Most of these roles are for an average 18-20 hours per week over the 10 week summer period with some requiring a bit of weekend and/or evening hours, although these circumstances vary by position. Some of these positions for employment are contingent upon the successful completion of a pre-employment criminal background check.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to intern with us this summer!
In the spring, remove any large debris from the lawn that may have the potential to smother and kill your grass as it starts to resume growth in the spring. Once excess debris is removed, rake your lawn to remove any dead grass.
Get Rid of Bare Spots
Reseed any bare patches with grass seed to reduce spaces where weeds can grow and help to create a dense and consistent turfgrass surface to match the rest of the lawn’s lush look.
Don’t Cut the Grass too Short
Mowing the lawn too short can cause it to “stress”, which in turn will prevent it from flourishing. The height of cut should be maintained at least 3 inches tall. Never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf blade during the mowing process. Grass clippings should be returned to the turfgrass surface. As the leaf clippings degrade, they release nutrients back into the turfgrass lawn.
Sharpen Mower Blades and Clean Up
Sharpen mower blades and clean mowing equipment of debris. When cleaning off equipment, make sure that grass clipping stuck on the underside of the mower is not rinsed where they can get washed into stormwater drains.
Water (If needed)
During the growing season, consider watering lawn areas, if there have been no measurable rain. Lawns require about an inch of water/week, therefore deep and infrequent watering will keep the lawn healthy during the hot summer months. Water early in the morning to allow the turfgrass roots to absorb the water, but also time for the leaves to dry.
Lawns that are not irrigated will become dormant and “rest” during the hot summer months, but will resume active growth when hot summer temperatures turn cool.
Different turfgrasses require different watering or nutrients to persist. Consider turfgrasses that utilize less water or fertilizer in lawns with little activity. Some grasses are better suited to full sun, others better suited to partial shade. Fine fescues can survive with few inputs and do well in dry partial shade conditions.
Feed Your lawn
Like people, turfgrass lawns, require nutrients protect itself against insects, weeds or diseases that grow in the turfgrass canopy. Fertilize when turfgrass is actively growing so that the lawn will benefit from each fertilizer application.
Fertilizing your lawn is important, especially if the lawn may thin out due wear damage from active children and pets.
Fertilizers that release nutrients slowly over time (slow release) can extend the duration of feeding. Quick release fertilizers provide a quick response and do not provide a consistent slow release of nutrients. Slow release fertilizers can be synthetic or organic.
Older lawns typically require less fertilizer than younger lawns. Overtime older lawns can release nutrients back into the soil.
Attract Pollinators to your Garden
Pollinators will be attracted to all flowering plants, including weeds in the lawn. If pollinators are to be protected, mow the lawn to remove the flowers before any herbicide is applied. Pollinators will not travel to weeds to collect pollen if the flowers have been removed.
Clean and Polish
Make sure you have cleaned and lubricated all the garden tools you have been using before storing them away.
Give Your Lawn What It Wants
Fertilizing your lawn is absolutely necessary if you find that it is struggling to grow. Completing this process in the early spring will jumpstart the growth of your grass.
Hire the Professionals
Hire a professional landscape contractor or lawn care company to help manage your lawn. These professionals are trained to make environmentally friendly adjustments that will help you grow a healthy lawn.
By Shuresh Ghimire, UConn Cooperative Extension and Andy Radin, URI Cooperative Extension
Something important for you to consider: your use of plastic mulch in vegetable production. This is especially worthy to think about given that plastic mulch isn’t just for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant anymore. Most small-scale growers use it for onions, lettuce, herbs, and more. You’ve no doubt heard about biodegradable mulch, but possibly not so great things. Here are some important questions you may have, and some real answers.
Can plastic mulch actually “degrade?” Yes, and No.
First, the NO.
Degradation caused by sunlight, heat, moisture, and mechanical stress results in ever-smaller fragments of plastic, ultimately becoming what are called “microplastics.” According to a quick search on Google Trends, this word as a topic has increased dramatically over the last 5 years, which corresponds to an increase in our understanding of just how pervasive these pollutants are on land and in the oceans, and the possible and probable effects they have on species richness and diversity. It’s a disturbing and inescapable fact that plastics are changing the planet for the worse.
Now for the YES!
Degradation of plastic by microorganisms, known as biodegradation, is very much a real thing, provided the plastic is made of the polymers that microbes can consume. Soil-biodegradable plastic mulch breaks down into CO2, water, and microbial biomass.
But let it be stated right here up front: except for paper-based mulches, there are no biodegradable plastic mulches that are approved for use by certified organic farms in the United States. (See Box with NOP standards for reasons why.) If you are a certified organic grower, you cannot make the switch. You are permitted to use paper-based mulches, as long as they do not contain any synthetic materials. However, as they reduce the soil temperature, these do not perform well in our cold springs and early summers when warmth is desired. Further, our (usually) plentiful rainfall and warm summer weather causes rapid breakdown of these materials.
But if you otherwise do use plastic mulch, please read on as we consider a list of potential issues with the use of soil-biodegradable mulch (BDM.)
How much do BDMs break down during the growing season?
