By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH Senior Extension Educator, UConn Extension Lest this article appears to be written by the food police, I confess I am a real fan of a plate of regular, white flour pasta, ciabatta bread, and, once and a while a fried bologna sandwich on good (well, maybe not so good) old […]
8 Tips for Keeping a Healthy Home
Is your home well ventilated? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information and tips.
UConn Extension Tractor Course Has Lasting Impact
For the past two years, UConn Extension has offered a Tractor Operation, Safety, and Basic Maintenance Course for beginning farmers at the UConn Plant Science Research Farm in Storrs. This two-day class is designed to educate and empower current or future users of agricultural tractors and farm equipment. During the class, they demystified tractors to improve their understanding of […]
Congratulations PEP Graduates
Congratulations to our recent People Empowering People (PEP) graduates from KITE Enfield!
Is Your Home Safe?
Is your home well safe? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on keeping your home safe.
Got Holes in Your Trees?
By Joan Allen, Assistant Extension Educator It’s not generally good news if you discover holes in the bark of your trees. Common causes of holes in trees include wood boring insects and birds. In the case of insects, it is usually the larval stage that feeds within the tree while the adults feed on […]
Hazardous Household Products
Are there hazardous household products in your home? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on keeping your home safe.
Survival Training for Commercial Fishermen
Nancy Balcom, Associate Director and Program Leader, Connecticut Sea Grant, and Senior Extension Educator, UConn Extension, organized and facilitated safety and survival training for 49 commercial fishermen. The training was sponsored by Connecticut Sea Grant, US Coast Guard, University of […]
Keep Pests Out!
Is your home free from pests? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on keeping them out of your home.
Looking for Volunteer Gardens in Connecticut
Lily Leaf Beetle Biological Control 2016 – Looking for Volunteer Gardens in Connecticut Researchers at UConn are conducting a lily leaf beetle biological control project during the summer of 2016. If you grow lilies in Connecticut, have a minimum of 12 plants in the lily family (e.g., Oriental lilies, Asiatic lilies, Turk’s Cap lilies, or […]
10 Tips for the May Gardener
Plant tomatoes, peppers and melons after the danger of frost is past and the soil temperature is 65° F, usually the last week in May. Plant tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant in different locations each year to reduce insect and disease problems. Keep mower blades sharp and set your mower height at 2-3 inches. Remove no […]
UConn EDEN
The UConn Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) website is live. Check it out and discover the resources available for families, communities, workplaces and agriculture.
Is Mold Causing You Health Problems?
Does your home have a mold problem? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on keeping your home safe.
Don’t Spread Lead
Are you a home improvement do-it-yourselfer? If your home was built before 1978, watch this informative video before starting any projects.
Guidance for Recreational Shellfish Harvest
Are you a recreational shellfish harvester? Check out the 2016 guide from Connecticut Sea Grant.
Energy Efficient Homes are Green
Energy efficient homes are green? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on making your home energy efficient.
Paper Envelopes in your Mother’s Day Hanging Basket?
What are those paper envelopes in my Mother’s Day hanging baskets? By Leanne Pundt, UConn Extension Educator These small paper “envelopes” are slow release “sachets” that contain beneficial predatory mites that attack young thrips larvae. (Thrips are very small insects (1-2 mm. long) with narrow bodies and fringed wings. As they feed they can deform flowers, […]
Highlights of Extension
Learn how UConn Extension is tying research to real life in your community through our 2015 Highlights of Extension.
Obscure Mealybug Confirmed in CT Nursery
By: Joan Allen UConn Plant Diagnostic Lab The obscure mealybug (Pseudococcus viburni) has been confirmed for the first time in Connecticut. High populations were present on numerous host plants in a Connecticut nursery in the fall of 2015. Samples were submitted to the UConn Plant Diagnostic Lab for identification by Donna Ellis, UConn Nursery […]
Carbon Monoxide: The Silent Killer
Carbon monoxide is a silent killer? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on keeping your home safe.
Be a Smart Consumer: Buying Local Eggs
Buying Eggs From Your Local Farmer or Backyard Producer By: Diane Wright Hirsch, Senior Extension Educator, UConn Extension Having back yard chickens has become quite the trend. In Connecticut, many towns have instituted ordinances where none existed or where backyard farm animals were not previously allowed. In Hamden, for example, an ordinance was passed […]
Asthma and Allergies
Are asthma and allergies a problem in your home? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on keeping your home safe.
