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 […]
Gardens
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 […]
International Year of Soils
The U.S. Department of Agriculture kicked off its celebration of the International Year of Soils to highlight the importance of healthy soils for food security, ecosystem functions and resilient farms and ranches. “Healthy soil is the foundation that ensures working farms and ranches become more productive, resilient to climate change and better prepared to meet the challenges 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 […]
Master Gardener Volunteer Wins Award
Congratulations to Advanced Master Gardener Ken Sherrick named “Outstanding CFPA Volunteer” for his work on the Connecticut Forest and Park Association grounds and gardens in Rockfall, CT.
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 […]
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 […]
Master Gardener Project at Natchaug Hospital
Working With the Land Provides Solace, Sustenance Staff and volunteers throughout the Behavioral Health Network are always volunteering discretionary effort, and campus beautification has been one area of focus. At Natchaug Hospital, the Master Gardener Garden Improvement Team was started in April 2009 by Edward Sawicki, MD, a retired member of the Board of Directors. […]
Master Gardener Volunteer Recognition
As part of the national celebration of the 100th anniversary of Cooperative Extension in 2014, the UConn Extension Master Gardener Program is honoring the substantial contributions of its Master Gardener volunteers. This marks the commencement of an ongoing recognition program for the sizable volunteer time that Master Gardener volunteers invest in their communities. This recognition […]
World Soil Day
Today is World Soil Day! Did you know? Soil is the basis for food, feed, fuel and fibre production and for services to ecosystems and human well-being. It is the reservoir for at least a quarter of global biodiversity, and therefore requires the same attention as above-ground biodiversity. Soils play a key role in the […]
10 Tips for the November Gardener
Ten Tips for the November Gardener: 1. Once the ground has frozen (but before it snows), mulch fall planted perennials by placing 3 to 5 inches of pine needles, straw, chopped leaves around them. 2. Continue to thoroughly water trees, shrubs, planting beds, lawn areas and recently planted evergreens until a hard frost. Plants should […]
Make Your Landscape Sustainable
By Joan Allen – Assistant Extension Educator – UConn Home & Garden Center A sustainable landscape incorporates a holistic approach of functionality, environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic sensibility. These principles are tied together in the design and maintenance of a landscape in order to maintain and preserve natural ecological habitats. Your Landscape Impacts The […]
Is your garden bursting with fall tomatoes?
By: Diane Wright Hirsch, UConn Extension Educator/Food Safety It has been a great year for growing tomatoes in Connecticut, but the season is rapidly coming to an end with the change to cooler temperatures. As much as we love our delicious vine ripened summer-red tomatoes, it is time for a reality check—summer is over. […]
UConn Extension Centennial Video
UConn Extension Ties Research to Real Life for citizens of Connecticut every day. Join us as we take a tour of some of our UConn Extension programs.
Keep Phosphorus Out of Our Waters
By Dawn Pettinelli – Extension Instructor Plant Science & Landscape Architecture Phosphorus is an essential element for plant growth and as such is a component of many fertilizers. Many may not be aware that phosphorus pollution is the number one cause of declining water quality in fresh water lakes and ponds in Connecticut and other […]
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 […]
10 Tips for the September Gardener
1. Get a jump on next year’s lawn and gardens by having a soil test done through the UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory. 2. If the pH of garden and flower beds needs to raised, wood ashes may be used. Wood ashes have a pH of 11.0 and also contain phosphorous, potassium, and calcium. […]
The Basics of Composting
By Dawn Pettinelli – Extension Instructor Plant Science & Landscape Architecture Did you know that almost 25 percent of a typical household’s waste can be recycled right in the backyard? Recycling reduces the amount of solid waste being trucked and dumped into landfills, and the end product of this process, compost, is beneficial to the […]
Barnum School Garden
The Barnum School 4-H Garden Club in Bridgeport built a compost bin for their garden:
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 […]
Squash Will Come…
Photo and Article By Carol Quish for UConn Extension Where are all my summer squash? Why do my plants have many blossoms and not squash? These are a few of the questions I hear about yellow and zucchini squashes when the squashes look like they should be setting fruit. Be patient, gardeners, squash will come. […]
Bringing Some Green to Our Big Cities
By Michael Dietz, UConn Extension When people think of Hartford and New Haven, “green” may not be the first thing that jumps to mind. However, recent efforts of the UConn Extension Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) program are helping to make these cities a little bit greener, both figuratively and literally. This past June, NEMO […]
Eat Seasonally: Enjoy Nature’s “Fast Food”
Originally Posted by Danbury News Times Heather Peracchio of UConn Extension is a registered dietitian who lives in Brookfield. But she’s happy to travel if there’s a chance to spread the word about healthy eating. This past Monday she gave two nutrition/cooking lessons, one in Bridgeport and one in Norwalk. Among her messages — the importance of eating seasonally. […]
10 Tips for the July Gardener
Inspect garden plants regularly for insect and disease problems. Sanitation practices, insecticidal soaps, and insect traps are alternatives to pesticides. Properly placed shade trees will reduce air conditioning costs. Try shade tolerant ground covers in areas where lack of sunlight limits grass growth. Excess nitrogen fertilizer stimulates succulent new turf growth, which is more susceptible […]
House Sparrows
By Carol Quish for UConn Extension Photo: Illinois Extension Recently we’ve received quite a few questions about house sparrows nesting in inappropriate places, such as under awnings or in the rafters of a porch. Our experts at the UConn Home and Garden Education Center offer the following advice. House sparrows are non-native birds to the U.S. […]
Where’s Your Garden’s Water From?
