Extension News: March 2010 Archives

Saving Special Places is New Hampshire's largest annual conservation event, hosted by UNH Cooperative Extension, The Society for the Protection of NH Forests, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (N.H. Office).

The conference will be held on Saturday, April 10, at John Stark Regional High School in Weare. Whether you're new to conservation and want to learn from the people who do it every day, or you're an old hand wanting to network with colleagues, you won't want to miss Saving Special Places.

Three workshop sessions offer 11 tracks of workshops (for a total of 33 workshops) suitable for beginner level through experienced. A sample:

• Basic Conservation Options
• Importance of Shrublands and Young Forests to Wildlife
• Making the Most of Your Town's Conservation Dollars
• Challenges to Conservation Easements

More advanced participants can attend some of the Round Table discussions.

Keynote Speaker Lewis Feldstein, president of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, will explore the link between the special places that conference participants strive to conserve and the social capital that characterizes healthy communities. He will examine what "community" means in the 21st century, the role of public space in New Hampshire's semi-rural communities, and his evolving vision of what makes New Hampshire a special place.

Visit the conference web site and register online. (Note that the early registration fee of $60 is in effect until Friday, April 2. After that the fee increases to $75.)

Gearing up for some yard and garden work? Take advantage of our low-cost diagnostic and testing services:

Soil testing Following the recommendations from a soil test will help your ornamental and food plants grow well this season.

Insect and tick identification Most insects cause no harm to plants, humans, pets, or structures, and many perform useful roles in our environment. Accurate identification lets you distinguish friend from foe.

Plant diagnosis The long wet summer of 2009 wreaked havoc on yard and garden plants. If you have a plant, crop, or patch of lawn that's not doing well, get an accurate diagnosis of what's going on, along with a recommendation for managing the problem.

Late blight update: Speaking of plant diseases, learn what you can do to help prevent a repeat of last summer's devastating late-blight attack on the region's tomato and potato crops.

Spring comes early to New Hampshire at the University of New Hampshire's annual Greenhouse Open House, March 26 and 27.

Coinciding with the popular Seacoast Flower, Home and Garden Show at the nearby Whittemore Center, the Greenhouse Open House runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

Free and open to the general public, the Open House is a great source for locally produced plants and information from a variety of horticultural experts.

Some features of the Open House

• Colorful staff and student displays and educational lectures of interest to home gardeners and landscapers.
• UNH-grown plants for sale.
• Seminars on topics such as coping with garden insects, promoting beneficial insects in the garden, cooking with herbs, creating inviting entryways with plants, and preventing late blight.
• Faculty and student research presentations of a variety of subjects, from strawberry wine, to winter-sprouting broccoli, to growing sweet potatoes.
• Displays by horticulture students from the Thompson School of Applied Sciences on the themes of The Old Country Farm and The Green City.
• Publications by UNH authors available for sale.
• The Greenhouse Cafe (proceeds help fund the UNH Horticultural Club's spring trip to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.

The UNH greenhouses are located off Main Street on the west end of Durham. Lectures will take place in Putnam Hall across the parking lot from the greenhouses. For more information, including a schedule of lectures.

Coinciding with the Open House on Saturday is the Little Royal Livestock show at the Skoglund Livestock Arena at UNH. This free event, open to the public, showcases students competing against one another for the best turned-out cows or horses. Learn more.

The Greenhouse Open House is sponsored by the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, the UNH biological sciences and horticulture academic programs, Thompson School of Applied Sciences horticulture department, the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, and UNH Cooperative Extension.

Photo: UNH students and staff create colorful displays for this year's Greenhouse Open House. By David Goudreault.