Ergonomic tools were originally designed for senior citizens and those with physical ailments, both young and old.

An example of what you’d approximately get from a typical 250 lb. (live weight) whole pig.

Information on raising backyard poultry. Includes topics such as housing and management practices, care of eggs, nutrition requirements, disease and parasite control, chicken terms and additional sources of information.

Fact sheet on prevention and control of cannibalism in small poultry flocks.

An introduction to Poultry Disease and discussion of causes of diseases

Identification and Management of common External Parasites of Small Poultry Flocks.

Fact sheet on Marek's Disease a common disease of small poultry flocks.

Fact Sheet on the causes and prevention of Newcastle disease of poultry.

Fact Sheet on Pullorum and Fowl Typhoid, two diseases of importance to the small flock.

Bumblefoot disorder of poultry - symptoms, causes and treatment.

Fact Sheet for getting day-old chicks off to a good start.

Fact sheet on internal parasites in small flocks.

Recipe for wild bird food

African Violets can bloom all year long. They make great houseplants, with their cheerful flowers brightening up a windowsill even in the dead of winter.

A dish garden is a miniature landscape in an open, shallow container.

A guide to purchasing, caring for and growing cut flowers.

By autumn, many of the spring- and summer-blooming perennials have faded, leaving the garden bleak and colorless.  But some perennials, such as asters and goldenrod, will provide vivid color until the first killing frost or even later.

forcing spring-flowering bulbs

Winter protection is necessary for most types of garden roses, but we don’t recommend heavy fall pruning.

After the first hard frost of late fall use one of the following procedures for protecting your hybrid tea
and floribunda roses.

This fact sheet offers suggestions on designing a colorful border planting of annuals and perennials.

Geraniums are one of the most outstanding plants grown in the home garden. They are a very popular plant, so much so that the Penn State Cooperative Extension Service says that $1.00 out of every $5.00 spent on bedding plants in the United States is for geraniums. Many gardeners like to keep their geraniums from one year to the next.

I moved into a home with older established flower beds last year.  I've identified several peonies, but none flowered last year.  What can I do this year to ensure I get blossoms?

Forcing spring bulbs is easy to do and far less expensive than buying pots of
flowers from retail establishments that do the growing for you.

A brief history of poinsettias and instructions on the process of reflowering a plant year after year.

The potted geraniums I brought in for the winter are dropping their leaves. What’s going on?

What is the earliest spring-blooming tree or shrub that I can buy?

Night temperatures are cool, the air is almost crisp. The vegetable harvest is tapering off and green foliage is starting to change to beautiful shades of red and yellow. There are many signs that tell us that fall is here. But this year, instead of dreading a long, cold winter, why not make the most of this glorious season? Gardening is not finished—for that matter, it never is! There is always something to do, and right now is the time to plant spring-flowering bulbs.

Q. Can I divide perennials in the fall?

A. Late summer or early fall, when the worst of summer’s heat is over, is a great time to divide perennials. Because there are so many gardening tasks in the spring, it also helps to spread your workload.  Perennials need to be divided when they develop small or sparse foliage or bare spots in the middle. These signs are a good indicator that there is too much competition for water, nutrients and space.

Fall divisions will have plenty of time to develop new roots as long as you allow 6 to 8 weeks before the ground freezes.  Iris, peonies, poppies and moss pinks even do better when divided in early fall.  The only poor choice of a time to lift and divide perennials is in August, a hot month with little rain. If possible, lift and divide perennials when they are not in bud or bloom.

Choose a cool, cloudy day to divide perennials and try to water a day ahead. If dividing in the fall, cut the foliage back to 6 to 8 inches. Use a shovel to dig under all 4 sides of the plant about 3 inches out from the edge of the plant.  Lift out the clump to be divided, shake off the loose soil and remove any dead leaves or stems. Clumps with fibrous roots can be pulled apart by hand or with spading forks. Plants with tough, dense, roots (like hosta or daylily) may need to be cut apart with a knife or sharp spade. Discard the old centers of the plants as well as any soft, rotted roots. Re-plant your divisions immediately, water them well, and keep them moist for several weeks.

