Missing your garden? Winter Garden Workshops will build your skills, even if you’re not getting your hands dirty.
NEWS RELEASE January 4, 2016
Our Tom Settlemire Community Garden (TSCG) does not let winter in Maine stand in the way of conversations about gardening. This year is no exception – the fifth annual Winter Gardening Workshop series begins this Sunday, January 10, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at the corner of Pleasant and Union Streets in Brunswick.
The series is appropriate for gardeners of all levels including beginning and novice gardeners. Workshops focus on organic gardening methods and cover a wide range of subjects. This year topics include growing vegetables in Maine, selecting native woody plants, growing small fruits, pruning techniques, and gardening without aches and pains.
You can see the full schedule below, or here: www.btlt.org/gardening-workshops/
The series has been consistently popular, regularly attracting 70 to 100 people to each workshop.
Angela Twitchell, the Land Trust’s Executive Director, says of the workshops, “People just love this series. The consistent large audience shows a real hunger in the community for access to gardening expertise, and we are happy to be supporting this need in our community. We continue to seek out creative, relevant topics that attract new participants, and have value for regular attendees.”
The first five workshops, held several Sundays January through March, are open to everyone with a suggested donation of $5.
As in the past, the final workshop on March 20nd is a fundraiser for the Community Garden.
At this year’s fundraiser, the Land Trust welcomes Tom Atwell, long-time garden columnist for the Portland Press Herald (PPH). He will be talking about some of his favorite old and new plants, and everything Maine-garden.
In a recent PPH article, Atwell wrote, “Cultivating your mind can be as rewarding and productive as cultivating your garden. Plus, what you learn at lectures and programs during the cold dark days ahead can make you a better gardener when the long, hot days of summer arrive.”
The fundraiser is $10, and tickets can be purchased online at www.btlt.org/events/get-your-maine-garden-on/
TSCG was started in 2012 by the Land Trust at Crystal Spring Farm to provide intergenerational organic gardening opportunities, provide locally grown food to alleviate hunger in the community, and offer experiential gardening education. Founded in 1985, the Land Trust has completed 40 projects preserving over 2,300 acres of vital natural areas and an array of community building programs such as TSCG Garden and Farmers’ Market at Crystal Spring Farm.
January 10
Linton Studdiford, Master Gardener
A discussion of vegetable growing in the Mid-Coast Area: best varieties, when to plant, seed sources, winter growing inside, and more.
January 24
Selecting Native Woody Plants for Your Home
Justin Nichols, local ecological gardener and former horticulturist at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Learn more about using native woody landscape plants, in particular, how to grow with an emphasis on insect and pollinator relationships.
January 31
David Handley, Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Discover some of the home gardener’s methods and secrets for growing small fruits: blueberries, strawberries and raspberries.
February 21
Gardening Without Aches and Pains
Ellen Gibson, Educator for the Maine AgrAbility Program of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension
A presentation on tools and techniques to help you garden while avoiding joint, muscle and back pain.
March 6
Tim Vail, Arborist
This will be a hands-on workshop (weather permitting).
There will be demonstrations of various types of pruning cuts and discussion of how and when to prune herbaceous and woody plants
March 20 ~ Fundraiser
with Tom Atwell, Mr. Maine Garden Himself
~ A TSCG Fundraiser ~
Tom is the author of the Portland Press Herald’s Maine garden column since 2004.
He will discuss what is new and exciting for the garden in 2016: new vegetable varieties, perennial and annual flower introductions as well as new and tried and true plants.
