How would a dairy or livestock business survive if a Foreign Animal Disease arrived in the United States? Using Foot and Mouth Disease as an example, participants of UConn Extension’s Biosecurity Workshop heard from Dr. Richard Horwitz about the New England Secure Milk Supply’s steps to maintain a permit to ship milk when the disease […]
UConn Extension
Tips for Donating Extra Garden Produce
Many of you are growing your own food this summer at home or in a community garden. Do you have an abundance of vegetables – more than you and your family can consume? Here are some tips from Maine Extension on donating your extra produce: Home Gardeners Growing extra food in your own garden, or […]
An Opportunity to Explore Outside the Box with UConn Extension
By Tom Martella UConn Extension Summer Intern Often times students at my age find themselves concerned that the subject matter they have been studying for the past two, three, or even four years is not what they see themselves doing for the rest of their lives. Numerous questions begin to arise: Is it too […]
Bug Week Offers Programs For Whole Family
UConn Extension’s Bug Week is right around the corner, and we have programs for the whole family. Bugs are the unsung heroes of our ecosystem, providing services such as pollination and natural pest control. However, bugs don’t stop at environmental benefits. They have also impacted our culture through the manufacturing of silk, sources of dyes, wax […]
UConn Climate Corps
UConn Extension’s Chet Arnold, Juliana Barrett and Bruce Hyde are part of a team that received funding from the University as part of the Academic Plan Proposal Awards. Other team members include: Mark Boyer (Geography), Maria Chrysochoou (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Sylvain DeGuise (Pathobiology), and John Volin (Natural Resources and the Environment). This project will […]
Wild and Wonderful Insects of New England
Written by Pamm Cooper Toward the end of spring and the beginning of summer, I find that the most interesting insects are to be found. While spring offers some really good forester caterpillars and their attractive moths, among other things, nature seems to me to save the best for last, it seems to me. From […]
Emergency Preparedness for Families in Coastal Communities in Southeastern Connecticut
UConn Extension has received a two-year grant from USDA-NIFA to work with residents in four Southeastern Connecticut coastal communities promoting storm (coastal or heavy precipitation event) preparedness. The coastal communities of Connecticut and Rhode Island are impacted by flooding, storm surge, and wind causing property damage during major storm events such as nor’easters and hurricanes. […]
Telling Stories with Maps
Emily Wilson wrote a blog post for Map@Syst on the story maps being created by UConn Extension: CLEAR’s Extension faculty have long used maps to educate land use decision makers and the public about Connecticut’s landscape and natural resources. The Connecticut’s Changing Landscape (CCL) research project has been the foundation of the education. CCL is […]
Soil Testing for Lawns and Gardens
By Dawn Pettinelli for UConn Extension Soil testing is an inexpensive, yet valuable, tool for assessing the fertility of lawn and garden areas. Test results indicate the soil’s pH level, the amounts of available plant nutrients, and the existence of nutrient imbalances, excesses or deficiencies. WHY SHOULD I HAVE MY SOIL TESTED? Soil testing eliminates […]
Mix Some Whole Grains with Local Fruits and Veggies
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.
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.
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.
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]