UNITY, Maine — MOFGA will offer a wide selection of workshops for beginning and aspiring orchardists this season, beginning in early March. These hands-on workshops take place in orchards around the state and are led by experienced professionals. They offer an opportunity to learn a new skill and practice immediately under the direction of an instructor, and can be helpful if you have pruned or grafted before but need a refresher on how to do so most effectively. Registration is now open on MOFGA’s website for these 15-plus workshops.
The series kicks off on Saturday, March 7, with four hands-on pruning workshops in Saco, Unity, Palmyra and Bar Harbor, and a fifth on March 14 in Patten. Next, on March 15 and 21, three workshops called “Bringing Back an Old Orchard” focus on renovating older, more overgrown trees . April workshops include Bench Grafting (three locations) as well as a wide-ranging, introductory “Orcharding 101” workshop with Michael Phillips of Lost Nation Farm and author of “The Apple Grower.” Two Top Working (grafting) workshops will be offered in May, a followed by a Pests and Diseases of the Summer Orchard workshop in June. The series finishes with Growing Nursery Stock and Bud Grafting in early August. Most workshops run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Several exciting new partnerships are bringing orcharding workshops to new locations this year. MOFGA is partnering with The Ecology School to offer four workshops at the beautiful River Bend Farm in Saco, and a new collaboration with Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust will allow us to offer a tree renovation workshop – Bringing Back an Old Orchard – at the Denny Education Center and Whaleback Preserve orchards in Damariscotta.
Visit MOFGA’s website (mofga.org) for more information, locations and to register. Workshops are small to foster plenty of direct interaction with the instructor, and some workshops are almost full.
–Maine Organic Farmers and
Gardeners Association
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