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A winter garden project, and tips to get ready for spring

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As spring approaches thoughts turn to getting the garden ready, unless you are Kittery Master Gardener Maury Hepner.

Hepner loves gardens all of the time but this year he didn’t wait for spring. In the fall, he began a program at Traip Academy to grow winter greens and to teach students the fine art of caring for plants.

“We are growing things like lettuces, kale and Asian greens like mizuna and kamatsuna,” said Hepner. “What we produce is used on the school’s salad bar. Plus the kids are learning biology, botany, care of the plants, taking soil samples and how to deal with problems, like bugs.”

Traip Academy has a really nice greenhouse that no one was using, and a grant was available to utilize the asset. Hepner was approached by a member of the School Committee to volunteer, and bring his expertise to the students at Traip and he saw it as an opportunity to teach the kids about growing their own food.

“I have one intern who is with me all the time and I also work with special education students to raise plants from seedlings to harvest,” he said. “My program is part of a five-year plan at Traip to sort of reinvent themselves.”

Hepner said it is not hard to grow plants all year long if you choose the right plants.

“We are using the Traip greenhouse and doing what’s called cool gardening, meaning we keep the temperature at about 38 degrees. Some people do cold growing, which means using no heat and letting the plants freeze. They will still grow and you save energy but it takes twice as long, so for the school and in the interest of time we are using propane heaters to keep the temperature above freezing.”

While he is enjoying the winter project with the students, Hepner is also looking forward to spring planting and said there are steps that backyard gardeners can take now to start readying their own gardens.

“We are definitely getting to the time when people can start their seedlings indoors, using grow lights,” said Hepner. “Start onions now because they take the longest to grow.”

Once the snow clears, Hepner said to get out and start cleaning up your garden areas. Remove fallen, dead brush and any other winter debris.

“It’s a good time to do any necessary pruning, before buds start coming out,” said Hepner. “It’s a fine time now to prune small fruit plants and bushes, things such as strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Fruit trees such as apples can be pruned now, too. Cut off dead branches.”

It’s also a good time to get your soil tested. Hepner said for a nominal fee, a soil sample can be sent to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

“They will send back great information on getting your PH levels correct,” he said. “They will advise you on what type of fertilizer you may need to use. It’s a good time to thin out perennials and to add organic composts. Go to the ocean and get some seaweed. Gardens love it.”

In New Hampshire, the Rockingham County Cooperative Extension offers several workshops to teach new gardeners about plants and their care, and to offer helpful tips and information to avid gardeners. A list of the current workshops is available online at http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/Agric.htm.

The Cooperative Extension at the University of Maine also offers useful gardening information and programs. Learn more at http://extension.umaine.edu/.

A winter garden project, and tips to get ready for spring

By Karen Dandurant

As spring approaches thoughts turn to getting the garden ready, unless you are Kittery Master Gardener Maury Hepner.

Hepner loves gardens all of the time but this year he didn’t wait for spring. In the fall, he began a program at Traip Academy to grow winter greens and to teach students the fine art of caring for plants.

“We are growing things like lettuces, kale and Asian greens like mizuna and kamatsuna,” said Hepner. “What we produce is used on the school’s salad bar. Plus the kids are learning biology, botany, care of the plants, taking soil samples and how to deal with problems, like bugs.”

Traip Academy has a really nice greenhouse that no one was using, and a grant was available to utilize the asset. Hepner was approached by a member of the School Committee to volunteer, and bring his expertise to the students at Traip and he saw it as an opportunity to teach the kids about growing their own food.

“I have one intern who is with me all the time and I also work with special education students to raise plants from seedlings to harvest,” he said. “My program is part of a five-year plan at Traip to sort of reinvent themselves.”

Hepner said it is not hard to grow plants all year long if you choose the right plants.

“We are using the Traip greenhouse and doing what’s called cool gardening, meaning we keep the temperature at about 38 degrees. Some people do cold growing, which means using no heat and letting the plants freeze. They will still grow and you save energy but it takes twice as long, so for the school and in the interest of time we are using propane heaters to keep the temperature above freezing.”

While he is enjoying the winter project with the students, Hepner is also looking forward to spring planting and said there are steps that backyard gardeners can take now to start readying their own gardens.

“We are definitely getting to the time when people can start their seedlings indoors, using grow lights,” said Hepner. “Start onions now because they take the longest to grow.”

Once the snow clears, Hepner said to get out and start cleaning up your garden areas. Remove fallen, dead brush and any other winter debris.

“It’s a good time to do any necessary pruning, before buds start coming out,” said Hepner. “It’s a fine time now to prune small fruit plants and bushes, things such as strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Fruit trees such as apples can be pruned now, too. Cut off dead branches.”

It’s also a good time to get your soil tested. Hepner said for a nominal fee, a soil sample can be sent to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

“They will send back great information on getting your PH levels correct,” he said. “They will advise you on what type of fertilizer you may need to use. It’s a good time to thin out perennials and to add organic composts. Go to the ocean and get some seaweed. Gardens love it.”

In New Hampshire, the Rockingham County Cooperative Extension offers several workshops to teach new gardeners about plants and their care, and to offer helpful tips and information to avid gardeners. A list of the current workshops is available online at http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/Agric.htm.

The Cooperative Extension at the University of Maine also offers useful gardening information and programs. Learn more at http://extension.umaine.edu/.

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