Winter is a pain, but still beautiful! Cool panorama of our Extension Center in Haddam by Joel Stocker & his drone, taken on February 12, 2015. http://bit.ly/1E7SlCd
Author: Stacey Stearns
Master Gardener Signature Outreach Projects
The UConn Extension Master Gardener Program is an educational outreach program that started in 1978 and consists of horticulture training and outreach component in the community. Master Gardeners are enthusiastic, willing to learn, and share their knowledge and training with others. What sets them apart from other home gardeners is their special horticultural training. In […]
Connecticut Seeds for Connecticut Gardens
Photo and Article By Dawn Pettinelli About now, many of us gardeners have a stack of seed catalogs several inches high and have started combing through them acquiring all kinds of ideas and a long wish list. Before finalizing you orders, spend a bit of time going through any leftover seeds from the previous year. […]
10 Tips for the February Gardener
Visit our booth at the 2015 CT Flower and Garden Show, February 19th-22nd, at the Connecticut Convention Center. Bring ½ cup of soil for a free pH test and your gardening questions for free advice. Provide houseplants with increased humidity by misting often or placing plants over a tray of moist pebbles. Clean the leaves […]
PEP Respect Campaign
Check out this great video that one of our People Empowering People (PEP) graduates created on respect.
Climate Adaption Academy Looking for Input
The Climate Adaptation Academy (CAA) is developing a list of challenges that municipalities and residents are facing as a result of climate change and we need your help. CAA is a partnership between Connecticut Sea Grant and UConn’s Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) and was developed after talking to a variety of […]
10 Tips for the January Gardener
1. Check out the Garden Master classes that are available throughout the state at http://mastergardener.uconn.edu/. Most classes are open to both Master Gardeners and the general public. 2. If driveways or sidewalks have been treated with a de-icer that contains sodium chloride do not pile this snow on plants or in areas where the melting […]
Garden Programs in Fairfield County
Originally published by Naturally@UConn on December 16, 2014 Written by: Kim Markesich Fairfield County gardening programs teach nutrition, integrated pest management and life skills The Fairfield County Extension Center Demonstration Garden The Fairfield County Extension Center hosts a variety of gardening programs, and the season just past was a successful and bountiful one. With the support of […]
Where to go for Food Safety Information?
By Diane Wright Hirsch UConn Extension Educator/Food Safety The late fall, early winter holidays can be a busy time for home cooks. Whether you are preparing a traditional holiday turkey, a favorite side dish of greens from your garden, or attempting something new like a goose or Connecticut oysters, the food safety implications of […]
Holiday Plants, Holiday Safety
By Dawn Pettinelli UConn Home & Garden Education Center As we decorate our homes for the holidays with cheery plants, evergreen boughs and berries, it is important to take into account which plants and materials might be toxic to young children and pets. Many plants can pose serious threats to the curious two year old […]
10 Tips for the December Gardener
1. Replace the plants in hanging baskets, containers, and window boxes with evergreen boughs, berries and pinecones. 2. Disinfect, oil, and sharpen lawn and garden tools. Keep them in a dry storage area. 3. Don’t use fertilizer to melt ice. This creates nitrogen runoff issues that could damage local bodies of water. 4. Recycle your […]
Save Summer Flavor: Freeze Fruits and Vegetables
How to save summer flavor for winter: freezing fruits and vegetables By Diane Wright Hirsch UConn Extension Educator/Food Safety It has been a wonderful year for growing fruits and vegetables in Connecticut. A trip to your backyard vegetable garden, local farmers’ market or maybe the nearby pick-your-own orchard, even late in the season, will […]
Fighting the Good Food Fight
Connecticut Farmers, UConn Fighting The Good Food Fight By Jessica Griffin On August 24, 2014 As processed foods loaded with fat, sugars and salt, become increasingly cheap and convenient for Americans, the fight to maintain health and nutrition becomes more and more relevant. In the spirit of spreading awareness for the importance of making good […]
Barnum School Garden
The Barnum School 4-H Garden Club in Bridgeport built a compost bin for their garden:
Urban Agriculture Program
A group of 13 Hispanic adults from Danbury and Bridgeport are participating in an Urban Agriculture program. This UConn Extension program has been designed in a way that students learn the science behind agriculture (botany, soils, vegetable production, integrated pest management, etc.), apply their knowledge by producing vegetables, and promotes entrepreneurship by allowing students sell their […]
Should I eat that?
