Hurray—time to weed out the asparagus bed!

Hourra! C’est la hora pour désherber le jardin! #Gardening #Jardinage #GrowYourOwnFood #Spring #lePrintemps

#CamdenME - #SeedStarting Workshop

#MerryspringNatureCenter
April 4 @ 10:00 am - 12:30 pm

"Have you wanted to grow plants from seed but were not sure how to do it? This hands-on workshop will teach you how to work with different sized seeds, what materials you might need, and seed treatments. Saving your own seeds and testing their germination rates will be discussed.

"Following a step by step slide show, each participant will plant one flat of 6 six-packs in Merryspring’s Greenhouse to take home. You can choose flowers, vegetables, and herbs from seeds provided. Merryspring Program Director John Fromer will offer many pro tips and answer any questions. Fromer, a Maine Master Gardener Volunteer and professional grower has raised tens of thousands of seedlings over forty years.

"Meet in the Ross Visitors Center

"Pre-registration is required. Limit 10 people. Cost is $35 non-members, $30 for Merryspring members including materials. To register, please call 207-235-2239 by Wednesday, April 15th. Registration fee non-refundable.

"Merryspring is your community nature center offering walking trails, cultivated gardens, wildlife, and ecology and horticulture educational programs all year round. The park is located at the end of Conway Road, just off of Route 1 in Camden behind Hannaford Shopping Plaza."

FMI and to register:
https://merryspring.org/calendar/seed-starting-workshop/

#SolarPunkSunday #MaineEvents #Midcoast #Maine #Merryspring #GYO #GardeningForPollinators #GrowYourOwnFood #GardeningWorkshops

#RockportME - 2nd Annual SEED FEST

April 11 @ 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM

"The #RockportPublicLibrary will host its second annual SEED FEST on Saturday, April 11. This free, family-friendly event will take place on the upper and lower levels of the library. From 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., visitors can browse educational exhibits and activities covering #SeedStarting, #pollinators, #SoilHealth, #Composting, #NativePlants, #HeirloomVegetables, growing #rice and #grains in #Maine, #Wabanaki #FoodSovereignty, and much more!

"At 12:30 p.m., Petra Page-Mann of #FruitionSeeds will deliver an interactive keynote presentation. Page-Mann and her nonprofit seed company are strong advocates of 'gift culture,' which involves giving away seeds to promote food cultivation and community building. This ethos aligns perfectly with the theme of SEED FEST.

"The event is generously sponsored by the Rockport Library Foundation and is organized in partnership with several organizations, listed alphabetically: Herbal Hummingbird Hub, Knox Lincoln County Beekeepers, Knox-Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District, Maine Grains and Maine Grain Alliance, Maine Heirloom Seed Network, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association [#MOFGA], #MaineRiceProject at Ararat Farms, #MerryspringNatureCenter, #Niweskok: From the Stars to Seeds, Roots n Shoots, #UMaineCooperativeExtension, and #WildSeedProject.

"The exhibiting partners will provide valuable information, hands-on activities, items for sale, and an abundance of free seeds and seedlings. Additionally, #midcoast artist Katharine Cartwright’s beautiful #BotanicalPaintings will be showcased in the library’s lower level for a month-long exhibition titled 'In My Garden.' "

FMI:
https://www.rockportlibrary.net/event/2nd-annual-seed-fest/

#SolarPunkSunday #BuildingCommunity #GrowYourOwnFood #GYO #IndigenousFoodSovereignty #FoodSovereignty #LibrariesRule #SeedFest #WabanakiFoodSovereignty #SoilIsLife

#Permaculture... And why #Maine is perfect for it

By Topher Belknap, November 2018

"THE TERM PERMACULTURE was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s, but the concepts it embodies have been around for much longer. According to Holmgren, permaculture is, 'Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fiber and energy for provision of local needs.'

Permaculture design: a primer

"Permaculture is a form of landscape design intended to generate food for humans while simultaneously regenerating our soil and land. It aims to create environments that meet our needs in sustainable ways; repair damage to ecosystems; and maintain and return wild spaces. Or, as I like to say, 'Permaculture is farming with your head, your heart and ... trees.'

"With respect to ecosystem repair, there are several things we can easily do that nature struggles to accomplish—such as moving nutrients uphill; moving nutrients from the ocean back to land; slowing water on steep slopes; and planting trees appropriate to the changing climate. All these things can be done by people with just a small amount of planning and effort.

"Systems that mimic nature are more sustainable, whereas human-created systems tend to be linear in their design, consuming resources and creating unusable waste. Natural systems maintain a closed loop, where waste from one element becomes input for another element. Nothing is depleted, and nothing accumulates into pollution.

"In permaculture, before introducing a new element to the design it is important to consider what that element adds and what it takes away or consumes in relation to the other elements in the system.

"Chickens, for example, need food, but if you already have a surplus of grain and ticks, their food is provided in the system. They need a place to scratch, but if you have patches of land that need cleaning up, they will do the work for you. They produce manure, but if you have a garden, it needs the fertilizer. They produce eggs, but if you already have bacon... well then, you’ve got breakfast!"

https://greenmainehomes.com/blog/2018/11/20/permaculture-and-why-maine-is-perfect-for-it

#SolarPunkSunday #Homesteading #MoreTree #FoodForests #Agroforestry #AgroEcology #GrowYourOwnFood #PermacultureDesign #GardenDesign #ZeroWaste

[Thread] I came across some gems on the @AgroecologyMap website... Highlighting a few of them for #SolarPunkSunday...

#Agroecology #RegenerativeAgriculture #GrowYourOwnFood #FoodForests #SustainableAgriculture