Rogers Farm site of new foodscaping garden, weekly open houses
University of Maine Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteers (MGV) will offer weekly open house sessions 5:30–6:30 p.m. beginning June 6 at Rogers Farm in Old Town.
The UMaine Extension Penobscot County MGV Demonstration Garden — which features 34 different theme gardens, including the new foodscaping garden — is open to the public during daylight hours.
The foodscaping garden, designed and planted by the newest UMaine Extension MGV class, contains edible and ornamental All-America Selection (AAS) winners as well as groupings of plants that pair well in recipes.
“Since the majority of the produce grown in the garden is donated to area food pantries and shelters — over 4,000 pounds were donated in 2016 — it’s important that we offer easy, low-cost cooking tips for recipients to enjoy this fresh, local food,” UMaine Extension horticulturist Kate Garland says.
“These volunteers did an excellent job meeting both a design challenge and the very practical need of making unfamiliar produce approachable to a wide variety of consumers.”
Open house sessions continue weekly Tuesday evenings throughout the growing season. Extension vegetable and small fruit specialist David Handley will present Growing Backyard Blueberries on Aug. 1.
All programs are free and take place rain or shine. Registration is not required. For more information or to request a disability accommodation, call 942.7396 or email laurie.bowen@maine.edu. More information is online.
The Rogers Farm Forage and Crop Research Facility in Stillwater is used for a wide range of sustainable agriculture research, extension, and teaching projects. It is one of two farms that make up the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station’s J.F. Witter Teaching & Research Center.