October Garden Activities:
 

·     Our outdoor garden season has ended, now we can focus attention on our indoor houseplants. If your houseplants spent the summer outside be sure to watch for disease or insect attacks on your plants.  If you don’t know what it is you can give us a call at the Extension Office at 564-3301 or in Maine 1-800-287-1491 or you can email Hannah Todd, Extension Home Horticulture Aide at htodd@umext.maine.edu.

·     Now is the time to jot down information on how your garden did during the growing season.  What veggies or flowers would you try again?  What crops would you pass on another year?   Do you need to plan for more raised beds?  An irrigation system?

·     Finish digging your root vegetables and prepare them for storage.  Remember some crops such as carrots and parsnips can spend the winter in our gardens if we mulch them heavily.  The reward of over-wintering parsnips outdoors is that early spring feast of sweet parsnip roots.

·     Websites that include lists of direct marketing farms: www.MaineHighlandsFarmers.com; www.GetRealMaine.com and www.MOFGA.org.

·     Take your extra garden produce to the local food cupboard or share with a neighbor in need. Gardeners can check with your town office for a food cupboard near you.

·     Sharpen your garden tools and cover with a protective layer of oil to prevent rusting.

·     Clean your bird feeders and get them up and filled with bird seed and suet to attract our feathered friends.  Those of you with cats remember to keep your pet inside if you are planning to feed the birds, otherwise you are providing an unintended meal for your cat.

·     Check your stored potatoes often for signs of rot.

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