The UConn Extension Master Gardener Program is seeking applications for the position of Master Gardener New Haven County Program Coordinator. This is a 16‐hour‐per‐week position and is a temporary, six‐month appointment. Renewal is optional pending coordinator review and availability of program funding. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: provide leadership for the base county Master Gardener program. Successful candidate will coordinate staffing of program mentors, volunteers and interns; coordinate and assist with annual classroom portion of the program; work with UConn Extension center/ county‐based faculty and staff, as well as university based faculty and staff as needed. Will also need to work with allied community groups and Extension partners…
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Welcome to our new website!
We switched to a WordPress-based website on Jan. 4, 2019. The URL (website address) will remain the same. We hope to bring you a more interactive and streamlined website and hope you’ll be able to find everything you need during the transition. Your feedback is welcome!
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Todd Harrington – Organic Pioneer
By Will Rowlands NOV-DEC 2018 – Todd Harrington is the owner and driving force behind Harrington’s Organic Land Care in Bloomfield. Todd grew up in Canton and worked for his father’s commercial landscape company after school and on weekends. He studied mechanical engineering at UConn for two years and then took a few years off to work for tree care companies. After resuming his studies at UMass, he received a degree in arboriculture and forestry. He started a tree care division for his father’s business in 1987. Three years later he started his own business, Organicare. In 1997, he changed the name to Harrington’s Organicare and then again to Harrington’s…
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Spotted Lanternfly in New Jersey
2018 – Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) has been reported in New Jersey less than 100 miles from Connecticut. According to USDA APHIS, “Nymphs feed on a wide range of plant species, while adults prefer to feed and lay eggs on tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima). If allowed to spread, this pest seriously harm the country’s grape, orchard and logging industries.” For more information just do a search for Spotted Lanternfly USDA
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Monarch Update
By Diane St. John SEPT-OCT 2018 – The summer of 2018 has turned out to be a very good year for monarch butterflies in our state. The milkweed has had a great growing year and the monarchs arrived earlier than normal. I found my first eggs right after we had the damaging storms in May and am wondering if they were carried here by wind rather than their normal northern migration. At Natureworks in Northford I saw monarch eggs on our display garden milkweed in May, a pleasant shock as I had not seen an actual butterfly and would not see one for several more weeks I have talked with…
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The Importance of Trees
By Jeffrey Ward, CAES NOV-DEC 2018 – Coming from the corn fields of the Midwest 30 years ago, I was immediately struck by how forested Connecticut was, and still is. We live in a tree lovers paradise. Did you know that Connecticut’s urban communities have the highest tree cover of any state at 62%? It seems Nutmeggers have a natural yearning for homes nestled on tree-lined streets, for parks shaded by majestic trees, and for avenues flanked by leafy colonnades. The question arises – why? What are the benefits that trees provide us, both tangible and perceived, that make us want to live surrounded by them. Trees are important to our…
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Research at The Ag Station
JULY-AUG 2018 – It’s hardly a secret that The Ag Station is my favorite organization – but for all they contribute to science and society, many residents have no clue about what they do. At the very least, you – as a gardener and student of the natural world – should get acquainted with their work. Some Station research projects are long-term, like the new crops program and tick and mosquito monitoring. Others are more focused, such as research into nanoparticles and biochar. Here are some quick notes about several subjects being studied — truly a miniscule sampling of The Ag Station’s ongoing work at its New Haven, Hamden, Windsor…
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UConn’s New Chokeberry Nativars
JULY-AUG 2018 – Mark Brand, a professor of horticulture at UConn, recently introduced two new varieties of black chokeberry: Low Scape® Mound (UC165) and Low Scape® Hedger (UC166). Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) is native to the Eastern U.S. so we can use the term nativar instead of the more generic cultivar. Nativar is a term coined by Dr. Allan Armitage to indicate cultivars and hybrids derived from native plants. There’s a growing interest in using native plants and an increasing demand for improved varieties that perform well in our landscapes. The development process, which used traditional hybridizing techniques, took about 10 years. Both of these varieties flower on old wood…
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The Branch Manager
By Anne Rowlands MARCH-APRIL 2018 – Meet Christopher Hawver who – in the late ’90s after 18 years as a celebrated chef – chose to make a career change and pursue life as a rustic furniture maker. Why the switch? Like so many of us who find inspiration and comfort in a natural setting, Hawver was looking for a way into the woods. In his youth, he wondered how to make it possible. Could he be a forest ranger? A fishing or hunting guide? At age 15, however, the door to the woods swung shut when he began a culinary journey that lasted many years until – after taking up…
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In Search of Native Hops
SEPT-OCT 2017 – Prior to prohibition, common hops, Humulus lupulus, were grown in Connecticut by folks brewing their own beer. Some of these may have survived in the wild, but may be confused with the invasive Japanese hop, Humulus japonicus. If common hops were found growing locally, they could possibly be more resistant to diseases (e.g., downy mildew) than cultivated varieties. Target breeding this disease resistance into a domesticated variety could reduce pesticide use for locally grown hops. The species are easy to distinguish as common hop leaves are three-lobed or non-lobed while Japanese hops have 5-7 (sometimes 9) lobes. If you find any common hops, please provide Dr. Jim…
