Extension Perspectives

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BACKYARD COMPOSTING DEMONSTRATION
Saturday 9am—10:30am
June 7 Woodlawn Museum
The Blackhouse, Route 172 Surry Road, Ellsworth
FMI 667-8671

BIODIESEL AND FUEL ETHANOL WORKSHOP
Thursday 9:45am—5pm
June 12 Highmoor Research Farm
(See page 7 for details)

INTRODUCTION TO FARM EQUIPMENT
Wednesday 5pm
June 18 MOFGA Headquarters, Unity
Contact MOFGA at 586-4142

PASTURE WALK: FENCING BASICS AND PASTURE LAYOUT
Sunday 2-4pm
June 22 Tir na nOg Farm, Pownal
Contact Holly at 688-4483

KNEADING CONFERENCE
Thursday-Monday
July 31-August 3 Skowhegan
(See page 6 for details)

BUFFERS AND INVASIVES
Thursday 6:30-8pm
July 31 Old Town House, Union
Talk and slide show by Liz Stanley, U Maine Extension and Annette Naegel, Georges River Land Trust

VEGETABLE VARIETY TRIALS Highmoor Farm Tour
Tuesday 5pm
August 19 Highmoor Farm, Monmouth

                 Bringing Out the Best in Gardening

Article by:
Amy Witt, Home Horticulturist,
University of Maine Cooperative Extension

According to the American Community Gardening Association, a community garden is “any piece of land gardened by a group of people.” Community gardens promote healthy communities. It is currently estimated that there are 10,000 community gardens within U.S. cities (Urban Community Gardens). Wouldn’t it be great to have a community garden in every community throughout the United States? Think how healthy the U.S. would be! Let’s do our part by striving to have community gardens across the state of Maine. Read on to find out how some of your fellow Master Gardeners are contributing to this effort.

There are numerous benefits associated with gardening including growing nutritious food and beautiful flowers, physical exercise, education, new friendships, nourishing the soul and rejuvenating the spirit. In addition, community gardens provide the benefits of:

- serving as a catalyst for neighborhood and community development
- beautifying neighborhoods
- conserving resources
- providing opportunities for intergenerational and cross cultural connections
- preserving green space

Whether in an urban, suburban or rural setting; located at a school, in a neighborhood, the inner city or an institution, community gardens help build communities. Successful community gardens can be established anywhere, all that’s needed is a vision, a plan, land, permission from the town or property owner, support from local organizations/businesses, dedicated people, donations for supplies, an advisory group, and gardeners.

Once the idea is formed, the next step is to determine if there is interest amongst the residents. This can be done informally by polling people, putting an article in the community newspaper, and putting flyers up around town. After confirming interest, form an advisory committee to develop a plan, and then propose the idea to the town.

When the town has given its approval, identify your resources; solicit funding, donations and gardeners. In many instances it takes the sponsorship from one organization or local nursery/garden center to validate the garden and generate support and commitment from other local organizations/businesses, and the residents. For example, once the organizers of the Long Island community garden received funding from the Kay E. Dopp Foundation (via the Maine Community Foundation); several local groups (including the kids at the Long Island School) also donated money and supplies to the effort. The support of Estabrook’s greenhouse in Yarmouth has also had a huge influence on the success of the gardens in Yarmouth.

With the exception of the Bayside garden, the members of each garden pay a rental fee for their plot(s). The average rent is $25 / season, which pays for compost, mulch, loam, organic pest control, tools and other materials. The number of plots and renters in each garden varies. Yarmouth is the largest and has 120 plots and 68 renters. Bayside has 25 plots and 25 renters and the other gardens fall in somewhere in between. The renters (except with the City of Portland’s gardens) are also asked to contribute to the garden throughout the season by participating in fall and spring clean-up days, maintaining and gleaning in the Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR) gardens, installing, building and maintaining new raised beds and so on.

The gardens are much more than a place to grow food. They have become gathering places to meet and make friends, share information, celebrate, help out neighbors in need, grow new gardeners, and build stronger communities. All the gardens host various workdays, educational events and social gatherings (Long Island has an annual garden party and Yarmouth, Long Island, Bayside and Portland all host a Harvest Supper.) Four of the five gardens also participate in the PAR program.

While there are many similarities, each garden is unique in its own way. For example, the garden in Yarmouth has a children’s program. This program offers hands-on   gardening education to kids between the ages of 4 and 10 and an opportunity for the kids to have their own 4’ x 6’ plot to tend with their family.

