Annuals grow from seed, mature and produce seed for the next generation in one year or less. Annuals are best controlled when they are very small seedlings, but at all costs, should be removed before they set seed.
Biennials require two years to complete their life cycle. These plants grow from seed that germinates in the spring and develops heavy roots and compact rosettes or clusters of leaves the first summer. Biennials remain dormant through the winter, then in the second summer they mature, produce seed and die.
Perennial plants live more than two years and may live indefinitely.

Annuals and biennials should be controlled early in the growing season, not only to destroy plants of the current generation, but to prevent seed formation for the next.

Perennial plants may grow from seed, but many also produce storage structures such as bulbs, tubers, rhizomes (underground stems) or stolons (above-ground stems) from which plants can develop. Seed is the primary method of introducing these weeds to new areas; however, perennial weeds are often spread during soil preparation and cultivation.

Weed control practices on perennials must deal with below-ground structures as well as the above-ground portions of the plant.

In perennial weeds, the period when root reserves have been maximally depleted and carbohydrates are beginning to move back down to form new underground structures occurs when the plant has reached one-fourth of its height or is at the early flower bud stage. These are the ideal time for control measures, such as clean cultivation, close mowing or foliar applied herbicides.

Source: Erhardt, W., Weeds and Weed Control; Commercial Vegetable News, Special Newsletter No. 9, April 1992.

Did You Burn Wood Pellets Last Year?

If you burned wood pellets last year you are invited to participate in a research project being conducted by Donna Coffin and Kathy Hopkins, faculty members of Cooperative Extension at the University of Maine. The purpose of the research is to determine consumer use and satisfaction with wood pellets burned in their home wood pellet stove, furnace or boiler through an online survey at http://bit.ly/pelletsurvey

Please share your valuable experience with wood pellets to help us understand and assess the benefits and detriments of using wood pellets for home heating.

Thank you for your assistance.
Donna Coffin & Kathy Hopkins, Extension Educators

For more information call 564-3301 or in Maine 1-800-287-1491 or email donna.coffin@maine.edu or khopkins@maine.edu

New Community Garden in Milo
by Hannah Todd, Piscataquis & Somerset Home Horticulture Coodinator

Andrew Barnes, a 4-H VISTA Volunteer, has worked tirelessly with children from Brownville, LaGrange, and Milo, in the Milo 4-H Afterschool program. He has worked to increase the children's media skills by teaching them to use digital cameras and new computer novelties such as blogging.

Andrew will be switching gears this summer to give the kids a new challenge-growing their own food. The children will be planting a garden near the industrial park on Park St. in Milo (by Milo Family Practice). Anyone who would like to help with this project is encouraged to contact Andrew at: 1-800-287-1485, or andrew.barnes1@maine.edu , or Hannah Todd at: 564-3301, toll free in Maine 1800-287-1491, or hannah.todd@maine.edu .

The 4-Her's will meet every Wednesday from 3pm to 5pm. Their gardening experience will become part of a blog that they have developed on the web and the produce harvested from the garden will go to the children and their families. Extra produce will be donated to the local food cupboard under the Plant - a - Row for the Hungry (PAR) project. PAR is a program that encourages home gardeners to plant an extra row of produce in their gardens that they donate to their local food cupboard/shelter, etc. If you are interested in getting involved with the PAR program please contact Hannah Todd or go to our website: http://extension.umaine.edu/piscataquis/ for more information and the enrollment form.

Your Input for a Possible Ohio Street Farmers Market

Bangor Grange in an effort to promote agriculture and buying locally is sponsoring a Farmers Market at their grange hall on Ohio street in Bangor.
They would like to make it a success for the farmers and for the residents of the neighborhood.
To help make this market as convenient as possible please help them by completing an online survey at www.bit.ly/GrangeMarket

For more information please contact Rolf at swederolf@alo.com or 973-3976.

Weed Control Strategies

There are a number of methods to control weeds including physical destruction, competition, biological control and herbicides. But what do these methods entail and how can the home gardener utilize them?

