NORWAY — A new gardening class offered by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension will help first-time gardeners.

Barbara Murphy, extension educator for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Paris, said surveys have shown that new gardeners often get frustrated and quit when plants die.

The hands-on gardening class will start with three classes at the Cooperative Extension building in Paris before moving to the Alan Day Community Garden in Norway, where participants can grow their own vegetables.

Garden Coordinator Rocky Crockett said Murphy started the class, but it falls closely in line with the garden's mission of educating people on how to grow food organically.

“We were excited about it,” Crockett said. “It was a pretty easy thing to say yes to.”

He said the cooperative extension is renting out a plot where people in the class can plant and tend to vegetables. The Alan Day plot is also holding free workshops all summer, starting with a May 20 lesson on composting, followed by a gardening introduction workshop on June 3.

The cost for the hands-on gardening class is $10. That includes three indoor classes on Wednesday evenings starting May 9 and use of the garden throughout the growing season. Experienced gardeners will teach classes on the basics of planting, watering, fertilizing and pest control, and students can take home the vegetables they grow.

Scholarships are available to cover the cost of the class. To register for the class, call the Extension at 743-6329.

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