Author: Zidack, Heather

Succession Planting, Herb Harvesting and Other July News

June 2025

"Flowers are wilting
My enthusiasm, too
Only weeds survive."

— Gaia Garden

There's Still Plenty of Planting Time

A garden bed of garlic with half of the plants removed
Once the garlic is removed from this bed, something new will have to go in! Photo by Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

This year’s wacky weather set our gardens up on what feels like a very strange schedule. Typically, by this point in the season we start to sit back and wait for the tomatoes to ripen, but if you want a garden that stretches into autumn, the work continues!

As of July 1st, we are 106 days away from the Farmer’s Almanac’s anticipated first Frost Date (Oct. 15th in Storrs, CT). That’s still plenty of time to grow!

Succession planting helps keep your garden space constantly active through the growing season. It may look like planting a new crop immediately after one has completed its cycle in the garden, or staggered plantings for an extended harvest. We looked at this briefly in our May Newsletter as a way to maximize space. Here's some tips to keep rolling with succession planting this summer:

  • Continue planting bush beans from seed every 2 weeks through the end of July for a bountiful harvest!  
  • Did you harvest your garlic this month? Are your cool season crops past their prime or starting to bolt? Replace them and direct seed new plants!  
    • Look at days to maturity to ensure there is enough time for the plants to develop before frost hits 
    • Don’t follow up with the same thing in the same planting space – rotate your crops for better soil and plant health! 
    • There are varieties of cucumber, squash and zucchini that can still be planted 
    • Many types of greens and root vegetables like carrot, radish, turnip and beet can be planted in July  
  • Replace vegetable plants that are no longer producing with annuals that have short flowering time for late season beauty 
  • Allow the garden bed to “rest” by planting a cover crop
  • Don’t put away those grow lights just yet! Cool season crops, like brassicas, may need to be started indoors. The summer heat outdoors may inhibit germination or growth. 

What You Can Plant Mid-July

Succession Planting

Fall Vegetable Gardening


Harvesting Herbs in Your Summer Garden!

Including herbs in summer gardens is a common practice due to their low-maintenance care and delicious flavors that pair well with many summertime dishes and drinks.

Herbs should be harvested when the oils responsible for aroma and flavor are at their peak. This harvest time is determined by the growing conditions of each individual plant, rather than a specific month or day.

Many herbs are most flavorful and ready to harvest just as the flower buds first appear, but before they are fully open. It’s best to harvest them in the late morning, after the dew has dried and before the hot afternoon sun draws out their delicate flavor.  However, some species, like cilantro, may become bitter as the plant starts to flower. Bottom line: know your plants!

Annual herbs such as basil and parsley can be harvested until frost. Perennial herbs such as oregano, thyme, mint and chives can be clipped until late August.

For your perennial herbs, stop harvesting about one month before the frost date, because late pruning could encourage tender growth that cannot harden-off before winter. 

Growing, Harvesting & Drying Herbs

Harvesting & Preserving Herbs for the Home Gardener


Native Plant: Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly on pink flowers of the swamp milkweed
Photo by Pamm Cooper, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is native to most of the U.S. It's flowers bloom from mid-July to mid-August in the Northeast. A. incarnata is one of many native Milkweeds including A. tuberosa, A. syriaca and others. 

Look for it in moist habitats such as pond, stream, and river edges or in moist areas of meadows. Pink flowers are highly attractive to butterflies, moths, bees and other pollinators.

Learn More About Swamp Milkweed

Common CT Milkweeds

The Connecticut Native Perennial, Tree, & Shrub Availability List


Word from the WiSE

Women in Soil Ecology, UConn Student Chapter

Sweet Summer Strawberries!