Ghimire et al. (2018) found that among 4 products they tested for pumpkin production for two years in Mount Vernon, WA and Knoxville, TN, by the end of the season, less than 8% of the soil originally covered became exposed in Mount Vernon, and that was less than 25% in Knoxville. At Mount Vernon, the 2-year average daily air temperature for the pumpkin growing season (June–September) was 63 °F, RH was 76%, and total rainfall was 6 inches (4 inches in year 1 and 8 inches in year 2). At Knoxville, the 2-year average daily air temperature was 77 °F, RH was 80%, and total rainfall was 10 inches (14 inches in year 1 and 5 inches in year 2). These mulches really hold up during the season they are applied!
A variety of vegetable crops grown on BDM in Gresczyk Farms in Litchfield, CT. Photo: Shuresh Ghimire
How do yields on BDM compare to yields on polyethylene (PE) mulch materials?
Our team also looked at that over several years and found relatively similar yield results between BDM and PE mulch. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to state this definitively because in a survey of comparative studies, Martín-Closas et al. (2017) found better performance, worse performance, and equal performance between BDM and PE. But these were in a wide range of soil and climate conditions. The chances of BDM performing better than PE in an exceptionally wet summer in eastern North Carolina are slim- the stuff will break down more rapidly, so you do take something of chance there.
Will last year’s mulch bits disappear by the time I am prepping beds this coming year?
Visual assessments of macroscopic BDM fragments (>2.36 mm) show that after 4 years of annual BDM application from 2015 to 2018 in northwest Washington, mulch recovery from soil in spring 2019 ranged from 23 to 64% of the amount applied (area basis), indicating there was no accumulation of mulch fragments in the soil even after repeated applications (Ghimire et al., 2020). Recovery further decreased to 4-16% (mass basis) 2 years after the final mulch incorporation in fall 2020 (Griffin-LaHue et al., 2022). Only paper BDMs (e.g. Weed Guard Plus) show 100% biodegradation within the timespan of this study, but the conclusion from the study was that BDMs are degrading and do not accumulate in soil after repeated use. The longevity is strongly influenced by soil texture [see footnote], climatic factors (annual rainfall, annual average air temperatures), and product formulations. As you might expect, biodegradation is more rapid in warmer, wetter climates and in medium textured soils which have the benefits of good water-holding capacity as well as decent porosity.
Yes, there is differential breakdown among the products, and some of it remains for up to a few years. Products that perform the best within a season also probably leaves residues for longer. These are often thicker. But that doesn’t mean it leaves behind microplastics. The limits of instrumentation make it nearly impossible to document the final-most end-stage of decomposition of soil biodegradable plastic, whereas microplastics are actually detectable.
Isn’t BDM more expensive than PE mulch?
Yes, it really is more expensive to purchase the material- two to three times more, depending on thickness. Plan to lay out more cash on the front end of the season. BUT: don’t forget to calculate how much you can save on the back end. There’s an easy to use calculator available for download here. [Note: this link will take you to an Excel spreadsheet on your browser tab. You can download it by clicking on the “File” menu in the upper left-hand corner of the spread sheet and then click on “download.” After doing that, make sure that you enable the macro features.]
Below is what the calculator generated based on using 3- three-thousand-foot rolls of mulch on an acre. There are many assumptions built into this output, and the spreadsheet allows you to adjust all of those. But going with what they filled in for default estimates (labor rates, tractor time, dumping fees, and more), take a look.
In this case with all of the default values they started with (again, which you can adjust), it costs 11% more per acre. In case you’re wondering, many of the dollar values they used are on the generous side, so this may be an over-estimate. Over-estimating is always good in enterprise planning, at least to a point.
Other factors not accounted for in the spreadsheet:
Aggravation/Procrastination factor: there’s nothing like an un-fun job to persuade you to do other things that seem less aggravating. But pulling out the drip tape is the only thing stopping you from disking over your plastic-mulched beds.
Interference with timeliness of cover crop planting: getting those beds cleaned up speeds you towards getting your cover crop seed planted. Getting deep into the financial analysis, it’s entirely possible that the earlier cover crop planting recovers more nutrients and increases organic matter in your soil, which are things you can take to the bank.
If you grow into the fall and winter, you have tunnels to clean up but also fall planting deadlines to keep. Deadlines like that can easily cause a delay of field cleanup because every day of waning daylight in mid to late September reduces fall tunnel crop growth.
You are putting less polyethylene mulch onto the land and eventually, into the ocean. Hard to calculate costs associated with that, but they are real.
Can it be applied in the field just like PE mulch?
Yes, more or less BUT three caveats:
It is more delicate than PE so it has to be handled a little more gently.
If it does get damaged while laying it down, decomposition will be accelerated
MOST IMPORTANT- it should not be applied as tightly as PE mulch because it continues to tighten as the weather warms. If it is installed too tightly at first, it will split as it tightens up, and this will allow early summer weeds to take over.
What are the common experiences of the growers using BDM in Connecticut?
