By Carol Quish Most of us know the normal tree fruits we commonly eat this time of year; apple, peaches, plums, even the more unusual quince and pawpaw. Most trees produce seeds to reproduce. Some seeds are housed in unusual wrappings. Take a photo trip through this blog to view uncommon and perhaps under appreciated […]
Cloud Watching
I am amazed at just how often I check the sky to see what the weather will be for the next while. I know some people check the weather channel or local news channels to see what the weather people are forecasting, but I look to the sky. After so many decades of turning my […]
Wild Morning Glory
The showy white or light pink, funnel-shaped flowers of the wild morning glory are abundant along roadsides right now. Maybe, like me, you think to yourself as you’re driving around or on a walk, “I’d like to find out what kind of wildflower or plant that is when I get home” and then later forget […]
Tolland County 4-H Fair
The 71st Tolland County 4-H Fair was August 9, 10 and 11 and was a huge success. Here are a few photos from the weekend.
Trees in Bushnell Park
I recently went to Bushnell Park for the first time in my life and was glad I tagged along. My favorite plants since childhood are trees, especially the kinds you can climb up into and take a seat on a limb broad enough to provide a comfortable seat so you can view the world around […]
Learning About a Healthy Home
Joan Bothell and Mary-Margaret Gaudio, from the Healthy Environments for Children Initiative at UConn Extension, have written a children’s book. Using text along with illustrations by Kevin Noonan from the UConn College of Agriculture, the book teaches children ways to maintain a healthy living environment. Photo by Sean Flynn, UConn
Tolland County 4-H STEM Photos
UConn Extension’s Tolland County 4-H program had a great time at the 4-H STEM Mini Field Trips.
Tolland County 4-H STEM Mini Field Trips
The Tolland County 4-H Program, which is part of UConn Extension hosted three fun and educational adventures close to home that focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Junk Drawer Robotics allowed youth to become an engineer with things from around the house! We constructed: tooth brush eco-bots, marshmallow launching trebuchets, and a mechanical arm. Youth […]
Program Plants Seed for Healthier Eating
UConn Extension recently completed an EFNEP program in collaboration with the Norwalk Health Department at a local community garden called Fodor Farm. The Norwalk Citizen highlighted the program. Read more about it on the Norwalk Citizen website.
Financial Literacy and the Financial Facts of Life
It’s back to school season and across Connecticut, families are getting young people ready for school so that they can learn what they need to know to become productive, responsible and successful adults. In their late teens and twenties, young people face many important decisions – among them may be signing a lease on an […]
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 […]
Double Duty – A Vegetable Garden That Looks as Good as it Tastes!
I will admit, planting zinnias (or any flowers for that matter) in between corn plants is not something I had considered until admiring the attractive combination in the vegetable garden at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, home of the Worcester County Horticultural Society. Last Thursday the MNLA Summer Field Day was held at this 132 acre […]
Ten Tips for the August Gardener
It’s a beautiful weekend – UConn Extension offers these ten tips for all of you working in your gardens: 1. Pick summer squash and zucchini every day or two to keep the plants producing. 2. Keep an eye out for insect, slug and snail damage throughout the garden. 3. Colorful plastic golf tees can be […]
ThinkitDrinkit
ThinkitDrinkit (TiDi) is revolutionizing how we think about nutrition! A line of customizable products are about to hit the market! Don’t miss it! TiDi GiveBack Visits Abundant Family Center! Today, TiDi GiveBack partnered with Urban 4-H a division of UConn College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Department of Extension, to provide a nutritional education workshop for 16 young men and […]
Plant Diagnostic App
The UConn Plant Diagnostic Lab has partnered with other university diagnostic labs led by Purdue University to create a plant diagnostic app for the iPhone and iPad. The app is now available and the download is free. Users select the diagnostic lab of their choice (usually the closest geographically), complete sample information forms and submit up to […]
Hydrangea Pruning
photo by Joey Williamson, Clemson Extension The hydrangea in front of my house is just a bunch of bare sticks in the winter, screaming to be cut down. It looks like quite a leafless eyesore after losing foliage in the fall. During the winter the local chickadees use it as a perch beneath the hanging […]
Teens Master the Art (and fun!) of Mapping at UConn’s NRC Academy
The Natural Resource Conservation Academy (NRCA) is an innovative program in conservation and land use planning for a select group of Connecticut high school students. The Academy starts with a week-long field course at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Throughout the week, students interact with UConn faculty and learn about mapping and geospatial information, water, forestry, […]
UConn Visits Grower Direct
UConn Extension visited Grower Direct Farms, a wholesale commercial greenhouse in Somers with UConn Vice Provost Mun Choi and Dean Weidemann of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
4-H Summer Science Photos
More photos from the UConn Extension 4-H STEM Summer Science program in Windham County.