This month, we bring you a word on a sweet summer berry you can easily grow at home - strawberries! Strawberries can be purchased from three main groups: June-bearing, ever-bearing, and day-neutral. For one summer harvest of large berries, gardeners can opt for June-bearing; For two harvests of smaller berries, grab some ever-bearing strawberries. For continuous production all season long, plant day-neutral strawberries. Plant strawberries in the ground in slightly acidic, well-drained soil; Or, if you are space-limited, ever-bearing and day-neutral varieties do well in window boxes that are at least 1ft deep. In fact, planting strawberries in window boxes and keeping them off the ground helps protect them from some pests and diseases which may reduce yields. Enjoy strawberries fresh from the vine, or try your hand at a USDA-approved canning recipe to have strawberry jam year-round. 

By Abigayle Ward, Soil Science Graduate Student


Weather Outlook

A seasoned gardener always keeps their eye to the sky at any time of year! Maps and the 30 day outlook from NOAA will help you stay prepared for any and all of your gardening chores! (Click image to see larger map.)

    Temperature map

Precipitation Outlook

 


In the Garden & Pest Alerts

In the Garden: Cabbage Worms, Moths and Loopers, Oh My!

 

Start scouting in July for the various types of caterpillars that can damage your brassicas! Along with lots of holes chewed into leaves, caterpillars typically leave waste behind known as "frass."

Search on the undersides of leaves and inside the center of plants where leaves are tightly condensed. Once you find the pest, identify it properly for the best control methods! Use Bacillus thuringiensis to control them, or incorporate row covers before a problem is observed to keep pests out.

Caterpillars on Cole Crops

Stripped cabbage worm on brassica

Photo by Heather Zidack,
UConn Home & Garden Education Center

UConn Pest Alerts

During the growing season, UConn Extension publishes a regular pest alert for both vegetable and fruit producers. Additionally, the New England Vegetable Management Guide offers a lot of information about specific vegetable crops.

While the target audience for these publications is usually commercial growers, home gardeners can learn a lot from these materials including identification and management of common pests in your veggie gardens!

If you ever need confirmation on an ID or have additional questions about what you read in these reports, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at the Home & Garden Education Center! We're happy to help your gardens thrive.

UConn Vegetable Pest Alerts

UConn Fruit Pest Messages

New England Vegetable Management Guide


Knowledge to Grow On


Upcoming Events and Things to Do


    Educational Opportunities & Workshops

      • CT State Parks have multiple events happening this month!

      Save the Date for the 4th Annual UConn IPM Seminar for the Home Gardener

      Black and red moth with long antennae on a squash leaf.
      Squash Vine Borer Moth
      Photo by Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

      Thursday, August 14th, 2025
      9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

      UConn Research Farm
      99 Agronomy Road, Storrs, CT 06268

      Learn basic principles of Integrated Pest Management and techniques to implement in your gardens with a day designed for the home gardener.  Speakers from the UConn IPM team will present on various topics to help you improve the plant and soil health of your gardens, lawns, and landscapes.

      Learn About the UConn IPM Program

      Event Details

       


      Supplement Your Garden Produce with CT Grown Products! 

      Connecticut is rich in agricultural history, with many operational farms that have lots to offer local markets! 

      Supporting local CT Agriculture is a way that gardeners can supplement the fresh foods they grow in their garden, with seasonal offerings from year round operations.

      Consider attending a local farmers market, joining Community Supported Agriculture (CSA's), or even stopping by your nearest farm stand to see what they have to offer!  

       