What can I do with all the fall leaves I’ve raked up?

I’d like to grow some garlic, and I’ve heard that mid-October is the traditional planting time.If so, how do I go about it?

Learn how to become a more successful gardener through a series of hands-on workshops sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension and the Massabesic Audubuon Center.

Animal manures and animal manure-based composts are rich in plant nutrients such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (P) and provide organic matter that conditions the soil, so they make excellent soil amendments for the home gardener. However, it is important to use them effectively and safely.

Question of the week

News about school gardens in Rockingham County.

We have a plant that looks like bamboo taking over our yard. What can we do?

Lead is a naturally occurring element that is present in all soils at very low concentrations of less than 50 parts per million (ppm). Elevated levels of lead in the soil are usually due to contamination.

How can I control poison ivy without using chemical herbicides?

I have terrible allergies in late summer. Are they caused by goldenrod?

What exactly does a rain garden do?

Information on comparing and choosing  slow-release fertilizers for your garden or landscape.

Question of the Week

Decorating our homes with greenery for the winter holidays is a ritual that dates back many centuries. Among the greens that are important this season we find evergreens, like balsam, spruce and fir, as well as holly, mistletoe, ivy, laurel and rosemary. All have great significance attached to them and most of it predates Christianity. For thousands of years, evergreens have represented signs of hope and life. Not only do they remain green when everything else in nature appears dead, some of the plants actually bear fruit.

question of the week

The soil testing lab takes your soil sample and runs a small portion of the sample through a series of sophisticated test equipment. The results provide a chemical inventory of the soil – clues as to the quantity of nutrients or elements in the soil and their availability for plant growth.

Cleaning up your vegetable garden will help to reduce next year's disease and insect problems. In fact, good sanitation is one of the most important steps you can take to insure that next year's garden will be healthy.

Plant disease agents such as bacteria, fungi and viruses all remain alive, though dormant, during the winter months. By recognizing the places where these organisms hide, gardeners can often destroy them and prevent disease outbreaks the following spring. Many fungi spend the winter on or in old leaves, fruit and other garden refuse. These fungi often form spores or other reproductive structures that remain alive even after the host plant has died. Cucumber and squash vines, cabbages, and the dried remains of tomato and bean plants are all likely to harbor fungi if left in the garden over the winter.

Insects, too, survive quite nicely over the winter months. Cucumber beetle, Colorado potato beetle and Mexican bean beetle all overwinter as adults. In spring they migrate to young plants where they feed and lay eggs for a new generation. Insects and plant pathogens survive on weeds as well as on garden plants. Many weeds serve as alternate hosts for insects and fungi, helping them to complete their life cycle. Destruction of these weeds removes a source of future troubles.

To avoid any or all of the above problems, infested plant debris should be carefully raked up and disposed of in the trash. Do not put refuse on your compost pile. It takes a fair amount of heat to kill these organisms, and you won't want to recycle them right back into the garden.

I've heard that ashes from my woodstove are good for my lawn and garden. If so, how do I use them?

Advantages and Disadvantages

Blueberry stem borer is a beetle also known as the rhododendron stem borer and the azalea stem borer. It is in the family Cerambycidae [long-horned borers] and has a two to three year life cycle.

question of the week

What safe methods do you suggest for protecting my family from mosquito bites?

Q. Is there something I can spray to get rid of the brown bugs that keep coming indoors?

A. The bug you’re referring to is probably the western conifer seed bug. It’s one of five seasonal insects that commonly invade NH homes in the fall. The others are ladybugs, boxelder bugs, cluster flies, and the newest arrival, the brown marmorated stink bug. These invaders enter through cracks and crevices around doors and windows, ventilation louvers, air conditioner vents, and chimneys and fireplaces. The best way to keep them out is to do some serious caulking and sealing before they begin to congregate on sunny days in the fall. If you have an air conditioner, cover the opening or remove it from the window.

