What's New
Belknap County UNH Cooperative Extension is hosting a series of spring workshops for people interested in gardening and nature.
Workshops are free with the exception of May 8.
If you require special accommodations in order to participate or you would like more info, please call 527-5475.
Got Outside Questions?
Call Us:
1-877-398-4769
Family, Home and Garden Education Center
The
Family, Home & Garden Education Center at UNH Cooperative Extension
in Manchester provides practical solutions to everyday questions for the
citizens of New Hampshire . It is staffed by professionals and intensively
trained volunteers who are available to answer your questions about gardens,
lawns and landscapes, fruits and vegetables, pest problems, household food safety and food preservation, tree planting and care, backyard livestock and more. We
offer written information, programs or referrals on family finances, nutrition,
parenting and child development, and 4-H youth development.
The center is staffed 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and Wednesday evenings 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Toll free number: 1-877-EXT-GROW (1-877-398-4769) OR E-Mail your questions
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
Fall 2008 Master Gardener Class
BECOME AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF
UNH AND COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
to educate and share gardening
knowledge and experience with
individuals and communities.
Learn about: Botany, Soils, Fertilizers,
Entomology, Pesticide Use and Safety,
Plant Propagation, Vegetables,
Composting, Fruit, Woody
Ornamentals, Lawn Care,
Houseplants, Organic Practices, Plant
Pathology, Landscape Design, Annuals,
Perennials, Backyard Wildlife, Backyard
Livestock, Water Quality, Invasive
Species, Trees and more...
THE 2008 FALL CLASS WILL BE HELD AT THE
UNITARIAN CHURCH IN CONCORD CLASSES ARE ON
THURSDAYS, 9-4:00, SEPTEMBER 4 - DECEMBER 11, 2008.
Applications are being accepted.
Question of the Week
Q: I have what look like large winged ants swarming in my house. What are they and what should I do?
A: First you'll need to identify the insect in question. Warm spring temperatures and high moisture levels provide favorable conditions for increased activity by both carpenter ants and termites. Carpenter ants have a narrow “waist” and two pairs of wings unequal in length (the front pair is longer than the back).Termites are torpedo-shaped with no waist and have two pairs of wings, almost equal in length. The antennae of ants are sharply bent in the middle like an elbow, whereas termite antennae are straight and beadlike. Both insects are between 3/16-inch and 3/8-inch long.
Although termite swarms emerging inside a structure usually don't survive, a swarm usually indicates an infestation. If you have termites, you'll need professional help. Licensed exterminators can examine the structure to determine where the colony is nesting and just how large it is. They have the most effective chemicals and the technical expertise for proper application.
Homeowners who have properly identified the swarmers as carpenter ants can try to combat the problem on their own. For more information about carpenter ants, call the number below or see our online Carpenter Ant fact sheet at http://extension.unh.edu/Pubs/HGPubs/CarpAnts.pdf
Got questions? UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Education Center Info Line offers practical help finding answers for your lawn and garden questions. Call toll free at 1-877-EXT-GROW (1-877-398-4769) M-F, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. & W 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. OR E-Mail your questions
posted 05/01/2008
(previous questions of the week)
This Week's NH Outside
Soaring
By Susan M. Poirier, Master Gardener
UNH Cooperative Extension
Today I watched a turkey vulture as it dipped and turned and circled over the swamp. The day was cloudy so perhaps the thermals hadn’t built up enough to enable the big bird to soar high in the sky as it usually would. I was pleased to see it so low though; I could watch it clearly with bare eyes and didn’t need to move the binoculars around the sky, trying to keep up with it.
Watching a large bird effortlessly float through the air is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Just the slightest dip of a wing and the entire bird changes direction, zooming down towards the ground to check out a dark spot that might be a road kill; another brief movement and back up it soars.
(Full Story) posted 05/07/2008
Suggested from Extension
Interactive CD on Lawn Care Available
Interested in getting a greener, healthier lawn and having fun learning how?
UNH Cooperative Extension Educator Sadie Puglisi and WWW & Media specialist Faye Cragin have teamed up to produce Integrated Pest Management for Turfgrass, an interactive CD and website about caring for grass in home lawns, as well as in municipal and commercial landscapes such as athletic fields, cemeteries, golf courses and office parks.
The CD and website offer information on the basics of integrated pest management, how grass grows, identifying and managing turf diseases, scouting for grubs, an herbicide glossary, and interactive decision tools about herbicide use. Quizzes at the end of each section will test your knowledge.
The website is available to everyone at extension.unh.edu/agric/turf/turfipm.htm. For those who don’t have Internet access, the CD comes ready with Macromedia Flash that can download onto your computer in just seconds.
CDs cost $5 each. Click here to order. Payable to UNH Cooperative Extension and mail to: UNH Cooperative Extension Publications Center, Nesmith Hall, 131 Main St., Durham, NH 03824.
These publications can be ordered on line. Click here for the order form
