Grow Garlic in Maine?
  Learn how and when to grow garlic and what types of garlic grow best in Maine.
Onions
- How To Harvest and Store Onions
  Learn how to harvest, dry and prepare onions for storage.
Pumpkins
- How To Harvest and Store Pumpkins
  Learn how to harvest, cure, and store pumpkins properly along with how wildlife and the environment can damage fruit.
Tomatoes
- Caging Individual Tomato Plants
  Learn how to handle and cage tomatoes in your home garden and what kind of caging to use.
- How To Grow Tomatoes: Basket Weave
  Learn how to basket weave with tomatoes and why this process works well with both determinate (bear their crop all at once) and indeterminate tomatoes (bear fruit over the course of a season).
- How To Grow Tomatoes: Differences Between Bush and Vining
  Learn the difference between determinate and indeterminate plants, bush plants and vining plants and when to use each type.
- How To Grow Tomatoes: Staking
  Learn how to stake tomatoes, remove suckers, and increase fruit production.
- How To Grow Tomatoes: Trellis
  Learn how to build a tomato trellis, how to remove suckers, and how to prune your tomato plants.

Pruning

How to Prune Apple Trees
Learn when to prune your apple tree, how much to prune, and whether to prune for aesthetics or to improve fruit production.
How to Prune a Crabapple Tree
How to Prune Blueberry Bushes
Learn how and what parts of a highbush blueberry bush to prune to improve plant quality and fruit production.
How to Prune Forsythia
How to Prune a Lilac Bush
Pruning Ornamental Trees
Learn pruning tips that will help extenuate the life of your tree and increase its natural beauty.
Pruning Raspberries
Learn how and when to prune raspberries, how to thin canes and remove fruiting canes, and how to narrow rows.

Insect Pests and Plant Diseases

Defending Against Spotted Wing Drosophila
Learn about Spotted Wing Drosophila, how to recognize and trap the fly and what fruits are affected by it.
How To Get Rid of Japanese Beetles
Learn about the biology, feeding and mating habits, and damage Japanese Beetles can cause.
Identifying Late Blight
Learn how Late Blight affects your tomato and potato plants, how to identify the disease, and how to decrease its effect on your plants.
Managing Late Blight
Learn how to manage and destroy the Late Blight organism.

Lawn

How Do I Care for My Lawn in an Environmentally Friendly Way?
Environmentally friendly tips for keeping your lawn healthy while protecting Maine’s water resources.
How To Establish a Home Lawn in Maine
Learn when to seed your lawn, what seed to use, and how to seed your lawn correctly.
How To Maintain a Home Lawn in Maine
Learn how to weed your lawn, which weeds need to be removed, and how to prevent weeds from returning.

Composting

Composting Basics
Learn why you should compost, the processes of composting, and what can and can not be composted.
Composting Recipe
Learn what compost ingredients to use and how much to use along with how to blend, mix and cook your compost.
Worm Composting
Learn how to create an indoor or outdoor worm bin, what worms to use, and what materials are needed.

Invasive Plants

Invasive Plant Ecology and Identification
Learn what are invasive plants, how they got here, why they’re harmful and what impacts they have.
Invasive Plant Management
Learn the key steps to addressing invasive plants: prevention, identification, assessment, reporting, prioritizing, controlling, and monitoring.

Publications

University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s publications & books help “extend” University of Maine resources to the Maine public.

Yard & Garden

Related Resources

If you love gardening, consider becoming a Master Gardener Volunteer. If you want to preserve the fruits of your labor, consider becoming a Master Food Preserver.