Western conifer seed bug feeds on the developing seeds and flowers of conifers, especially pines, white spruce and hemlock.  They are easily identified by their large size, about ¾ of an inch, and the flattened leaf-like expansion on their back legs. If you crush them, they will stink, although they’re not a stinkbug.

None of the winter invaders will harm you or the contents of your home.  They simply want to get out of the cold and will often spend the winter inside the walls of your house. Spraying a pesticide isn’t the best solution since this exposes everyone in the house to the toxins in the spray.  A vacuum cleaner is very effective, or you can sweep them up and put them back outside. Or, as Dr. Alan Eaton, UNH Cooperative Extension entomologist says, “learn to love them”.

Lime is applied directly to the soil of your lawn to increase the soil pH. Soil pH, a
measure of the soil’s acidity or alkalinity, can directly influence the vigor and quality of
your home lawn.

I have what looks like pink threads in my lawn. What it is and how can I get rid of it?

New England Regional Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizer and Associated Management Practice Recommendations For Lawns Based on Water Quality Considerations

Lists drought tolerant plants for New Hampshire.

Guidelines for watering new and established trees and shrubs for homeowners and landscapers.

Can I really use an aloe vera plant to treat burns?

A brief history of poinsettias and instructions on the process of reflowering a plant year after year.

Question of the Week

From fossil remains in ancient Egypt, we know that the common bed bug, Cimex lectularis, has troubled humans in their sleep for at least 3550 years. Both male and females feed exclusively on animal blood. Besides humans, bed bugs bite dogs, cats, birds, rodents, rabbits, and other pets.

This publication will help you learn what ticks look like, how they
live, and how to protect yourself from tick-borne disease.

Wasp encounters can be painful, even life-threatening, for a few highly sensitive people. Yet some New Hampshire species are not very aggressive and they also serve as valuable predators of soft-bodied insects.

Updated in 2009, a comprehensive resource on Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

Insect repellents or "bite-preventing substances" for mosquitoes, gnats, no-see-ums and other insects.

Our kitchens contain an array of stored food items that serve as welcome sites for many insect pests. These include a variety of beetles and moths that are capable of infesting and destroying a variety of dried foods.

Several species of insects invade our homes in the fall and remain through the winter, often hidden inside walls. When temperatures rise in the spring, they appear again, this time trying to get out. During the winter they just wait—for spring.

Winter tick is the only species of one-host tick in New Hampshire. Unlike other hard ticks, which feed on two or more hosts in their lives, it remains on a single host. Moose are the most common and severely impacted host for winter tick.

The Colorado Potato Beetle (CPB) became a pest when settlers brought potatoes into the Rocky Mountain area, the native home of this beetle. The beetle preferred the potato to its host weed and has spread to become a serious pest throughout the US and Eastern Canada.The CPB feeds on the leaves and terminal growth of nightshade-family plants, such as potato, tomato, and eggplant. The potato, however, is its preferred plant. The above-ground destruction of potato plants can cause severe reduction in tuber size and overall yield.

Fact sheet about hemlock woolly adelgid, a forest pest affecting eastern hemlock trees.

My garden is being taken over by bright green bugs. What should I do?

An insect that looks like a tiny turtle encased in an oval of glass seems to be eating holes in my tomatoes. What is it?

Trees and shrubs that work well in New Hampshire landscaping.

Lists drought tolerant plants for New Hampshire.

Lavishly illustrated, Integrated Landscaping features original photos, drawings, and sketches on almost every page to provide clear examples of the concepts presented. The book also incorporates 12 plant-system models that help landscapers and gardeners apply the concepts of layering and visualize how plants can work together in a variety of different low- and high-stress settings.

A manual for New Hampshire landowners and landscapers.

This fact sheet offers suggestions on designing a colorful border planting of annuals and perennials.

