This webinar will focus on practical strategies for growing potatoes and sweet potatoes. In addition to offering simple tips and tricks that will save you time and improve yields, our experts will share updates on their favorite varieties and pest management suggestions so you can create your own buried treasures this season!
Speakers: Brett Johnson, Extension Agriculture Educator, and Tom Witwicki, Cumberland County Master Gardener Volunteer
Bios:
Brett Johnson is Extension agriculture educator and technical service provider for Waldo, Knox, and Lincoln Counties. His research and educational programming are broadly concerned with the economic and environmental sustainability of farm businesses in Maine. Current program objectives include introducing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices to Maine’s Christmas tree producers, and identifying market opportunities for Maine’s specialty potato producers. Brett is Extension’s statewide contact for Christmas tree production. He also coordinates Extension’s state-wide farm business planning course, Business Planning for Producers.
Tom Witwicki and his wife, Nancy have been serious gardeners since 1974. After moving the family to Maine from Vermont in 1990, their interest expanded into small fruits, landscaping and annual and perennial flowers. Over the years, Tom’s focus has been on expanding the outdoor gardening season earlier in the Spring and later into the Fall and Winter. He has also successfully expanded the types of vegetables he is able to grow to include unusual varieties, such as Sweet Potatoes and Artichokes. His daily Mantra is “physical, mental and emotional well-being through gardening.” Tom became a Cumberland County MGV in 2017 and has been a member of the Cumberland County Master Gardener Association Board since 2018.