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 […]
UConn Extension
Cohen Contributes to Tolland County 4-H as State Corn Yield Contest Winner
Ellington, CT – Harris and Louise Cohen of Ellington have contributed $150 to the UConn Extension Tolland County 4-H program as a result of winning first place in the state of Connecticut 2013 National Corn Growers’ Association’s (NCGA) Corn Yield Contest. The contribution was provided by DuPont Pioneer on behalf of first-place winners. Sanford Cohen […]
Great Gull Island Boat Trip
Photos and article by Juliana Barrett for UConn Extension Great Gull Island (GGI) is a 17-acre island between Block Island and Long Island Sounds. As one of the most important nesting habitats for roseate terns and common terns in the western hemisphere, it is critical to maintain and improve the nesting habitats on GGI. Currently, […]
UConn Wins!
Who won the Big Scoop Award at the American Society of Animal Science’s Joint Annual Meeting? Contenders were Kansas State University, South Dakota State University, UConn, University of Missouri, and Washington State University. UConn wins!!! Congrats to Mike O’Neill in #UConnExtension for proposing Centennial Caramel Crunch to celebrate Extension’s 100 years of growing Connecticut […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
Danbury PEP Graduates
On Friday, April 11th, 17 Danbury parents graduated from our People Empowering People (PEP) parent leadership program. At left are the graduates and their children who performed at the graduation held at Hatter’s Park. Many of them also traveled to Hartford in March for Early Childhood Advocacy Day, where they spoke with State Representatives Bob Godfrey […]
Farming with Technology
UConn Extension has taken delivery of a new manure spreader. This spreader is not your typical manure spreader. This spreader has gone hi tech with integrated scales, computer and GPS. Unlike a typical spreader which requires the farmer to guess how much manure is being loaded, and keep handwritten records of how many loads went […]
Be A Scientist for a Day
UConn Extension is hosting a large-scale statewide science project on May 8th On May 8, 2014, UConn Extension is asking the public to join our faculty, staff, 4-H volunteers, and master gardeners in a vast science project across the state, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of UConn Extension. One hundred years ago on […]
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.
Pest Forecasts Come to Connecticut
It hurts when codling moths riddle your apples, powdery mildew blasts your grapes, or anthracnose takes over your turf. But it’s really nettlesome when growers or groundskeepers mere miles away get off without a snag. Blame it on the weather: on a multitude of variables that we barely notice. Sophisticated weather stations can pick up […]
Connecting Sustainable Woodland Management and High School Technical Arts Programs: An Initiative Creating Educational Opportunities for Local Wood Utilization
-Article by Tom Worthley, Extension Forestry- During a conversation in 2010 between myself and a teacher from the industrial arts department at Haddam-Killingworth High School, the suggestion was made that the School District could continually grow, harvest and process a portion of the annual lumber needs for the shop class from part of of 150 […]
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 […]
Rineicha Otero – UConn Extension Fellow in Colombia
Saturday 8/17/2013 I finally arrived in beautiful Colombia! After much-anticipation, the visit has come and the expectation of reconnecting to the different cultures around the world has increased even more. As soon as the airplane touched the ground in Bogota the crowed cheered with excitement to be back in their homeland. I remembered the times […]