Picture yourself sitting in the shade on a hot summer day, lazily sipping iced tea,
listening to the gentle trickle of water into a lovely pond of water lilies—in your very own
garden. Impossible, you say. Just think of all those pumps, filters, liners, running
electricity to the pond, digging the pond, maintaining the pond! Not so, I say. With the
basic equipment of a pool liner and an outside water faucet you can have exactly what I
have described at modest expense.

27 plant species are currently prohibited from sale, transport, distribution, propagation or transplantation in New Hampshire including burning bush, Japanese barberry and Norway maple (see entire list appended to this fact sheet). This publication suggests alternative landscape plants for New Hampshire.

Lists drought tolerant plants for New Hampshire.

Intended for commercial landscapers, property managers and nursery audiences.

NH is facing a major threat to the health of our forest and landscape trees from exotic invasive insects. These invaders include the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), emerald ash borer (EAB), hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), and elongate hemlock scale (EHS). This guide helps growers and consumers become aware of which trees are susceptible to future infestation by these devastating insects and guides them in the selection of non-sussceptible landscape and street trees.

NH is facing a major threat to the health of our forest and landscape trees from exotic invasive insects. These invaders include the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), emerald ash borer (EAB), hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), and elongate hemlock scale (EHS). This guide helps growers and consumers become aware of which trees are susceptible to future infestation by these devastating insects and guides them in the selection of non-sussceptible landscape and street trees.

A manual for New Hampshire landowners and landscapers.

Burning Bush is prohibited from sale and planting in NH. Consider using these alternatives.

Japanese Barberry is prohibited from sale or planting in NH. Consider using these alternatives.

Norway Maple is prohibited from sale or planting in NH. Consider using these alternatives.

Feb-March 2011The Plantsman magazine article.

Information on selecting trees and shrubs, transplanting, mulching properly and providing care during establishment.

Information on when to prune, what tools to use, and pruning techniques.

Information on comparing and choosing  slow-release fertilizers for your garden or landscape.

Summary of Ten Natural Principles to Guide your Landscape Practices

(excerpted from Integrated Landscaping: Following Nature’s Lead by Lauren Chase Rowell, Katherine Hartnett, Mary Tebo and Marilyn Wyzga, UNH Cooperative Extension, 2007)

Explains the why and how of soil testing.

Guidelines for watering new and established trees and shrubs for homeowners and landscapers.

This fact sheet contains some basic guidelines for dealing with wild animals in and around the home. The suggestions come from Cooperative Extension specialists and wildlife biologists at Wildlife Services, a federally and cooperatively-funded branch of the US Department of Agriculture that specializes in reducing human-wildlife conflicts.

The culprits of winter damage are generally pine voles, meadow voles, and moles.

Surrounding the trunk or stem of a newly-planted tree with a protective barrier of hardware cloth can effectively reduce damage caused by meadow voles and rabbits gnawing the bark and living tissue.

You can reduce or eliminate many problems by improving the plant growing
environment and your gardening skills. The following list of physiological disorders represent some of the more common tomato problems.

Blueberry stem borer is a beetle also known as the rhododendron stem borer and the azalea stem borer. It is in the family Cerambycidae [long-horned borers] and has a two to three year life cycle.

Recommended blueberry varieties for New Hampshire growing

I'd like to grow gooseberries and currants to make jam. Are these plants well-suited for growth in New Hampshire?

Most tree fruits and many small fruits grown in New Hampshire require cross pollination to produce a crop. Fruit crops that are self-fruitful will often produce larger crops where cross pollination occurs. Plan for adequate cross pollination of fruit crops before you buy trees or plants.

Recommended raspberry & blackberry varieties for New Hampshire growing.

Blueberry fruit fly, Rhagoletis mendax Curran is a native insect that looks almost identical to apple maggot, except that it attacks blueberries, not apples.

Wild (lowbush) blueberries have always called New Hampshire home. These small, flavor andantioxidant packed fruits are common in abandoned fields, in succession forests, on mountaintops, andalong roadsides.