The program in the City of Portland is involved with the Great Sunflower Project. The gardeners are given heirloom sunflower seeds. By watching and recording the bees on the sunflowers in their garden plot, they are helping the researchers understand the challenges the bees are currently facing. If you are interested in starting a community garden and helping Maine build healthy communities, there are two excellent resources to help get you started - the American Community Gardening Association www.communitygarden.org and Urban Community Gardens www.mindspring.com/~communitygardens/index.html.

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension publication #4300 Organizing Your Community Garden also has some good tips. This publication is available online at www.umext.maine.edu

Amy Witt can be reached at 1-800-287-1471 or awitt@umext.maine.edu.

USE LESS/SUBSTITUTE
Stick to basic nutrient-dense foods for variety and versatility.
Use lowest priced form of food item.
Try recipes using less costly protein-rich foods such as eggs, cheese, beans, dairy products and peanut butter.
Avoid buying expensive, calorie-dense snacks.

Lower home heating temperature.
Raise cooling temperature or go without air conditioning.
Don’t rent or buy more house than you need.
Turn down water heater thermostat.

Select classic styles in quality fabrics rather than fads.
Select clothes suitable for several seasons.
Recycle clothes.
Buy clothes that can be mixed and matched.

Plan travel to avoid “back tracking.”
Don’t buy more car than you need.
Keep the car longer.
Use public transportation when possible.

USE TLC TO KEEP THINGS
Wrap foods before storing to retain freshness, and store foods promptly.
Rotate foods using oldest first.
Avoid wasting food; use leftovers to make nutritious frozen dinners.
Take good care of kitchen utensils and appliances.

Develop regular maintenance schedules.
Take care of problems when still minor.
Check weather stripping and caulking.
Clean rugs, furniture, draperies regularly.

Remove spots and stains promptly.
Make repairs when needed.
Wear old clothes for rough jobs.
Follow label instructions for laundry and dry cleaning to help clothing last longer.

Practice good driving methods.
Use your car owner’s manual.
Get regular maintenance and service checkups.
Park in areas with good security.

DO-IT-YOURSELF
Eat at home; brown bag lunch; plan a picnic.
Plant a garden; can and freeze surplus.
Learn to get the most from the meat you buy.
Make use of your freezer; prepare recipes in quantity and freeze for later.
(Your freezer is more efficient if 3/4 full).

Do simple home repairs and maintenance yourself.
Make draperies, slip covers, etc. and refinish furniture.
Install home insulation.
Enlist entire household’s participation in energy conservation.

Mend, repair, or alter clothes yourself.
Sew some of your own clothes.
Trade services with neighbors.
Store clothes properly.

Walk, ride a bike or a horse, take public transportation.
Combine trips, car pool.
Wash your car at home instead of paying for a car wash.
Do as much car maintenance as you can yourself.
h different companies before buying a vehicle.
Shop for low-cost air fares.

Eat a balanced diet. Exercise properly.
Get adequate rest. Learn first aid.
Reduce insurance costs with higher deductible or co-payment.

Shop from a list.
Buy weekly specials and use store coupons.
Watch price per unit and compare.
Read the labels to get your money’s worth in nutrition.
Stock up on specials with a long shelf life or freezer life.

Shop sales for household goods, furnishings, and appliances.
Consider utility costs as well as initial price.
Underbid the asking price of a house.
Shop carefully for credit.

Shop sales for your wardrobe.
Check care requirements for durability.
Buy quality that suits your purpose.
Know the store’s exchange policy.
Don’t impulse buy—plan your purchases.

Bargain for the best deal on a vehicle.
Shop around for the best vehicle loan deals.
Compare insurance rates wit

If possible, get prescriptions by generic name, not brand name.
Buy insurance through group plans.

Buy fewer extra services (premium cable and/or phone options) and/or items (magazines, book/tape club memberships, etc.)
Cut down on cleaning supplies (buy multi-purpose products or make your own from basic supplies).
Consider renting or borrowing (rather than buying) equipment that you won’t use frequently. Avoid finance charges on your credit cards.
Make long-distance phone calls during lower-rate periods at night and on weekends.
Where possible, e-mail or write letters and post cards rather than phone long distance.
Plan your oven use by baking the main dish, vegetable, etc. all at one time.

Prepared by Carolyn McKinney, Ph.D. Family Resource Management Specialist, Consumer and Textile Sciences Department, The Ohio State University, June 2001.

