Master Gardener Volunteers Newsletter – Hancock County November December 2024
Table of Contents
FALL GATHERING / NEWSLETTER NEWS / FALL AND WINTER PROJECTS / WINTERIZE YOUR GARDENS / MESSAGE FROM CO CO’S / WILD SEED PROJECT / MGV BOOK CLUB / FALL GATHERING PHOTOS
Upcoming Dates to Remember!
Nov 28 & 29 Thanksgiving Break – Office Closed
Dec 2 MGV Advisory Meeting – ZOOM
Dec 24 & 25 Christmas Break – Office Closed
Jan 20 Martin Luther King Day – Office Closed
Fall Gathering ~ Celebrating Our Year!
On Thursday, November 14th we held our annual MGV Fall Gathering at the Moore Center. It was very festive and a big success. We had about 35 MGVs present to enjoy each other’s company, receive recognition awards, eat some terrific food, and participate in a raffle of donated items. We had two special guests: Tori Jackson, the Program Administrator of Agriculture and Natural Resources with UMaine Cooperative Extension, and David Lowe, Sustainable Ag Professional, and the current MGV Coordinator for Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook Counties. We learned at the gathering that David’s tenure will be short-lived as he has accepted a job offer in Hawaii. He will be leaving us in April. Tori announced that Extension will pursue hiring a Horticulture Professional who would be local for Hancock and Washington counties without delay. Fingers crossed!
See FALL Gathering Photos Below
Newsletter News
You may have noticed that this issue is VERY late, and it is for both November and December. One of the topics of discussion at the most recent co- and co-co-Chair meeting was the difficulty of putting out an issue every month. We all made suggestions and the outcome, while not final, is that we will probably put out 6 issues a year going forward. We will discuss this at the next Advisory Committee meeting when we welcome new members and say goodbye to those whose terms are ending. In the meantime, please consider whether you would like to join the committee. You need not be on the Advisory Committee. I would also love to have a co-chair if anyone would like to raise their hand. And don’t forget, you get credit for any MGV hours that you spend in meetings or writing. My thought, as editor, is that every member must commit to writing or soliciting at least 2 or 3 articles a year. We will have our first meeting of the new committee, probably in late January, to discuss possible topics and the best times to publish, depending on the season. Please contact Betsy Adams at bluehilldesign@gmail.com if you would be interested in joining the committee or writing an article or three.
Fall and Winter Projects
Have you put your gardens to bed? Mine is still in the process. Life has slowed down a bit, but there’s always work to do. It’s been so warm that I decided to wait to do a lot of my normal chores. There is an article in this edition about Winterizing your Garden. Below is a list of typical end-of-season & winter projects in no particular order, with links for more information.
UMaine Extension – Preparing Your Garden for Winter
MOFGA – Fall Clean up – or Not
Deadheading ~
Maine Gardens Org – Top Tips for Fall Garden Clean up
Mulch ~
Mulch your gardens and especially vegetable beds if you haven’t planted cover crops
From Maine.gov – Facts on Mulch
Compost ~
Compost deadheaded material at home or at Chickadee Compost. Do NOT compost any plants that are diseased or mildewed. Those need to be thrown in the trash or burnt. Spread compost where you need to, and collect seeds of the plants you would like to spread or add to. Learn tips from ChickadeeCompost
Tool and Garden Shed Cleaning ~
Univ of Minnesota Extension – Clean and Disinfect Gardening Tools and Containers
Extension Colorado State University – Tool Care
Karen Hugg – Cleaning Out a Garden Shed
Winter Sowing Seeds That Need Cold Stratification ~
Wild SeedProject – Ideal Time for Sowing Native Seeds
Maine Audubon – December is the perfect time for growing Maine native plants from seed
A Way to Garden – Autumn and Winter Sowing in Nine Easy Steps
Leaves ~
Clear the leaves from the driveway and walkways, but consider leaving some of the leaves for overwintering pollinators.
XERCES.org/blog – Leave the Leaves
USDA.gov – This Fall Leave the Leaves
NWF (National Wildlife Federation) – Tips for Leaving the Leaves
Start a Leaf Mold Bin ~
Think of Leaf mold as simply leaf-only compost, but it’s not the same thing. Compost is produced by bacterial decomposition. Leaf mold is produced by fungal decomposition. and is a great soil amendment and can be used as a potting medium. It is not a fast process It can take a year or two depending on weather conditions.
Rewilding Magazine – How to Make Leaf Mold
Delay Collecting Evergreens ~
Hold off on gathering evergreen boughs for holiday decorations until after the trees have experienced at least three consecutive nights of temperatures at 20 degrees Fahrenheit. This will help ensure the needles remain attached longer. UMaine Extension Video
UMaine Extension Maine Home Garden News – Nov 2024
Plant Garlic ~
I recently learned from Dorcas Carrow of Sweet Haven Farm that she always plants her garlic on Veteran’s Day. It should always be cold enough by then to avoid early sprouting and she can always remember the date. That’s my plan this year. PS – It was still too warm, so I’m planting them this week. Hope it’s not too late! UMaine Extension – Growing Garlic
Start a Brush Pile ~
Brush piles provide nesting sites, concealed summer resting spots, winter cover and den sites to a wide array of songbirds, game birds, and wildlife. It can be simple, or fancy like the one in the picture. Either way there are certain guidelines to follow. Visit Maine Audubon – Brush Pile for Birds
Winterizing Your Garden – Save Your Soil!
by Nicole Gurreri, MGV
Before our garden beds rest for the winter, we need to tuck them in properly! Winter storms and precipitation can lead to soil erosion and nutrient leaching, so gardeners should strive to cover any bare soil in their garden beds. If you haven’t cover-cropped your garden beds and need a quick cover for your soil this winter, try these winter garden mulch ideas:
Seaweed ~You can legally harvest dead, naturally detached seaweed at public beaches in Maine – just collect the seaweed that is washed up at the tide line. At my local beaches, the tide line is usually strewn with a combination of bladderwrack and rockweed. I apply this seaweed in a dense layer to my garden beds. Layer the seaweed more thickly than you think – it will shrink significantly as it dries.