By Karen Filchak – Extension Educator – Residential Environmental & Water Quality Water for farms and gardens can come from several possible sources, including wells, municipal sources, ponds and rain barrels. Some water sources are more likely than others to be harboring harmful pathogens that might contaminate your garden goodies with salmonella and E. Coli […]
Plant Diseases & Sustainably Healthy Plants
By Joan Allen – Assistant Extension Educator – UConn Home & Garden Center Plant diseases can have a devastating effect on your garden or landscape, and on your wallet! You may have invested in new cultivars of a favorite plant, only to watch them wilt away. A large tree can add thousands of dollars in […]
Jam 101
By Diane Wright Hirsch, UConn Extension Educator, Food Safety Photo: Clemson Extension One of the best things about June in Connecticut is strawberry season. And we have been waiting a long time for strawberry season this year in Connecticut! Most farmers will tell you that the cold spring and delayed picking as much as 2-3 […]
Tick Testing at UConn
By Heather Haycock for UConn Extension Summer in Connecticut is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. There are beautiful trails to hike, parks to visit with your children or dogs, and there is the simple joy of lying in the lush, green grass. Of course, the warm weather also comes with the […]
Gardening Questions?
Have a question about your garden or landscape? Want to know which insect is chewing your shrubs, or what the spots on your tomatoes are? Interested in native plantings or attracting wildlife? Or do you want to start a garden, but don’t know where to start? Your local UConn Extension Master Gardener volunteers are available to help. […]
Time to Pick the Strawberries (Finally!)
By Diane Wright Hirsch, UConn Extension Educator, Food Safety Photo: North Carolina Extension One of the best things about June in Connecticut is strawberry season. And we have been waiting a long time for strawberry season this year in Connecticut! Most farmers will tell you that the cold spring has delayed picking as much as […]
Controlling Ticks
By Carol Quish for UConn Extension The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends creating a tick-safe zone. Ticks feed on blood of animals including humans. Tactics to reduce the attractiveness of animals traveling into your yard will keep the number of ticks dropping off of them reduced. Do not feed the birds […]
GMOs a Hot Topic for UConn Extension Master Gardeners
By Leslie Alexander Certified UConn Extension Master Gardeners and Advanced Master Gardeners are encouraged to maintain active certification. In addition to completing required office and community outreach hours Master Gardeners in Connecticut are required to attend one Hot Topics class each year. These classes are designed to provide Master Gardeners with updated and new horticultural […]
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 […]
Sustainable Landscapes
Dr. Carl Salsedo, UConn Extension Educator for Sustainable and Environmental Horticulture has been encouraging Connecticut residents to practice sustainable landscapes for years. Salsedo encourages everyone to practice sustainable landscaping as Connecticut residents look towards spring and warmer weather. “I’ve been gardening sustainably at home in Burlington since before it was trendy,” Salsedo notes. “I use native […]
Lily Leaf Beetles – Help with our Research!
Your Help is Needed For Our Research Project! Researchers at UConn are conducting a lily leaf beetle biological control project during the summer of 2014. If you grow lilies in Connecticut, have a minimum of 12 plants in the lily family (Oriental lilies, Asiatic lilies, Turk’s Cap lilies, or Fritillaria) in your garden, and have […]
May is for Mowing and More!
May is for Mowing, Dividing Mints & Marsh Marigolds! Photo and Aritcle: Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Extension Time to Start Up the Lawn Mower! We New Englanders have had a long, cold winter through early spring. The plentiful moisture and chilly temperatures these past few weeks have stimulated growth of our cool season turf grasses […]
10 Tips for the May Gardener
1. Thin or compacted turf will benefit from core aeration and overseeding. 2. Mow your lawn any time the grass is 1 ½ times the normal height, For example, if you mow at a 3-inch height, don’t let the grass get longer than 4 to 5-inches. 3. Remove spent blooms on tulips, daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs. […]
Sustainable Pest Control in Home Gardens
By Joan Allen – Assistant Extension Educator, UConn Home & Garden Center Insects and pests are a fact of life in the home vegetable garden, but sustainable practices can keep them at tolerable levels. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the use of a combination of tools to manage pests while minimizing the use of chemicals. […]