Our kickoff program features Nadine Burton, Extension faculty with UMES, with a talk titled - Building Community for Immigrants: Culturally Relevant Ethnic Crops.

This talk will b egiven twice and two different locations.

Thursday March 14, at 3:30 at the Hurlock Old Library Building (222 S Main St, Hurlock, MD). Free.

Tuesday, March 19, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the Dorchester County Historical Society (1003 Greenway Drive, Cambridge, MD). $5 for non members.

Join Master Gardener Volunteer, Janet Mackey, to learn about these ephemeral flowers and their fascinating roles in the ecosystem. Ephemeral flowers are early spring wild flowers in woodlands that emerge early and provide food for unique pollinators. Free and open to the public.

If you require reasonable accommodations, please contact Mikaela Boley at 410-822-1244 or mboley@umd.edu by April 3rd, 2024.

University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance, or any other legally protected class.

Guest speaker Ron Ketter will share the latest update on the Breeding Bird Atlas and the recent research on bird populations in Talbot County.

Free and open to the public; located at the Talbot County Free Library- Easton Branch meeting room.

If you require reasonable accommodations, please contact Mikaela Boley at 410-822-1244 by March 6th, 2024.

University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance, or any other legally protected class.

Queen Anne’s County Master Gardeners are busy getting ready for their 9th Annual Plant Sale slated for Saturday, May 11th at the University of Maryland Extension-Queen Anne’s County Office (505 Railroad Ave, Centreville, MD 21617) from 8:30-11:30, rain or shine. In addition to mingling with a group of passionate and knowledgeable gardeners, you can buy plants, introduce the kids to pollinator-friendly gardening, or ask questions about your landscape. You are welcome to request advice about flowers, fruits, vegetable beds, and plants that can beautify your yard and provide a friendly habitat for wildlife like songbirds, butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds at our ‘Ask A Master Gardener Plant Clinic.’ Master Gardeners are volunteers who are trained by the University of Maryland Extension and will help you select the perfect plant for your garden. Maybe you’ve been longing to have some herbs by the kitchen door, or finding the most delicious variety of heirloom tomatoes, or try a new kind of pepper but don’t know how or where to find the plant (like the fish pepper or shishito pepper). Master Gardeners will be there to assist you on your gardening journey.

For further information please call or reasonable accommodations to participate in this event email the University of Maryland Extension Queen Anne’s County, Senior Agent Associate for Horticulture and Master Gardener Coordinator, Rachel J. Rhodes, at 410-758-0166 or rjrhodes@umd.edu by Friday, April 26, 2024.

University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance, or any other legally protected class.

Join Sarah and Ashley from University of Maryland Extension to answer any Western Maryland garden related questions during this live zoom session.

Need a plant identified? Want advice on starting a garden? Want to add a native plant to your landscape in 2024? Are you encountering pests? Insects? Plant Diseases?
If you have a gardening question that you want us to answer live, please send photos and questions to abachtel@umd.edu or post on the event details in the comments section.

We will be discussing some of the common garden tasks for your garden and a timeline of what you should be seeding now?

Session will be recorded and posted after the event.

University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance, or any other legally protected class. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any event or activity, please contact University of Maryland Extension @ 301-334-6960 before March 7, 2024. See less

The University of Maryland and the University of Delaware will host the Hiring and Retaining Farm Employees – What you Need to Know and Do four webinars every Friday in April at noon starting on April 5th and ending on April 26. The free webinars will cover developing an employee handbook for your operation, basic legal requirements, and how to incorporate benefits that agricultural employers deal with. The funding for this program is thanks to the Northeast Risk Management Education Center.

The webinar schedule includes:
April 5: Introduction to the Employer Guide and Workbook - Nate Bruce, Farm Business Management Specialist, UD Cooperative Extension;
April 12: Finding the right person, Employee Handbook, Paul Goeringer, Sr. Faculty Specialist and Extension Specialist, UMD
April 19: Overview of health insurance options with case study, Jesse Ketterman, PhD, AFC, Senior Agent, University of Maryland Extension
April 26: Overview retirement savings options with case study, Maria Pippidis, Extension Educator, Financial Wellness, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension;

“This program will be a great opportunity for agricultural employers to get valuable information on their legal responsibilities and options,” said Paul Goeringer. “This information will be useful for any employer, regardless of the size of the operation,” said Goeringer.

For more information or to register for the webinars, go to https://bit.ly/3uwXmdx - and do not hesitate to reach out to Paul Goeringer at lgoering@umd.edu if you have any questions.

On Wednesday, March 6, join the University of Maryland community for our largest annual day of giving.