UPDATE: In response to the national emergency created by COVID-19 and Maine Governor Janet Mills’ Executive Order of March 31, 2020, which mandates that Maine citizens “Stay Healthy at Home” through at least April 30, the Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District’s Board of Supervisors made the difficult decision to cancel our Spring Plant Sale, scheduled for May 2 and 3, 2020 at Union Fairgrounds. This includes the public sale and all pre-order sales. Although the sale itself falls outside the current mandate, the preparation for the sale would require hundreds of hours of labor by numerous volunteers in close, sustained contact during the period covered by the mandate. 

Original post: In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District is making some changes to the annual Spring Plant Sale. The district is monitoring the situation and taking this threat seriously — and also recognizes the importance of providing food plants for the garden as well as native landscape plants for pollinators, birds and other wildlife to residents in Midcoast Maine. Therefore, our Spring Plant Sale will be limited to pre-orders only with scheduled curbside pick-up for pre-order customers — there will be no public cash-and-carry sale this year. Doing this will reduce the number of staff needed and ensure safe physical distances when pre-order customers come to Union Fairgrounds to pick up plant orders.

To accommodate those who were planning to shop cash-and-carry, the district is extending the pre-order deadline to Friday, April 10. The plant list includes lots of great fruit trees — apples; cherries (sweet and sour), peaches, pears and plums — as well as blueberries, raspberries (red and black), blackberries strawberries, grapes, asparagus, rhubarb and horseradish. And, there is a fabulous selection of native conifers, deciduous trees, shrubs and perennials for soil stablization, biodiveristy, climate change adaptation and beauty in all landscape conditions.

At this time, pre-order pick-up is scheduled for Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3. To limit the number of people onsite at any one time, the Dsitrict will contact all pre-order customers to schedule curbside pick-up at Union Fairgrounds in 15-minute time slots. The District will keep all customers informed of any changes in response to changing conditions. To place a pre-order, please go to www.knox-lincoln.org/online-plant-catalog to order online or download a catalog or order form. For any questions about the sale, ordering, pick-up or plants, please email hildy@knox-lincoln.org or call 596-2040.