Connecticut Dairy Leads New England
By Bernard Dzielinski President, Fairfield County Extension Council Hoard’s Dairyman recently provided a comprehensive review of total milk production in the United States. The data is summarized in the report by region. Milk production in 2015 was a new record of 208.6 billion pounds, a modest gain of 1.3 percent. The story of the […]
10 Tips for the April Gardener
Continue to apply horticultural oil sprays to control insect pests on fruit trees if temperature is over 40°F. Sow peas, carrots, radishes, lettuces, and spinach. Plant seedlings of cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli, weather permitting. For an instant spring show, fill containers with forced spring bulbs from supermarkets and garden centers. Prune back bedraggled looking ground […]
Growing True Leaders
Every child has the potential to be a true leader. However, kids today say they are missing experiences that grow the life skills they need – like confidence, responsibility, independence and compassion. It is a serious problem now that will lead to a severe leadership void in the years to come – impacting […]
Is Your Home Well Ventilated?
Is your home well ventilated? Visit the Healthy Homes Partnership for more information on keeping your home safe.
Oh Nuts!
By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH Senior Extension Educator/Food Safety Eggs, chicken, lettuce, sprouts, and now pistachios. Some readers may think that this association of pistachios with a Salmonellosis outbreak is unusual if not rare. Well, though not likely to be defined as “common,” in recent years a number of outbreaks have been traced to nuts […]
Thank you Volunteers!
During National Volunteer Week, we thank all of our Connecticut 4-H, UConn Extension Master Gardener Program, People Empowering People (PEP), and other volunteers who make our programs so successful each year! Our volunteers contributed over 100,000 hours, or $2.4 million to their communities served last year.
2016 Turfgrass Field Day
The 2016 Turfgrass Field Day at the University of Connecticut offers exciting educational opportunities for turfgrass professionals of all levels. The date of the Field Day has been selected in order to provide the best opportunity to view the research plots when they are under the greatest summer stress. Cutting edge research in the areas […]
Did You Know: Burgdorf Community Garden
Burgdorf Community Garden is a signature outreach project for Hartford County Master Gardener volunteers. They helped plant and maintain a garden on the grounds of the Burgdorf/Bank of America Health center, a clinic for the underserved in Hartford’s North End. The garden is used to teach nutrition to clients and also provides healthy produce for […]
Live Local UConn Trail
Live Local Connecticut is a UConn Extension program encouraging residents to live locally through food and gardening, and ties into our Live Local app. The Live Local UConn Trail highlights a few locations in and around UConn’s Storrs campus where you can live locally. UConn Trail: Dog Lane Cafe – the menu and daily specials […]
Poop Happens
By Diane Wright Hirsch, UConn Extension Educator Farm animals poop. Why should that matter to me…a frequent farm visitor? We all poop. Dogs poop, cats poop, cows and even goats poop. It is a natural process that rids our bodies of indigestible food and waste products. Unfortunately, it is also a way to carry […]
Jude Boucher: A Lasting Impact
By Stacey Stearns The name Jude Boucher is synonymous with vegetable production in Connecticut. Since joining UConn Extension in 1986, Jude has made a profound impact on the industry as the Extension Educator for vegetable crops Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Jude received his bachelor’s degree in Entomology from the University of New Hampshire, his […]
Nutrition Education for Students
UConn Extension’s Heather Pease recently educated students enrolled in a child development class at CREC’s Medical Professions and Teacher Preparation Academy on how to make baby food.
Greenhouse Growers Prepare for Spring
Greenhouses growers across Connecticut were busy this past week shipping Easter flowers to local garden centers. Photos were taken by Leanne Pundt of UConn Extension at Geremia Greenhouses in Wallingford.
New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference a Success
2015 NEW ENGLAND VEGETABLE AND FRUIT CONFERENCE Summary of Activities and Impacts The 2015 New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference (NEVF) and Trade Show took place December 15, 16, and 17 in Manchester NH. It was organized over two years by a committee of 41 people from 7 states […]
Did You Know: Mapping the Industry
Shellfish aquaculture is a large and growing part of Connecticut’s agriculture sector, but site selection is a major challenge. Farmers cultivate oysters, clams and scallops in designated areas of Long Island Sound. Those sites are considered public property and are leased from the state. Farmers need to identify growing areas that are biologically productive […]
Spraying Nematodes
Watch the video that shows a grower (Michael’s Greenhouse in Cheshire CT ) http://www.michaelsgreenhouses.com/ applying the insect killing beneficial nematodes are applied thru their automatic watering system onto their hanging baskets on a cloudy day. The nematodes are in the bucket you see and then they use the fertilizer injector (with the screens removed) to apply the […]
10 Tips for the March Gardener
Make plans to attend the UConn Garden Conference on March 18, 2016. Carefully remove winter mulches and leftover debris from planting beds to reduce the presence of overwintering diseases and pests. Get your soil tested through the UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory before any major planting or fertilizing venture. Soils sent in before April 1 […]
Did You Know: Drones at Work
Mapping Great Gull Island with an Unmanned Aircraft Assistant Extension Educator Joel Stocker spends a lot of his work and personal time documenting changes to the shoreline. In 2010 he contacted Helen Hays, asking if he could capture photographs over Great Gull Island with his homemade drone. She agreed. While on the island, Helen told […]