Seems we are hearing more about floods in recent years due to extreme weather and the damage they cause to buildings and road infrastructure. What we don’t see often with flooding is the damage to underground systems such as wells or septic systems. In these situations, the damage can be to our health due to contamination. This webinar will discuss issues with increased flooding, the impacts to our home water and wastewater systems and strategies to reduce risks.

There are many contaminants that can occur in drinking water depending on the source. We will discuss the most common ones including bacteria, metals, nutrients; where they come from and how to know if they are present and how to treat them. The quality of water we drink is important to our health and this webinar will discuss key steps to ensure good drinking water quality.

A septic system is the most expensive appliance or system in a home! There are several practices you can do to help your system work effectively, last longer, and therefore save you money. We will discuss these practices.

This course is designed for people in Maryland who are considering or in the beginning stages of starting a farm as a business.
A 10 week online course covering the foundational topics an aspiring farmer in Maryland should know.
Classes will meet on Thursday evenings, from 7 to 8:30 pm, from February 13 through April 17, 2025 online.
Course registration is $60 plus eventbrite fees of $5.87. Two people from the same family/couple may attend the course under one registration. If the registration fee is is a financial barrier, please fill out the scholarship application available through the registration link.

Welcome to the Maryland Beginning Farmer Success Online Course.

The course starts February 13, 2025 and ends April 17, 2025.

Each week there will be some required material, and some optional electives. Required material will be on core topics necessary for all kinds of aspiring farmers to have some knowledge about. Electives will offer you the opportunity to explore your unique interests and dig into more advanced material.

To incentivize completing the course,
students who complete the week's required material by noon on Thursday will be entered into a drawing to be mailed a book on a farming related topic.
Students who complete all the required material by 5 pm EST April 24, 2025 will get a certificate of completion.
Each Thursday night, from 7 to 8:30 pm, we will have a live class. All classes will be held online via the software Zoom.

Join us for an exciting workshop where you'll learn the fundamentals of iris folding and create your own beautiful cards!  Iris Folding is a technique that layers paper strips across a cutout shape to form a “swirl” shape similar to the iris of a camera. It looks complicated, but is so easy and a fun way to make beautiful greeting cards.

Stop by the Kent County Public Library in Chestertown on the first and third Saturday of every month from January to March from 10 am to noon with all your questions about gardening, garden pests, plant problems, and insects. Master Gardeners will be on hand to give tips and tricks to make your home garden flourish, help troubleshoot tricky growing situations, and offer encouragement on creating the perfect garden for your space.
Dates/Topics:
November 16, 2024: Preparing Your Lawn Now for Spring and Summer. Special Guests: Master Gardener Sabine Harvey and Marcus Goldman

December 7, 2024- Evergreens of the Season and Plants that Provide the Oils for Holiday Lights.

January 4, 2025- Supporting Wildlife in the Winter

January 18, 2025-Curl up with a Good Garden Book

February 1, 2025-Healthy Soil-Preparing for Planting in the Age of Climate Change

February 15, 2025- New Plants Due to Climate Change

March 1, 2025 – Seed Swap & Garden Day

March 15, 2025- Bugs Don’t Bug Me. Special Guest, University of Maryland Extension Educator, Beth Hill

For further information please call or reasonable accommodations to participate in this event contact the University of Maryland Extension Paul Rickert, at 410-778-1661 or prickert@umd.edu

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.

At this field day you will get to see a rainwater harvesting system built onto a high tunnel (hoop house), which uses gutters, IBC totes, and rain barrels to collect and store rainwater. A drip irrigation system then waters crops in the high tunnel with the collected rainwater. The system also tests two different water treatment technologies to reduce the risk of human pathogens affecting the crops being irrigated with the rainwater.

This demonstration and research project is funded by USDA-NIFA and has been implemented by a multi-organization team led by Dr. Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein's Water Quality, Outreach, and Wellness Lab: https://sph.umd.edu/research-impact/laboratories-projects-and-programs/…