New vegetable gardeners’ course slated

    The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is offering From the Soil Up, a course for beginning vegetable gardeners.  Participants will learn the basics of home vegetable gardening, from garden planning to pest management, harvest, and storage.
    The course comprises three two-hour sessions scheduled to coincide with seasonal topics: Part I, Garden Planning, will be held in the spring before planting time; Part II, Garden Maintenance and Ecological Pest Management, will be held in early summer, and Part III, Harvest and Storage of the Season’s Bounty, will be held later in the summer.
    Participants will have the opportunity to take part in an online community with From the Soil Up participants from across Maine. They will be able to submit questions online, share experiences, solve problems, find new garden-related resources, and take advantage of supplemental information.
    In Houlton, From the Soil Up sessions willbe April 21 (Part I), June 22 (Part II), and August 3 (Part III). All sessions will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the Houlton Higher Education Center.
    For more information call 1-800-287-1469 or 532-6548. The total cost of the course is $15 and pre-registration is required. The enrollment is limited to 20 participants.