      July Gardening Tips

        • Water early in the morning to reduce the loss of water to evaporation during the hottest days
        • Container and hanging plants may need additional water later in the day if hot and windy conditions prevail. Check plants again at day’s end to see if any additional water is necessary
        • Pinching back herbs to stop flowering will keep the best flavor in the leaves and encourage branching. Herbs can be air dried, dried quickly in the microwave, or frozen
        • Cucumbers are heavy drinkers and feeders. Keep the soil evenly moist during hot spells to avoid bitter fruit and side-dress plants with 1/4 cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer or the equivalent in mid-July
        • Plant cool-season crops such as broccoli, spinach, kale, lettuce, and chard where they will be shaded from the sun
        • Put netting on fruit trees and bushes a few weeks before the fruit begins to ripen to protect it from birds and squirrels
        • Raise your mowing height to 3 inches during hot weather and mulch clippings if possible
        • Fertilize roses for the last time in mid-July
        • Control mosquitoes by eliminating all sources of stagnant water. Clean bird baths and pet’s outdoor dishes often
        • Check family members and pets for ticks after being outside, especially when in tall grass or wooded areas. If necessary, send ticks to the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for testing
        • Leaky garden hoses and fittings can waste water. Check hoses while they are under full pressure and make repairs

        This Month’s Newsletter Contributors: 
        Heather Zidack, Pamm Cooper, Holly McNamara, Abigayle Ward

        Office Closures in July 2025

        The UConn Home & Garden Education Center will have a brief change in our regular schedule on the following dates in July. Hours on the listed dates will be as follows:

        • Thursday July 3: Closed
        • Friday July 4: Closed
        • Thursday July 24: Closed

        Our office will run on regularly scheduled business hours on all other business days during the month.

        Our red sample cooler will be accessible for drop offs during this time and checked regularly by staff during these disrupted hours.

        Please note that the UConn Plant Diagnonstic Lab will be closed from July 24th through August 1st. Please do not submit samples for disease diagnostics between July 21 and August 1st. Samples for plant and garden insect identification can still be processed by staff at the Home & Garden Education Center and we are happy to help you with other plant health questions!

        Please plan your visits accordingly and thank you for your understanding!

        Your questions are important to us! Please continue to send your questions to ladybug@uconn.edu or call us and leave a voicemail at 860-486-6271.

        Plants Enjoy Summer Too!

        By Dr. Matthew Lisy, UConn Adjunct Faculty 

        A monstera adansonii with yellowing, curling and damaged leaves
        This Monstera adansonii, that was sunburned. The damage can take weeks to fully appear, first starting as faint yellowing, then brown dead tissue (photo by M. Lisy).

        A summer vacation can be beneficial for our houseplants provided that we pay attention to some abiotic (nonliving) factors.  Plants need time to adapt to new growing conditions or they can have deadly consequences.  Try and make the change as gradual as possible.  I usually wait until the end of May, where temperatures are consistently in the 70s for the highs, and no lower than 50s for the lows.   

        Our plants cannot go from dim, indoor lighting to super bright full sun outside.  Any leaves subject to this will burn and die.  The best way to acclimate plants to life outdoors is to place them in the shade of a large tree for about a week, and then gradually expose them to some direct sunlight.  At first, start with only an hour or two of sun, and then add a bit more the following week until you transition them to full sun.  This is assuming that the plants in question are ones that need full sun.  Cacti and succulents can generally be transitioned to full sun (one notable exception are the forest cacti).   

        Most of our houseplants are actually forest-floor species or epiphytes (these grow and live on the trunks of other trees).  Either way, those two groups of plants grow in the understory shade of a larger tree in nature, and do well there over the summer.  Some plants I saw recently for sale were called neon philodendron.  These have light green leaves (similar color to neon pothos).  The light was so intense that it bleached the leaves to a pale-yellow color, and some were turning brown.  The plants looked miserable, and the grower said she was going to move them to a shadier location.   

         I am not sure why we cannot have normal weather, but it seems we have had either too dry or too wet the last five years.  When it rains consistently, it keeps our plants in a constantly moist state, which leads to root rot.  I lost a few really nice philodendrons due to them being too moist in last summer’s constant rain.  The ideal setting would have the plants exposed to good light while under cover.  This way, the gardener can water them appropriately based on the needs of each plant.  If this is not an option, repotting and adding some extra perlite to the mix will help the pot shed the excess water.  Be sure to remove the saucer from the pots and hanging baskets while the plants are outside.  These will hold excess water and keep the plants in a constantly moist state and favor fungal infections.   