The first method of physical control is all too familiar and includes cultivation, hand pulling, mowing, hoeing, rototilling, chopping and burning. As well as some less utilized methods of heat sterilization (solarization) and microwaving (small quantities of soil). One deep tillage can bring up many weed seeds, so after the initial tillage is done in a garden, only shallow tillage (less than one inch deep) should be continued throughout the season. Annuals less than two inches in height are most susceptible to this method.
Competition involves the selection of desirable plants that can compete well with weeds for water, nutrients and light. This goes along with providing the proper environment that will favor you desirable plants. For example, grass needs full sun, high level of soil nutrients and plenty of moisture to thrive and compete against our lawn weeds. Trying to grow grass in a shady, nutrient poor, dry area will lead to weeds.
Wouldn't it be nice to release some type of ravenous bug that would eat all the undesirable weeds and leave our crop alone? There are a limited number of biological controls (bugs, bacteria, fungi, etc.) that attack only single weed species. They are primarily for noxious weeds that grow in the Western U.S.
The fourth method of control is herbicide that is a chemical used to kill or inhibit the growth of a plant. Herbicides are classified based on the time they are applied and the way they act. Preplant, preemergence and postemergence herbicides are applied before desirable plants are seeded, after seeding but before emergence and after the desirable plants have emerged from the soil surface.
Use of herbicides in the vegetable, perennial or annual flower garden is difficult due to the wide variety of plants grown in a small area. There are lawn herbicides that can be used to suppress weeds, but if the growing conditions are poor for grass, success will be limited.

Source: Erhardt, W., Weeds and Weed Control; Commercial Vegetable News, Special Newsletter No. 9, April 1992.

Items of interest

Late Blight (Phytophthora infestans) Confirmed in LA, MD & PA

Isolated outbreaks of late blight have been confirmed in Louisiana, Maryland, and Northwestern Pennsylvania. The original source of inoculum has not yet been identified. Find the latest updates at http://www.umaine.edu/umext/potatoprogram/ or call the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Potato Program hotline at 207-760-9476.

Out-of-State Firewood Banned

A reminder of when you have friends or family members coming from outside of Maine to enjoy our vacationland tell them to leave their firewood home and pick up wood that they might need from our local vendors.

For more information contact the Maine Forest Service at 287-3147.

HEARTH* VISTA Corner

by Judy Morrison, HEARTH VISTA for UMaine Extension Piscataquis County

Extension Community Ambassadors

With the HEARTH VISTA year of service ending at the end of August, I am recruiting volunteer hearts and hands which share the Extension mission. Ambassadors are needed to help support the the ever increasing, ever changing programs that are your Piscataquis County UMaine Extension.

A number of successful programs have been developed over the past year of VISTA. Warming Centers were among the projects, of which we saw the best result.

Lend your voice and talents to design new community outreach and visability and to expand programs already in place. Brainstorm and put into motion fundraisers that can strengthen our postion.

In return, you will have the opportunity to serve beside the greatest Extension educators anywhere. Life long learning-you can't match it.

Call me and let's talk. You can reach me at 564-3301 or in Maine 1-800-287-1491 or jmorrison@umext.maine.edu.

*Home Energy Aid & Response Team Help

Monthly Garden Activities & Tips

Finish planting your cold susceptible transplants like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, etc.
To assure a continuous supply of vegetables during the summer and fall consider succession planting of vegetables like beans, beets, lettuce, radish, corn, etc.
Annual flowers should receive regular fertilizer during the summer to maintain growth as well as at least an inch of water (rain or irrigation) each week.
Dead head flowers to maintain flowering habit during the summer.
Check your vegetable and flower gardens for insect or disease pests at least once a week. Don't know what is causing damage? Bring a sample into the Extension Office or send us a digital picture of the problem.
Start harvesting your early crops like lettuce, spinach, etc.
Keep weeds under control with tillage, hand picking, and mulching.

Featured Extension Publications

The following agriculture related Extension publications are available or can be ordered at the Extension Office nearest you. You will notice that some publications are free and some have a cost recovery charge. Many other publications are available for free online or may be purchased at our secure publications web site .