When what your garden produces is less than perfect: Should I eat that? By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, RD UConn Extension Educator, Food Safety It is common practice for the supermarket shopper and the farmers’ market customer to pick up every pepper and head of lettuce for closer inspection. When we buy produce, we do not want […]
A CLEAR Approach to Land Use
In this revealing article in the magazine International Innovation, UConn Extension’s Chet Arnold reviews the importance of instilling knowledge in land use decision makers and outlines the contributions that the Center for Land Use Education and Research is making in this area.
The Importance of Healthy Friendships
By Cheryl Czuba – Retired Extension Educator Community Development, Families Why are friendships important and how does this fit into sustainable living? Throughout life we have opportunities to develop friendships. In a healthy friendship each person works to meet the other’s needs and supports one another’s growth and development as unique individuals. We also need […]
Seeds Sprouting Inside a Tomato
By Carol Quish for UConn Extension Have you ever cut into a tomato and found white squiggly looking things inside? These are not worms or aliens that made their way to the center, but rather seeds of the fruit that have begun germinating. It is called Vivipary, Latin for Live Birth. It is the […]
CT Tree Warden’s Association
– Article by Bob Ricard for UConn Extension Approximately 85 tree wardens, deputy tree wardens, urban forestry volunteers, and others gathered in Glastonbury, March 20th, for the Tree Wardens’ Association of Connecticut, Inc., 22nd Annual Dinner Meeting. The primary purpose of the meeting was to conduct the business of the state-wide organization, founded in 1992 […]
Pesticides and School Athletic Fields
Jason Henderson talks to NBC news about pesticides and school athletic fields. Watch the video to understand more about the current laws and what goes into maintaining an athletic field.
Egg Safety
Take Care With Eggs—No Matter Where You Buy/Gather Them By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, RD UConn Extension Educator/Food Safety Spring is here (at least officially) and it is always a good time to remind ourselves of how to safely handle eggs. Whether you are hard-boiling them for an Easter or Passover celebration, or looking forward […]
Build Your Network, Grow Our Future Event
How do we build our networks and help grow the potential for success in the future food economy? By bringing together farmers and service providers to meet each other, ask questions, listen and discuss. On February 19th, the New CT Farmer Alliance (NCTFA) did just this, in collaboration with several organizations and agencies: UConn Extension, […]
Pruning Blueberries
By Mary Concklin, Visiting Associate Extension Educator – Fruit Production & IPM I have heard the question many times, when is the best time to prune blueberries – fall, winter or spring? To answer that question let’s take a look at what is going on with the plant at these different times. I am […]
Keep Your Butts Off Our Beaches
Recently a columnist in a local Southeastern Connecticut newspaper wrote about the things that bug him when driving. It included the usual gripes that we all have—people driving slowly in the passing lane, failure to use turn signals, merging on the highway with little consideration of the traffic already on the highway, able-bodied people parking […]
New Greenhouse Pest Guide Web App
Try our new mobile optimized website app for commercial growers that contains options for biological control and pesticides for management of insect and mite pests common in commercial greenhouse production. This app can be used on your computer, smart phone or other electronic device. This was a cooperative project between Leanne Pundt of UConn’s IPM […]
Barnum 4-H School Garden
This was originally posted by Organic Gardening 365. Question: What do you get when you cross the savvy leadership training skills of 4-H with a Bridgeport, CT school that wants to teach kids responsibility through gardening? Answer: The Barnum School 4-H Garden. The Barnum School 4-H Garden is a display of hard work and great […]
Successful Year for UConn Dairy Program
Mary Margaret Cole, Executive Program Director of the Kellogg Dairy Center (KDC) at UConn’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has had a very successful year. Cole and the KDC staff are setting the stage for top quality milk for Connecticut dairy producers. At the 2013 Eastern States Exposition Holstein Show, Cole was awarded champion […]
10 Water Conservation Tips
Even with yesterday’s rain, it will take a while for water levels to catch up. There are many small steps we can all take to conserve water in our homes. UConn Extension has these ten tips for your lawn and garden. Take shorter showers Run dishwashers and washing machines with full loads Use water only […]
Connecticut Food Justice Youth Corps
The Connecticut Food Justice Youth Corps (CTFJYC) is a team of five AmeriCorps VISTA’s increasing the collaboration and coherence of non-profits working the field of Food Justice. The strength of this collaboration begins and ends with an understanding of what each of these separate organizations seek to create: a community movement, driven by youth, to […]