         A pot or hanging basket may only have about a gallon or two of soil at best, and will dry out quickly in the heat.  Depending on your soil type, it may be almost impossible to water enough.  Try to avoid full sun in the hottest part of the day between noon and 2:00 p.m.   

         In an exposed location, wind can rapidly desiccate, windburn, or break plants. A good friend of mine with a large houseplant collection in the Midwest had almost everything he owned blown over and damaged when a tornado swept through his town last summer.  Although he did not experience a direct hit, the winds were so bad it ruined many of his mature plants.  I told him to look at it like an unintentional propagation event.  When vining plants are grown in hanging baskets, they sometimes start to cling to the branches around them and rip in the wind.   

        Hopefully this article will help plants enjoy their summer vacation.  It is a great time for plants to grow and be propagated.  Be careful of the extremes of summer, and give the plants a gentle exposure to the outdoors. 

         The UConn Home & Garden Education Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension center at cahnr.uconn.edu/extension/locations. 

        This article was published in the Hartford Courant June 21, 2025

        Gardening with the Weather on CRIS Radio

        CRIS Radio: Focal Point 6/16/2025

        Heather Zidack from the UConn Home & Garden Education Center talks to host, Stephen Thal, about our strange spring weather, gardening outdoors and more!

        Transcript

        00:00:01 Stephen Thal 

        Hi, welcome to another segment on Focal point. This is Stephen Thal and I'll be your host for today's informative program. 

        Our guest today uh is known to us. She's been on several times in the past year to help us understand more about living plants, whether you have them inside your house, or you put them outside or you're doing gardening and she's also part of the UConn plant science program and they offer many, many services which she'll be explaining sometime during her presentation today. 

        However, to kick this off. We have to be more cognitive of the weather, the types of weather we're having. Examples include drought, some places there's too much rain, so here to help us straighten it out and get some good plant life going. Is Heather Zidack back from the UConn Plant Science Center. Welcome, Heather. 

        00:01:00 Heather Zidack 

        Hi, Steven, thank you for having me. 

        00:01:03 Stephen Thal 

        So let's take a look at the weather pattern. Weather patterns have been infected- impacting plants. 

        00:01:11 Heather Zidack 

        Yes, it has been a very notable spring this year with the amount of rainfall that we've had. But before I talk about the rainfall, I want to just go back a little bit because we've actually seen effects from last fall in our garden. So what happened at the end of last summer, early fall and into the winter, if you remember, we were actually in a drought through most of the state. 

        And that lasted through March of this year. And so because a lot of plants went into the winter under drought conditions, we actually saw a combination of the lack of water with the heavy winds from this winter and it caused a lot of moisture to be pulled out of those plants. 

        We saw a lot of winter kill, so broadleaf evergreens, rhododendrons, mountain laurels, all sorts of shrubs like that, anything needled evergreens as well. A lot of arborvitaes Japanese Hollies, things like that. We saw the-uh They turned brown and then they ended up just kind of dying back. Luckily with a little bit of care, homeowners have been able to bring some of them back and at this point in the season, we're starting to look more towards disease causes, but this was seen all over the state, so we had this drought in the fall. 

        And then here we are in March and April, seeing the effects of it. So everything that happens is cyclical and we see it happen in the next growing season. And then here we are now with significant rainfall. I think it's rained-What every weekend for quite some time now. 

        00:02:52 Heather Zidack 

        And that rainfall in May was enough to pull us out of a moderate drought across the state, except for like one small area in Fairfield County who is abnormally dry, which is the lowest rating that you can have in drought conditions. So that's really good. 

        The expectation for the next month or so is average. So you want to start to monitor your gardens and make sure that if we're getting an inch to two inches of water a week, we have enough water for our plants, for the most part. If we're seeing less than that, we've got to get out and start checking the soil and get into the habit of  watering so that when we get into the next fall that we have coming, we don't get used to not watering and then seeing plants decline from that. Because I think that was something we saw last year as well as we had a very wet spring and when we got to the fall. 