Pest Management for the Home Vegetable Garden in Maine
Item #2188. Publisher: UMaine Extension
While pests are an inevitable part of vegetable gardening, proper planning, planting, and management can reduce their numbers and impact. This booklet outlines gardening practices that can give your plants the head start they need to shrug off insects and diseases. Discusses chemical and nonchemical pest control measures; includes color pictures and descriptions of common pests, diseases, and deficiencies in Maine garden crops. 20 pages, 2009. $6.90
Lily Leaf Beetle
Item #2450. Publisher: UMaine Extension
The lily leaf beetle (LLB), which feeds on the leaves, stems, buds, and flowers of native and exotic lilies, has become widespread in New England. This European pest defoliates lilies, reducing plant vigor and flowering. Learn about LLB biology and control methods. 2 pages, 2009. Download it for free, or buy a color copy. $0.50
Managing Alternative Pollinators: A Handbook for Beekeepers, Growers, and Conservationists
Item #1038. Publisher: NRAES
This is a first-of-its-kind, step-by-step, full-color guide for rearing and managing bumble bees, mason bees, leafcutter bees, and other alternatives to honey bee pollinators. Over 130 color photos, nest construction details, parasite and disease management guidelines and a sample contract. 162 pages, 2010. $23.50
This Old Hayfield: A Fact Sheet on Hayfield Renovation
Forage Facts Series
Item #2491. Publisher: UMaine Extension
Learn how to bring neglected hay fields back into production or simply maintain the fields with desirable grasses and open space. 2 pages, 2004. Download it for free or buy a color copy for. $0.50

Upcoming Events

Work Day at Milo Community Garden. Every Wednesday from 3-5 pm.

June 22nd, 2010 (Tuesday) 6pm - Designing a Perennial Garden, Bob Bangs, Windswept Gardens -Rogers Farm, For more information contact the Penobscot County Cooperative Extension Office 942-7396 or 1-800-287-1485 (within Maine).

June 26th Piscataquis County Extension Office Yard Sale from 9 am to noon. We will be selling off our excess equipment (typewriters, wordprocessors, very old sewing machine, movie and film strip projectors, etc.), program materials (garden composter, fiberglass fence posts, grain scoop, old aerial photos, garden materials, etc.) and older books, and publications. Sales will be by donation. Proceeds will do towards our operating budget.

June 29th,2009 Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) and the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Volunteer Trianing 9 am to 3 pm at the Maine Department of Agriculture in Augusta. Cost is free and includes lunch, snacks and materials. As a result of the training participants will be asked to conduct outreach activities in their communities this summer. Details on outreach activities and assistance will be discussed, but the time commitment is not large. Registration: Email the following information to Anne Bills at anne.bills@maine.gov or call 207-287-3892: Name, Phone Number, Email Address, Affiliation (Organization or Employer) and the date you would like to attend. Directions will be sent along with registration confirmation.

July 1st, 2010 University of Maine Sustainable Agriculture Field Day, 6:00 to 8:00 pm, University of Maine Rogers Forage and Crops Research Farm, Stillwater, ME (1.5 miles from I-95 Exit 193). This year's field day will be held as a twilight meeting and will feature research on: Bread Wheat Variety Trials, Weed Management for Organic Small Grains, Fertility Management for Organic Bread Wheat, Bagged Organic Fertilizers for Grains and Vegetables, Organic Double Crop Forage: Winter Small Grain - Corn Silage. FMI contact Ellen.Mallory@maine.edu.

July 20th, 2010 (Tuesday) 6pm - Native Plants in the Landscape, Julie Beckford, Rebel Hill Farms - Rogers Farm, For more information contact the Penobscot County Cooperative Extension Office 942-7396 or 1-800-287-1485 (within Maine).

July 22nd, 2010 Building a Rain Garden, 6 to 8 pm, in the Dover-Foxcroft area, sponsored by the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District. For more details contact them at 564-2321.

July 25th, 2010 Open Farm Day

July 29 - 30, 2010 Kneading Conference & Artisan Bread Fair

August 31st, 2010 (Tuesday) 6pm - Harvesting & Food Safety, Dr. David Handley, UMCE Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist - Rogers Farm, For more information contact the Penobscot County Cooperative Extension Office 942-7396 or 1-800-287-1485 (within Maine)

Contact Info
Donna R. Coffin, Extension Educator

207-564-3301 or in Maine 1-800-287-1491

Donna.Coffin@Maine.edu

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