growing vegetables

Vegetable Production Certificate Course

We’re offering a Vegetable Production Certificate Course, beginning on March 12, 2020. It’s a hybrid format, online and in-person for new and beginning farmers. This year only, we have a special introductory fee of $100 or $150 plus $4 convenience fee depending on the course option you choose.

The course description is available at http://bit.ly/Vegetables2020 and online registration is at http://bit.ly/ExtensionStore.

Registration is due by 5 PM on March 2, 2020.

Please contact the course coordinator, Shuresh Ghimire (Shuresh.Ghimire@uconn.edu, 860-870-6933) with any questions about this course.

10 Tips for the April Gardener

UConn Extension’s Home and Garden Center has a lot of knowledge to grow on.

Ten Tips for the April Gardener:
1. Prune back bedraggled looking ground covers and fertilize lightly after April 15.
2. Check fruit trees for tent caterpillars, they emerge around the same time leaves sprout. Blast nests with a strong spray of water to destroy them.
3. Fertilize all fruits mid-month except for strawberries- these are fertilized later in the season.
4. Keep Easter lilies in a moist and brightly lit location. They can be planted in the garden after the danger of frost. Read about Easter lilies – http://uconnladybug.wordpress.com/
5. Set out rain barrels for extra water this summer.
6. If you have dead spots in the lawn, patch them before the summer heat.
7. Remove any remaining leaves from last summer on roses and spread a thin layer of new mulch underneath them. This will help prevent the spread of any diseases that may have over-wintered.
8. Divide overcrowded summer or fall blooming perennials.
9. To speed up the warming of soil, cover beds with black plastic for a few weeks.
10. Hardy water lilies may be planted in pools in spring but wait until the water reaches 70° for tropical water lilies.

For more gardening tips, visit us online.

New School Garden

Heather Pease from UCONN Hartford County Extension Expanded Food Nutrition Education Program and Food Corps member Deanna Lampo installed concrete block raised beds in the courtyard of Vance Village Elementary School in New Britain. Deanna teaches an after school garden and nutrition education class.

The  garden beds were built with concrete blocks that were purchased with funds  given by the Hartford County Extension Council. Now that the garden is in place after school students will plant the seeds of early spring vegetables such as peas, broccoli, and lettuces. Once the plants grow the students will eat they food they grew! The garden is an important link to nutrition education.  Most of these plants will be ready to eat in about 45 days. If they grow it, they it they will eat it!

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