        00:03:47 Heather Zidack 

        Not only did we have a drought from the environment, but a lot of us didn't get trained, we'll say, to go out into our gardens every day or two to check to make sure the water was there, because we just relied on it coming from the sky. So that's been a really huge impact that we've seen over the the last season in our gardens and we're just getting started with growing.  

        00:04:10 Stephen Thal 

        Wow, what are some plants that are directly impacted by this? 

        00:04:15 Heather Zidack 

        So some of the things that we've seen, like I said, the evergreens were a really big deal. 

        A lot of stuff that's more shallow rooted is going to see more effect one way or another. It's going to have more signs of stress, but the bigger thing that we're seeing right now out in the garden-Once we've gotten passed into this spring and seen some of the shrub damage is looking at our annuals and what's happened with our annuals is we've looked at the temperatures and we've had some significant cold in comparison to previous springs. So when you have cold weather like we've had what we recommend. Is if it's 50° or more. 

        It's good to put your annuals, your house plants, your tomatoes, your Peppers, all of that outside. We've had a few weeks. I think it was the week before Memorial Day this year where those temperatures dip below 50 and so we actually saw a lot of people were covering their plants, bringing them inside, making those adjustments. 

        00:05:19 Heather Zidack 

        In order to protect their crops, because if they were left outside, although they would survive, they wouldn't necessarily die off. Turn brown and fall over and have to restart. You may notice things like the flowers dropped or they slowed down how they were growing, especially anything in the eggplant, pepper, tomato family once the temperatures get to like 60°, they pause development, so once it gets lower than that they start to get a little bit stressed. On the other side of it, our cole crops and our Greens have loved this weather. I just was out my garden this past weekend and I picked a giant basket of lettuce and spinach and all of that because these cool nights and warm days are really encouraging growth of those crops without sending them into flowering. So it's just something that kind of keep an eye on. 

        00:06:11 Stephen Thal

        And uh, what about? Uh, you were talking about leafy lettuce. Uh, how do you take care of those? They're a little tender, aren't they?

        00:06:20 Heather Zidack 

        They actually are pretty tough. What's really interesting is that once we usually get into this point in June, July and start getting into the heat of summer, they actually start to get a little bit more difficult to grow because they don't like the heat of the summer. 

        00:06:36 Heather Zidack 

        They'll start putting out flowers. They'll start wilting, using a little more water. 

        So we tend to not see them grow as well in the home garden in the high heat of the summer. You can protect them from that with any shade cloth or putting them in a shadier area because they're not producing anything like fruit or flower. They don't need to have as much of the sunlight as some of your other plants do that also applies to some of your your herbs like your basils and things like that, so they can go in a shadier spot if you have- 

        00:07:09 Heather Zidack 

        You know a spot in your garden that maybe is a little too shady for your tomatoes, but it might do OK for your leafy greens, your herbs and things like that. With the weather that we've been seeing too, it's really important to make sure that you're spacing your plants really well this year. You don't want to make them too close to each other, because crowding can often help when it comes to diseases and pests. They love tight, crowded areas, so if you space out your plants really well this year-You're going to help reduce that pressure when we start seeing the hotter temperatures, some of this humidity that we get in the summer and things like that. 

        00:07:51 Stephen Thal 

        Now when you're asking when you're working in the garden. Should you be wearing gloves to protect some of the insect bites you get, or some damaging to your hands? 

        00:08:04 Heather Zidack 

        Absolutely. I wear gloves when I'm in the garden all the time. I do it for a couple of reasons. I have, you know,  I like to protect my my manicure, right? So I keep my gloves on. But it also is really good. Like you said, if you have got insects in the garden, but like I've seen this Spring because of all the rain that we've had, my garden is actually close to a wetland and we've had a lot of mosquitoes. So I found myself actually going out with not just gloves but long sleeves, long pants and close toed shoes and a hat, just to make sure that I'm protecting myself as best I can from the insects. 

