Grow Your Own Vegetables: We Have Tips and Resources

April 23, 2020

vegetables in the dirtHave you been thinking about starting your own vegetable garden while staying home and staying healthy? Now is the perfect time to select some seeds or starter plants and get started.

Growing your own vegetables is fun, cost-effective, and helps provide your family with a safe and nutritious food supply. UConn CAHNR Extension has many programs to assist with your vegetable garden, whether you are starting a garden for the first time, or returning for another season.

We created a new page at http://bit.ly/GrowYourOwnVegetables that will help you get started, select seeds, start your seeds, avoid common garden mistakes, test your soil, diagnose plant problems (we can help with that!), and identify pests.

Perhaps you do not have a yard or other area to start a garden in. Container gardening may be the right choice for you, and our fact sheet explains what you need. Safety is a top priority for all of us. Incorporate food safety into your garden and harvest with information from our educators. Information is also available on how to store your garden produce.

“Along with the satisfaction of growing your own fruits and vegetables, gardening gets you outside, in the fresh air and sunshine. You just feel better all-around after working with plants,” said Sarah Bailey, state coordinator for the UConn Extension Master Gardener program. “Even if you just grow some herbs and flowers in containers, you get the benefits.”

Specialists from our Master Gardener program, Vegetable Crops program, Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory, and Home and Garden Education Center contribute to this page. We are also ready to answer your other questions via email consultation.

UConn CAHNR Extension has more than 100 years’ experience strengthening communities in Connecticut and beyond. Extension programs address the full range of issues set forth in CAHNR’s strategic initiatives:

  • Ensuring a vibrant and sustainable agricultural industry and food supply
  • Enhancing health and well-being locally, nationally, and globally
  • Designing sustainable landscapes across urban-rural interfaces
  • Advancing adaptation and resilience in a changing climate.

Programs delivered by Extension reach individuals, communities, and businesses in each of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities.

We are here. We are ready to serve you.