Shredded Leaves ~You can legally harvest dead, naturally detached seaweed at public beaches in Maine – just collect the seaweed that is washed up at the tide line. At my local beaches, the tide line is usually strewn with a combination of bladderwrack and rockweed. I apply this seaweed in a dense layer to my garden beds. Layer the seaweed more thickly than you think – it will shrink significantly as it dries.
Straw ~ Straw is a simple and effective soil cover for the winter, and in the spring it can be reused to mulch your pathways and deter early-season weed growth.
“Lasagna” Mulch ~ Improve your soil fertility for next season while protecting your soil for the winter – this is a win-win! You can create a “lasagna” or sheet mulch system by layering cardboard or newspaper on the soil surface, wetting it to set it in place, and then adding a 2” layer of compost, shredded leaves, or straw. Repeat as desired and enjoy bountiful, fertile soil next spring!
From the co- and co-co-Chairs of the Advisory Committee
We have had our last few meetings as we hiked. We have traversed the Surry Forest, the Murphy trail to Parker Point (and back), Peters Brook, and Harriman Point. On our last hike, we climbed Blue Hill Mountain. We took the “easy route”. The highlight of that hike, besides the gorgeous view at the top, was spotting a beautiful Barred Owl on our way down; It was kind enough to stay still and be photographed. And yes, we did manage to get some work done on all those walks.
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- Current Co Chairs and incoming Co Chairs on a “working” hike
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- Barred Owl seen on our “working” hike – Photo Courtesy of Betsy Adams
Wild Seed Project
This is a great resource for learning about biodiversity and resilience in the face of climate change. The link below will lead you to their resources. They also sell native seeds
https://wildseedproject.net/blog
https://shop.wildseedproject.net/collections/shop-all-seeds?sort_by=created-descending
MGV Book Club
Please join us! Hancock/Washington County Master Gardeners’ Book Club.
The Hancock/Washington County Master Gardeners’ Book Club meets once a month, September through May (skipping the month of December) starting at 9 am each third Thursday of the month. Those in attendance find that being in touch with other Master Gardeners outside of a garden is energizing, and learning together is especially rewarding. We meet at the Moore Community Center (Art Room) at 5 General Moore Way Ellsworth. The books are typically intriguing and focus on some aspect of the natural world. There are always lively collegial discussions. Our last meeting of 2024 was Alfie & Me by Carl Safina. Many couldn’t get through it, many wrote notes to share, and nobody loved it; But – it turned into one of the longest and most varied discussions we’ve had since I joined.
ALL are welcome. Should you have any questions regarding the book club, please contact this year’s coordinator, Jane Ham at jdham48@gmail.com
Remaining Booklist for 2025:
January 16, 2025 Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy, 352 pp
Poet and scholar Camille T. Dungy recount the seven-year odyssey to diversify her garden in the predominantly white community of Fort Collins, Colorado. When she moved there in 2013, with her husband and daughter, the community held strict restrictions about what residents could and could not plant in their gardens.
February 20, 2025 Scientist E. O. Wilson: A Life in Nature by Richard Rhodes, 304 pp
“The scientist, naturalist, and two-time Pulitzer winner – who died in 2021 – ‘popularized the term ‘biophilia,’” our reviewer Andrea Wulf explained, ‘defining it as the love for the natural world and ‘the rich, natural pleasure that come from being surrounded by living organisms.”
March 20, 2025 Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon by Melissa L. Savigny, 304 pp.
“In 1938, the botanists Elizada Clover and Lois Jotter overcame critics and a doubtful press to make a contribution to their field that informs science to this day, as Sevigny demonstrates in her lively history.”
April 17, 2025 Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery, 304 pp
“Compassionate and deeply researched, warm and astonishing, this book is an invitation to slip into turtle time – not the tick-tock hurry of human hustle, but the sacred, eternal time of daylight, darkness, and seasons. It’s a story that shows us a way to mend a world beset with unprecedented perils, shell by shattered shell.”
May 15, 2025 Book Selection discussion for 2025-2026 book list
Reminder ~ Take lots of pictures of your MGV projects!
Send them to sue.baez@maine.edu for use in the Recognition Event video and other postings throughout the year.
This newsletter gets sent to about 150 people every month. Do you know an MGV who doesn’t receive the newsletter and would like to? Let us know! MGVnewsletterinput@gmail.com
Thank you from the Newsletter Committee
Betsy Adams, Mary Doherty, Nicole Gurreri, Jane Ham, Mary Hartley, and Jan Migneault.
MASTER GARDENER FALL RECOGNITION PHOTOS – NOVEMBER 14th
(Thank you Penny Grover, Betsy Adams, and Andrea Mahoney for submitting photos)