PE mulch leaves more fragments in the field than BDM
The purchasing cost of BDM is greater than PE, so BDM appears to be expensive in the beginning of the growing season, but overall BDM is cheaper after accounting for disposal costs
Growers can prepare the field for cover crops at the end of the season when the crop is grown with BDM; the mulch is disked/harrowed in after the drip tape is removed, which does not require much extra field work. But in years with wet Fall, cover crops are delayed or cannot be planted when PE mulch is used
Even with mulch deterioration in the later season, no/minimal weed growth occurs
Some growers shared experience of mulch adhesion with cantaloupe, but has not affected marketability of crops
Removal of PE mulch and picking up fragments at the end of the season is the least liked job of growers
Weed control and yield is comparable between BDM and PE mulch
They do not have any concern with BDM fragments after incorporation in the field as their observation is that BDM degrades in a couple of years
Pepper grown on BDM in Cold Spring Brook Farm, Berlin, Connecticut. Photo: Shuresh Ghimire
Think it over- it could change things for your late summer-into-fall transition… for the better. For a video testimonial from a Connecticut farmer, watch this video.
You still have questions about BDM, this FAQ FAQs about BDM might help.
Footnote: We did not specifically look at the relationship between soil texture and mulch biodegradation rate. However, a study from Brazil (Duarte et al. 2019) reports that the CO2 production was much higher when a biodegradable mulch was tested in sandy-loam textured soil compared to clay and sand-textured soil. In general, degradation rate would be higher in the soil where there are greater populations of microbial communities, the soil is not too dry or not too wet (balance of water and air in the soil pore/capillaries). This probably means greater degradation rate in sandy loam or silty loam soil than clay or sands.
Warmer weather encourages many types of outdoor activities, it pays to be aware of certain plants that can make the outdoor experience unpleasant. Poison ivy leads the list of plants that cause skin irritation, or dermatitis. For those who are very sensitive to the effects of the oil produced by the poison ivy plant, direct contact with the plant can require medical attention. More information from our UConn Home & Garden Education Center is available here.
We are frequently asked if coffee grounds can be used in a garden. The short answer is yes, coffee grounds can be used in garden soil!
Coffee grounds contain some major nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) as well as some micronutrients, so put them to work in your garden. Allow them to dry and then spread them around the base of plants.
Apply no more than one-half inch of coffee grounds when putting fresh coffee grounds directly to the ground as mulch. Because coffee grounds are finely textured and easily compacted, thick layers of coffee grounds as mulch can act as a barrier to moisture and air movement in soils.
So if you are using coffee grounds as a “dressing” for specific plants or trees, apply the grounds in a thin layer or work into the top layer of the soil.
We’re frequently asked about Bentgrass. It’s the grass that looks dead when everything else is green, has the puffy appearance, and is squishy when you step on it. Pamm Cooper from our UConn Home & Garden Education Center explains what bentgrass is and how you can manage it in your lawn.
Friend or foe? What are those seedlings coming up in your lawn? We are getting numerous calls and e-mails from people all around the state about seedlings coming up in their lawns and gardens. They believe, or are being told, that these are poison ivy, when in fact they are maple seedlings.
People need to check the leaves carefully – poison ivy is in threes, maples seedling have two leaves.
Some people do not want to mow their lawns for fear of being exposed to poison ivy. This is a mast year for certain maples, that is why there are so many.
You asked, we answered. We’ve been getting questions about Joro spiders. Gail Reynolds from our UConn Extension Master Gardener program answered:
Joro spiders, Trichonephila clavata, have been sensationalized in recent news stories. The actual appearance of these spiders in Connecticut has not been documented. According to various reports, this spider was first noted in Georgia in 2014. Its arrival was most likely through imported shipping and/or plant materials. The Joro spider is native to China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and the eastern part of India.
The spider has not spread quickly and is found in northern Georgia, western South Carolina, and extreme southern North Carolina. They have been found in much lesser numbers in Tennessee and Alabama.
Most scientific assessments of this spider do not think the spider, or its eggs, can survive in colder temperatures of New England winters except perhaps for milder coastal areas.
The spider moves by spinning silk threads, which get caught by the wind and dispersed. The spider is only very mildly venomous and must be specifically provoked to bite.
Research has yet to determine if the Joro spider will displace any native spiders from their habitats or if they can all co-exist. University of Georgia scientists have reported that Joro spiders will capture and eat adult brown-marmorated stink bugs, another invasive insect and crop pest. Native spiders will not prey on the invasive stink bugs.
Gold Award – Marketing – Budget Under $1000: Bug Week – Kara Bonsack and Stacey Stearns
Silver Award – Marketing – Budget Over $1000: Ask UConn Extension – Kara Bonsack, Stacey Stearns, Mike Zaritheny and Eshan Sonpal
Bronze Award – Writing for Newspapers: Stacey Stearns – “When Did GMO Become a Dirty Word”
Congratulations to our award recipients!
Wrack Lines Magazine: Connecticut Sea Grant
The Spring-Summer 2019 issue of Wrack Lines magazine has received a Grand Award in the APEX 2020 Awards for Publication Excellence. The magazine focuses on climate change issues faced by residents along the coast, highlighting how “People and Nature Intertwine in New Ways”.
Congratulations to all the writers, photographers, editors and graphic designers!
