Grow Your Own
Resources for Every Step of the Garden Process
1. Planning (choosing a site)
2. Choose what type of garden(s) to established based on space, time, and resources:
Edible Perennials. i.e. herbs, highbush blueberries, ribes, fruit trees, grapes, kiwis, etc.
3. Soil is key to success and starts with testing.
4. You may also need to amend, till, or add compost to your soil.
5. Choosing what to plant and how much, such as seeds and seedlings (including organic seedlings); here’s a helpful garden planner
6. Planting/transplanting (frost dates, staggered plantings)
7. Mulching/trellising/thinning
8. Weeds/watering/pest management
9. Harvest, storage, and preservation options
10. Recipes for cooking with garden produce.
10. Consider season extension to keep your garden growing well past the first frost (cold frames, row covers, high tunnels)
Looking for more information?
UMaine Cooperative Extension fields gardening questions from the public. Gardeners can submit a question online or call the office at (207)342-5971. You can also find FAQs submitted to the organization here.
The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) offers free live webinars, in-person workshops, and more covering everything from home gardening to planting fruit trees and farming training. Home gardeners can also find many useful articles, videos, and other resources on the website. The library at the Common Ground Education Center in Unity is another free educational resource for the public.
General Links
The Cooperative Gardens Commission has put together a very comprehensive set of resources on gardening, whether you are cultivating ten square feet or ten acres.
Planting Calendar for Maine, by Jean English, from MOFGA
Additional points of interest:
Get the dirt on how to grow onions from onion sets from the experts at Dixondale Farms. The webpage also includes instructions for harvesting, curing, and storing your homegrown onions.
Learn about growing herbs, such as mint, oregano, and basil. This guide from the University of Minnesota Extension Service provides tips for growing herbs outdoors. To learn how to grow herbs indoors, check out this guide by the PennState Extension Service.
Pruning fruit trees and vines – Renovating Old Fruit Trees from Outonalimb CSA – More detailed Fedco Guide to Renovating Old Apple Trees – Fedco Pruning Guide – MOFGA Apple Tree Care Guide by Jean English
Record Keeping – It is a great idea to have a dedicated notebook, spreadsheet, or other means of recording what seeds/seedlings you buy, when they are planted indoors, when they are hardened off and put outdoors, and harvest yields.
Seed Savers Exchange Article on Preventing GMO Contamination in Your Open-Pollinated Corn