Second year trials at the
Hancock County Extension Office
Demonstration Hoop House

Experimental Cutting Flower Gardens

This year’s Master Gardener Volunteer Hoop House project was growing flowers— lots of them! And they were even in full bloom just in time to showcase at the first annual Ellsworth Garden Club Tour in early August.  

This season, Master Gardeners planned and carried out an experiment that compared flowers grown in a greenhouse environment to those grown in the natural environment. Different types of cutting flowers were planted under-cover in hoop house raised beds and then replicated in outdoor raised beds. MG’s planned the garden experiments, prepared all the beds, selected and started seeds, and transplanted seedlings. Professional cutting flower methods were researched, flower support netting was erected over the beds, and an intense fertilizing/watering regimen was followed. What were the results? Zinnias, Calendula, Godedia, Bells of Ireland, Lisianthus, Sunflowers and Asters exploded in successive blooms well into October.

When flowers starting blooming in June, gardeners began the next phase of their project—cutting flowers and recording statistics: quantity, number of blooms per stem, length of stems and the “culls. Flowers were arranged in vases donated by the volunteers and delivered to Hancock community agencies and public places. A volunteer specially designed a donor card from the Hancock County Master Gardeners Program that accompanied each bouquet to give the program a bit of publicity. Dozens of vases of flowers were enjoyed by folks in Hancock County---from those in hospitals and care homes, Hospice and The Emmaus Center to town halls, libraries and even a veterinarian’s office. Statistics gathered for this project will be used by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and for future Master Gardener Volunteer projects.

Hancock County hoop house gardeners didn’t stop at growing flowers. They also grew vegetables for the Grow a Row for the Hungry program. An experiment using row covers resulted in 50 lbs of perfect cabbage. The season’s vegetable harvest fell far short of expectations however, as deer discovered the garden deli of ripe tomatoes and the entire crop of green beans. Spared from the four-legged marauders, however, was a successful experimental pot of “Maine Berry” tomatoes, a delicious blueberry-sized morsel cultivated in Maine.

Master Gardener volunteers Jim Frye, Susan Stahlberg, Diane Bossert, Laura Cooper, Georgianna Pulver, Dory Pare, Julie Herrick, Scott Hale, Jennifer White, Jo Jacob, Betty Beardsley, Tish Noyes, and Dotty Caldwell all had a chance to lend a hand to this project. It wouldn’t have been successful without the expertise, guidance and hands-on helping hands of the one and only Marjorie Peronto, Master Gardener Volunteer Project Coordinator, UMaine Extension, Hancock County.

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