        00:08:46 Heather Zidack 

        It's a good thing to do, just to have that extra layer of protection when you're pulling weeds. You never know when you're going to have something that you know might just interact with your skin or something like that. So definitely I wear gloves all the time in the garden and I do recommend it for everybody that's out there. 

        00:09:05 Stephen Thal

        And what about? Uh, you had mentioned to me about you shouldn't walk on wet soil. What does that do?

        00:09:15 Heather Zidack 

        Yes, so especially this spring with all the rain that we've had and everything, gardens are starting to get a little bit flooded a little bit waterlogged. So the first thing that we recommend is don't walk on the soil when it's wet if you can, especially when it's been really saturated after some of the rain that we've had these past few weeks. 

        00:09:35 Heather Zidack 

        What that does is that compacts the soil and it squishes it down and closes a lot of those air pockets that are there between the soil particles. So that makes it harder down the road for water to penetrate and get into the soil and to the roots of your plant. So if you do have either saturated soils or this is good if you're just checking your water needs in the garden, it's a really good thing to get tactile with it and use your hands so. 

        00:10:04 Heather Zidack 

        You want to dig down a little bit. You want to grab a little handful, squeeze it in your hand if it. If it's really dusty, really dry. We all know what that feels like. And so that's when your plants are usually gonna need water. If when you squeeze your hand, you've got water running out of your hand, it's gone the other way. And it's definitely saturated. You don't want to walk on it. You don't want to add any water you wanna try to keep your plants where they are so they can dry out a little bit. 

        00:10:33 Heather Zidack 

        If it's somewhere in between and it holds a form, but it doesn't have any water coming out of it. That's like that sweet spot where you're like, OK, I have enough water for now. I can come back tomorrow and check. So that's really the best way is to to look and use your hands as you're exploring your garden to make sure that it's well watered. Don't rely on appearance because a lot of times some of these garden products that we have can look wet or look dark compared to what the soil is and so it can be a little deceiving. So you want to always make sure you're checking with your hands instead of using your eyes to take a look. 

        00:11:13 Stephen Thal 

        OK, how about, uh, some of the insects like squash bugs and so on. Uh, are they helpful to the garden or harmful? 

        00:11:23 Heather Zidack 

        They are opposite, they are harmful to the garden, so they are coming. Squash bugs usually start coming out-Wanna say end of June, early July, there's squash bugs, there's squash borers, there's things like that. And with those, if you're growing squash plants, you wanna try to remove them as early as possible. 

        00:11:44 Heather Zidack 

        They are something the squash vine borer I'll start with is one that lives in the soil. Once that hatches, it crawls out and chews into the stem and the larvae lives in the stem. So if you see a squash plant that's wilting and doesn't look so hot, if you trace it back to the stem in the ground, you might notice it almost looks like...um..It's it's not, but it almost looks like wood shavings. You'll see where it like burrowed into the stem if you cut that stem open, you'll probably find some kind of Caterpillar in there and they move quick. They move like a foot a day, so that's one to watch out for. 

        00:12:22 Heather Zidack 

        The squash bugs are a little less dramatic, but you'll notice they're eggs on the underside of leaves, and what I recommend for people who are dealing with squash bugs to do is remove them by hand, take a piece of duct tape, wrap it around your hand backwards, and just stick your hands to the leaf. It's enough to pull those eggs off without having to use any chemicals or pulling the leaves off the plant. It's a really effective method. 

        00:12:47 Heather Zidack 

        If you want to go a step further and you're out in the garden and you're deciding to plant your squash, it's mid-June so you could maybe plant this weekend if you're doing that, you could put netting onto your plants. As long as it's not the same place it was last year and that will help the adults from flying in and getting onto your plants in the 1st place. So that's a really good thing to. 