Several species of insects bore into NH apple trees, including roundheaded apple tree borer, flatheaded apple tree borer, dogwood borer, leopard moth and the broad-necked root borer.

What rootstock should the home gardener choose? Here are a few notes on some of the common rootstocks available.

Pears will grow well throughout the southern half of New Hampshire. They are reasonably winter hardy where temperatures seldom fall below -25oF.

Choke cherry identification is important for peach and sweet cherry growers. This is because choke cherry (Prunus virginiana L.) is important in spreading a fatal disease of peach and sweet cherry trees, called X-disease.

question of the week

Most tree fruits and many small fruits grown in New Hampshire require cross pollination to produce a crop. Fruit crops that are self-fruitful will often produce larger crops where cross pollination occurs. Plan for adequate cross pollination of fruit crops before you buy trees or plants.

Proper training and pruning is essential for development of structurally strong, productive apple and pear trees that will bear high quality fruits annually for many years.

Trees and shrubs that work well in New Hampshire landscaping.

Research results for landscape and nursery professionals.

Crabapples are a mainstay of our landscape palette in New England. Their beautiful bloom, small stature, and attractive fruit give them year-round interest…unless they are devastated by disease! Crabapples are susceptible to four major diseases which can cause early defoliation, disfigurement and weakening of trees.

Lists drought tolerant plants for New Hampshire.

Intended for commercial landscapers, property managers and nursery audiences.

Describes when to fertilize; how to manage soil pH; what fertilizers to use; how much to use; and how to apply fertilizers.

A manual for New Hampshire landowners and landscapers.

Burning Bush is prohibited from sale and planting in NH. Consider using these alternatives.

Japanese Barberry is prohibited from sale or planting in NH. Consider using these alternatives.

Norway Maple is prohibited from sale or planting in NH. Consider using these alternatives.

This curious tree with its almost tropical show of speckled white flowers, looks out of place in  New England;  too showy for out Puritan tastes.  The elegant trumpet shaped flowers are clustered on panicles (stems) in tiers with three smaller stems. The first two tiers produce three flowers at the end of these smaller stems to add up to nine individual flowers per tier or 18 flowers on the two tiers.  The lower tiers have but one flower at the end of the smaller stem or six additional flowers.  There were 24 individual flowers on the cluster that I counted.  Somehow the seeds produced by the flowers end up inside long skinny 6” -12 “ beans that dangle from the tree later in the summer; hanging on through the winter.

Information on selecting trees and shrubs, transplanting, mulching properly and providing care during establishment.

Propagating from cuttings is a relatively simple way to make new plants at virtually no cost. It’s also a great way to replicate sentimental favorites. Plant pieces are clipped from the parent plant and rooted to form new plants; these are called rooted cuttings. If all goes well, you should be able to produce tiny,new plants in 6 to 8 weeks.

Information on when to prune, what tools to use, and pruning techniques.

How to select and plant trees and shrubs.

Surrounding the trunk or stem of a newly-planted tree with a protective barrier of hardware cloth can effectively reduce damage caused by meadow voles and rabbits gnawing the bark and living tissue.

Guidelines for watering new and established trees and shrubs for homeowners and landscapers.

A tri-fold brochure about planting and mulching trees and shrubs.

Garlic is one of the easiest and most satisfying crops for home vegetable gardeners to grow. It yields two useful crops; the garlic bulbs themselves, and delicious green “scapes” a month earlier.

We’ve planted a much bigger vegetable garden this year and will
need some advice on the safest, most efficient ways to preserve
some of our harvest

You can reduce or eliminate many problems by improving the plant growing
environment and your gardening skills. The following list of physiological disorders represent some of the more common tomato problems.

This book is intended to provide basic information on using wood or coal for home heating. Choosing a fuel, fireplaces, stoves, and furnaces are discussed. Stove installation basics and safety are reviewed. Intended for homeowners and educators.