What's New
An Internet WebQuest on Getting Started with Chickens
You and your family are thinking of keeping chickens in order to have a supply of fresh meat and eggs.
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.
Planning on Canning (Freezing, Drying, etc.)?
We've noticed more lawns and backyards sprouting tomatoes, beans and zucchini this year.
Even small gardens can produce an overabundance of vegetables at the peak of their harvest season. Preserving the overflow can help you store high-quality food for later use.
Canning, freezing, drying, and common storage are the four main methods of preserving homegrown food. The method(s) you choose will depend on whether you can find safe preservation guidelines for the foods you want to preserve, whether you have the equipment and space needed to process and store your garden crops, how much it will cost, and whether you and your family like the preserved products.
If you have questions about preserving food safely, call our toll-free Into Line (1-877-398-4769), or check the National Center for Home Food Preservation Web site http://www.uga.edu/nchfp.
If you plan to can any vegetable but tomatoes, pressure canning is the only safe method. Pressure canners that have a dial gauge should be checked for accuracy yearly, and most have a rubber gasket that needs periodic replacement. You can have your dial gauge checked at our Family, Home & Garden Education Center in Manchester or at most county Extension offices.
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 06/23/2008
(previous questions of the week)
This Week's NH Outside
Mother Snapper
By
Susan M. Poirier, Master Gardener
It rained last night. Anytime it rains in early June, we have to search the yard carefully before letting the dogs out, because early summer rain brings fearsome guests: female snapping turtles, intent on finding soft ground for burying their eggs. We’ve identified three separate individuals over the years. Two are huge, one merely large. How do I know they’re snapping turtles? What other turtle is eight to 14 inches long (some grow to 20 inches) and weighs up to 70 pounds, with a massive head and a long sawtooth tail? When you approach many turtles on land, they pull in their heads and legs and hide under their protective shell, but the snapper can’t do that. Instead, she’ll likely turn and snap. Approach with care! Her powerful jaws can sever a finger or toe.
(Full Story) posted 06/27/2008
Big Tree of the Month
"Flowering Dogwood
New Hampshire’s Big Tree for May”
By Anne Krantz, NH Big Tree Team
The elegant simplicity of the clear white flowers of native dogwood trees (Cornus floridia) that grow along forest edges and wooded roadsides in southern New Hampshire, brighten up dark woodland settings to create stunning natural scenery in May. The long lasting blossoms, that open just as the leaves begin to emerge, are technically four bracts or bud scales that unfold to reveal the cluster of real flowers in the center.
The state champion dogwood grows along a roadside in Amherst: 30 feet tall with 31 inch trunk circumference. The former owner of this champion tree, renowned gardener Wally Alberts and her husband Bob, discovered a group of native dogwood trees growing in the woods on their forested property. To enjoy these beautiful trees, Bob successfully moved a few from the rear of the property to the front, including the champion tree. They located it next to a stone wall near the road and Wally created a fabulous rock garden underneath. This was perfect for the tree which has obviously thrived as surrounding trees grew up providing afternoon shade. (more)
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