Windham County 4-H Summer Science Mini-Camps
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. […]
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 […]
Tick Testing for Lyme Disease and Other Pathogens
UConn Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (CVMDL) Ticks can transmit Lyme disease and other diseases to humans and animals. UConn Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (CVMDL) can test ticks for the infectious agents causing Lyme and other diseases using PCR technology Results of tick testing assists health care providers in offering the most appropriate treatment […]
Survival 101: The Science of Survival
On June 1st, The Middlesex county 4-H Advisory Committee presented Survival 101 – The Science of Survival. This high energy and action packed workshop day included 10 different survival workshops focusing on the science and technology behind survival skills. The workshops included: Shelter Engineering, Fire Building, Survival Communication, Wild Game and Fishing, Wilderness and Survival […]
Making A Worm Bin
Making A Worm Bin (Vermicomposting – Indoor Composting with Worms) By Dawn Pettinelli, Associate Extension Educator, PSLA. (Written 2014, updated 2025) Looking for a low-tech way to recycle kitchen scraps while at the same time creating a great soil amendment, right in your own home? If so, vermicomposting, or in layman’s terms, composting with worms […]
Dealing in Imagery
By Emily Wilson, UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research and CT ECO My extra desk has seen a steady stream of boxes – little and big ones, brown and black ones, even an iPad box (no iPad included). One had old maps crumpled up to protect its contents. Some have been dropped off […]
Ten Tips for the June Gardener
Lightly cultivate soil after a heavy rain to avoid compaction. A layer of mulch reduces the soil crusting and compaction caused by raindrops. Check container plants daily during hot weather, they will need water often. Check for small holes that signal flea beetle damage on tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. There is still time to sow […]
Using GPS for Monitoring and Mapping Land Trust Holdings
By Cary Chadwick (updated 9/2025) On May 3, CLEAR’s Geospatial Training Program (GTP) and the Connecticut Land Conservation Council held its second session of a training course called “Using GPS for Monitoring and Mapping Land Trust Holdings.” The one-day course is designed to teach participants how to use a handheld GPS receiver to map property […]
Latin American Development
By Joe Bonelli, Associate Extension Educator In-Residence UConn Extension hosted Ginna Rodriguez, a visiting Fellow from Columbia at the request of UConn Global Training and Development Institute (GTDI). Ginna is from the Universidad Javeriana and Universidad ICESI in Columbia and was at UConn participating in the Economic Empowerment Program at the GTDI. UConn Extension was […]
Sugar Maple – Value, Strengths, Threats and Resilience
By Tom Worthley, Assistant Extension Professor, UConn Extension Hardly an autumn season goes by without numerous writers in magazines, newspapers and websites extolling the virtues of sugar maples for their foliar brilliance and colorful contributions to the Connecticut countryside. Shortly thereafter the late winter and spring can be relied upon to summon forth additional textual homage […]
Soil Testing at UConn
The University of Connecticut Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory has been serving the farmers, greenhouse growers and residents of Connecticut for over 80 years. Our Goals The Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory has three major objectives. First is to provide an inexpensive means for both agricultural producers and home owners to test their soil fertility and receive […]
The Health Toll of Immigration
By SABRINA TAVERNISE — The New York Times — May 18, 2013 J. Michael Short for The New York Times A growing body of mortality research on immigrants has shown that the longer they live in this country, the worse their rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. And while their American-born children […]