        00:13:12 Heather Zidack 

        You there's other bugs out there as well. In the summer, there's a lot of insects. If you've had a garden, you know there's a lot of bugs out there. Usually you can't tell by just the damage left. You need to find an insect that it's in action to treat your plants. 

        00:13:28 Heather Zidack 

        Because what we recommend doing is, it's called integrated pest management, or IPM. They have-in using that method, you're using your targeted approach to get rid of a specific insect that you have identified using specific methods. That way we're not overusing any products in our garden. We're not going and over exerting ourselves to take care of the issue. It's a smart approach and a targeted approach to whatever your garden problems are. 

        00:13:56 Heather Zidack 

        With that being said, this is a little personal plug here for the Home and Garden Education Center, but we will be hosting a home gardener seminar for integrated pest Management in August, so it's a multi speaker event. We have tips to manage pest disease, and other things in your garden and that's going to be coming up in August. If you'd like to get information about that, you're welcome to either call or e-mail us and we can put you on the list to let you know when that releases. But it's something that helps make that targeted approach. Couple of other insects that are out there right now are things like the four lined plant bug that does a whole lot of damage. It's damage, looks like like little brown spots all over leaves. I've seen them on basil. Specifically, they have a bunch of hosts, but I know they love my basil at home. 

        00:14:50 Heather Zidack 

        There's this spittle bug which has little foamy...Nests will say they're not really nests, but they're little foamy structures that they put around the center of a stem. When they're there, they're a short-lived insect that just kind of does its thing and dives out in the environment, and we don't even need to treat it. There's aphids. There's all sorts of things, so that's when learning what you're looking at can guide how you're treating it so that you're not using as many products in the garden. 

        00:15:19 Stephen Thal 

        Huh. What are my mosquitoes? How do you deal with mosquitoes? 

        00:15:24 Heather Zidack 

        Mosquitoes are different, but very interesting in the garden, so they're definitely out. Like I said, I am near a wetland, and so I'm definitely experiencing them out in the garden frequently at this point. Best thing to do when you're dealing with mosquitoes in your yard is if you are out. 

        00:15:44 Heather Zidack 

        They come out at dawn and dusk, so being outdoors at those times, you want to wear bug spray, especially like when that's when they're most active. 

        00:15:52 Heather Zidack 

        If some people do wear bug spray throughout the day because in areas that are bad, they're always out there. So it really depends on what your yard is like. After rain, you can dump out any containers they've caught water because what they do is they lay their eggs and their larvae actually live in water before they go into the air. So you want to make sure that the air-that the water is dumped. You want to empty any of your bird baths and rinse them regularly for the same reason. 

        00:16:24 Heather Zidack 

        And one thing that's really interesting with mosquitoes is we see a lot of mosquito repellent plants that are sold and advertised to us and this is a big thing for a lot of people. One thing that I warn people about with this is that their job as a mosquito repellent plant is to keep the mosquitoes away from the plant itself. 

        00:16:46 Heather Zidack 

        So it's an immediate proximity. 

        00:16:49 Heather Zidack 

        What we do is we tend to harvest the oil from these plants and put them into repellent products. So like the citronella plant for example, or lemongrass or things like that, we extract those oils and then use them in our insect repellents. It's not necessarily going to protect you if you have a pot of lemongrass on your patio because it doesn't have an 8 to 10 foot range. It only has a few inches around that plant that really has that repelling effect, so. 

        00:17:21 Heather Zidack 

        That's how that works. They're great to have, but also just to keep in mind, with that, we never recommend crushing or rubbing any kind of plants on your skin without first consulting with a doctor or an allergist just to make sure that you're safe and you're doing what's best for your health. 

        00:17:39 Stephen Thal 

        This is Stephen Thal with another segment on Focal point and we're interviewing Heather Zidack from UConn Plant and Science Department up in Storrs. 