Staple Diet: If the country’s 75 million white collar workers used one fewer staple each day, they’d make a daily savings of 5,500 lbs. of steel—that’s about 900 tons a year. Scale down your staple habit, and reuse paper clips instead.

Thrive In An Urban Jungle: Modern furniture and electronic equipment can emit enough chemicals to make the air in our homes and offices more hazardous than the air outdoors. Some plants are particularly effective absorbers of these harmful pollutants. Clean up the air indoors and brighten your work and living space by surrounding yourself with Spider plants, Boston ferns, rubber plants, and palms.

From the book: “1001 Ways to Save the Earth,” By Joanna Yarrow

The 2nd annual Kneading Conference, of which the Heart of Maine RC & D is a project partner and fiscal agent, is scheduled for August 1-2, 2008 in Skowhegan. The two-day event invites professional and home bakers, farmers, millers, oven building and innovative community members to participate in hands-on demonstrations and lectures on progressive ideas in the art of wood-fired bread baking and food production, local grain growing and milling, and oven building. Last year’s conference brought together over 100 participants, presenters and volunteers from all over Maine and as far away as Hawaii and France.

The goal of the conference is to celebrate and inspire the idea of locally growing and milling grain for bread baked in wood-fired ovens as a way to bring the cycle of food production back to a small circle that fosters ecological and community sustainability. At the center of this idea is the need for partnerships between farmers, millers, oven builders, bakers and community members.

Field sessions will happen throughout the state on July 31st and August 3rd.

For more information, visit the Heart of Maine website at www.heartofmaine.org.

Location: Highmoor Research Farm, Monmouth, Maine (52 Rte. 202)
(Note: for people North there will be a similar workshop held in Oakfield on June 11th; for details contact Peter Sexton, phone 764-3361 or e-mail: psexton@umext.maine.edu).

Cost: $6.00 paid in advance with registration.
Please send name, address, phone number, and email to: UMaine Extension, Biodiesel Workshop, 125 State St. 3rd Floor, Augusta, ME 04330. Checks should be made payable to: “Kennebec County Extension Association.”

A mobile biodiesel demonstration unit from North Carolina will be in Central Maine on June 12 to review and demonstrate steps in biodiesel processing. This is your chance to see biodiesel processing in action. Piedmont Biofuels, a biodiesel cooperative from Pittsboro, North Carolina, will lead the seminar. The day will begin with an introduction to biodiesel production, proper handling and use, and the US biodiesel industry, followed by a hands-on opportunity to make a small batch of biodiesel. The workshop will include a tour of a mobile biodiesel production and oilseed crushing trailer, giving participants the opportunity to see all the components of a small commercial biodiesel production system in operation. Participants will learn how to crush their own oilseed crops for oil that can be used to produce high quality biodiesel. In addition, there will be a review of oilseed crop production and of the economics of biodiesel production from oilseeds.

The main objective of the workshop is to demystify biodiesel production, emphasizing methods for producing high quality fuel as well as proper safety precautions. People of all levels of experience are encouraged to attend. Questions are encouraged; so come out and learn about how you can convert plant matter and restaurant waste into high quality fuel..

Tentative Program:

9:45 am -   Registration
10:00 am -   Small-Scale Biodiesel Processing: Discussion and Demonstration.
                              Matt Rudolf, Executive Director, Piedmont Biofuels
12:30 pm -    Break for lunch (bring your own bag lunch; beverages will be provided)
1:15 pm -    Biodiesel Production (continued). Production of Oilseed Crops. Economics of

On-Farm Biodiesel Production
5:00 pm - Close of Workshop

For more information, contact UMaine Extension, Kennebec County office at 622-7546 (1-800-287-1481 in Maine) or e-mail: cfitzgerald@umext.maine.edu.

Parents Are Teachers Too program
If you are expecting or recently had your first baby, call 1-800-287-1426 for more information or to enroll in the PATT program to help your child get the best possible start in life.

Eat Well program
Could you use help in stretching food stamps, cooking and shopping for one or two, providing snacks for children? Contact UMaine Cooperative Extension Eat Well Program for a nutrition aid to help you.

Waldo County Extension Association
PRESIDENT: Barbara Gould
SECRETARY: Lucia (Chia) Murdock
TREASURER

Extension Perspectives

Waldo County Cooperative Extension's Monthly Newsletter

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