By Marc Cournoyer UConn Extension’s Windham County 4-H program continues to provide young people with an opportunity to explore the world of STEM education through hands-on minicamp programs taking place at various locations throughout Windham County. In 2013 we are focusing on three distinct programs; Junk Drawer Robotics, STEM Gardens and video production with special effects. […]
Month: July 2013
Become a Plant Expert
Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association is offering their annual 13-week certification program will teach you the basics of botany, plant identification, and professional horticultural information. CNLA’s low admission price makes accreditation open to all persons in the nursery and landscape industry. Pass the Connecticut Accredited Nursery Professional exam and you’ll be awarded in special ceremonies […]
Ten Tips for the July Gardener
Ten 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. Yellow leaves of cucurbits and tomatoes […]
Farm To School
Across the country, an increasing number of schools and districts have begun to source more foods locally and to provide complementary educational activities to students that emphasize food, farming, and nutrition. This nationwide movement to enrich children’s bodies and minds while supporting local economies is often referred to as “farm to school.” The term encompasses […]
Lend A Hand App
Lend A Hand App tells a story about farming shared interactively through a song originally written by Willie Nelson and Marty Dread. It provides hope for communities and a nation of hard working family farmers by building an awareness for children that supporting local farms can be healthy and fun. If you’d like to learn […]
Gardening Quick Tip: Japanese Beetles
Mary Concklin, UConn Extension Educator for Fruit Production and IPM offers this quick tip on dealing with Japanese Beetles: Using the Japanese beetle traps will actually attract the beetles to your planting. Instead, if you have the traps, place them at least 100 feet from the planting to try to draw them away from the […]
Liming Soils
by Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center An incredible number of chemical, biochemical and biological reactions occur in our soils. Through these reactions, nutrients, whether already present in the soil or added by fertilizers, are changed into forms that can be taken up by plant roots. The pH of the soil affects all […]
Rain Got You In A Depression? Put It In One!
With historic amounts of rain falling on our state this month, it is easy to get a little down. It puts a damper on beach days, picnics, and hikes. Not to make things worse, but did you also know that as all that rain runs off roofs, parking lots, driveways, and roads and into storm drains […]
Mulch Molds – What is Growing on my Mulch?
What is growing on my mulch? This is a common question UConn Extension is asked at the UConn Home and Garden Education Center and in our county Master Gardener offices. People are perplexed when they find a yellow foamy mass that looks like the neighbor’s dog vomited in their flower garden. Or when their nice […]
Be on the Lookout for Giant Hogweed, an Invasive Plant in Connecticut
UConn and the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG) are asking state residents to be on the lookout for Giant Hogweed, which typically blooms during July. Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) is an invasive, non-native plant from Eurasia that was first identified in Connecticut in 2001. This Federal Noxious weed has now been confirmed in 25 towns in […]
Barnum School 4-H Garden
Since 1968, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) has been funded by he United States Department of Agriculture and is an integral part of the UConn Extension. Currently, it is one of the federal government’s longest running educational outreach programs targeted to low-income families. Specially trained EFNEP Nutrition Assistants, who know their communities well, work with program […]