        00:17:49 Stephen Thal 

        And she's been leading us through the different weather patterns and also how some of the plants are impacted. And we also were talking about some of the oils that plants develop and how effective they may be in various stages. 

        00:18:06 Stephen Thal 

        It's very interesting and I think something else we got to take care of here is how do we, what kind of soil do we use and what kind of fertilizers we use, right, Heather? 

        00:18:17 Heather Zidack 

        Yeah. So soils are really important because that's the foundation of your garden. That's really where the not just your plants are taking root and and having their structural support, but also that's where the plants are gonna pull everything from nutrition, water and everything that they need. So whenever you have a garden, we always recommend calling our the soil Nutrient Analysis lab, either the one at UConn or the experiment station to have your soil tested. We recommend testing every two to three years and what they do is they look at the nutritional value of your soil. They don't look for anything else, but they will tell you what the nutrient levels are. 

        00:19:00 Heather Zidack 

        Are and I know with the UConn Labs specifically, what they look at is are specific values and how it would relate to your garden. So if you fill out a report that says I'm looking to grow vegetables, they'll kind of help you figure out what amendments you need to make for your garden to grow those vegetables. I can't speak. For what the experiment station does, but they are available as a resource for the public as well. And sometimes it just comes down to who's closer to you and how do you want to move forward and what information you want to get? 

        00:19:35 Heather Zidack 

        So that's really important. Get your labs and get your soil tested and figure out what your nutritional values are. Really important for, especially vegetable gardens, where nutrients are are kind of going through the systems a lot quicker than in established beds. 

        00:19:55 Heather Zidack 

        A lot of trees and shrubs and perennials that are established may not need fertilizer every year. They might need it every other year. It really depends on the species. There are some native species that rarely need fertilizer at all, so know what plant you have and then we can look into it a little further. 

        00:20:14 Heather Zidack 

        But like I said, those vegetables tend to have high demand and need more support because they're producing food for us. So what you want to look at are big three, our nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium or we say NPK. Your nitrogen is responsible for growing really lush leaves. Your phosphorus is really good for things like flower, fruit, a lot of your bloom booster fertilizers tend to be high in phosphorus, and your potassium is good for root growth, drought resistance, it helps to reduce some water loss, and they're still researching a lot of these things. 

        00:20:51 Heather Zidack 

        But what you look at when you're buying a fertilizer for your garden is you look for there's three numbers on the bag a lot of times it's and it's a lot of times in increments of 5 but not always. So like a 5-5-5, 10-10-10, something like that. These are percentages by weight of those nutrients in the bag. And they go in the order of nitrogen and then phosphorus, and then potassium. So sometimes they can be comparable to each other when you're working with a product because they're balanced in ratio. It really depends on what you need to apply. 

        00:21:25 Heather Zidack 

        A lot of the tone products that we see and weekly fertilizer products are much lower concentrations. So I've seen some fertilizers out there that are like 3-4-3, very low, but just a little bit of food to keep them going because if you're over applying, you can actually cause damage by providing too much fertilizer. 

        That's another reason going back to that soil test can be really important. 

        00:21:50 Heather Zidack 

        You always want to check the back of the bag. There is usually going to be not just those big three nutrients that we need, but also a lot of micronutrients as well, and that will vary in your soil as well. And when you get a soil report, you get all of that information. 

        00:22:08 Heather Zidack 

        Another really important thing is to stop fertilizing in August or September because-What we want to avoid is pushing any tender growth before frost, so if we start backing off in August and September, especially with some of these slow release fertilizers, we're not gonna continue feeding the plant and encouraging it to put out tender young leaves that then get bit by frost. 

        I think that's pretty much most of the soil rundown, a crash course. 

        00:22:38 Stephen Thal 

        Yeah, that's important. Thank you. 

        00:22:40 Heather Zidack 

        Would you like the number for the soil lab? 

        00:22:43 Stephen Thal 

        Oh, definitely. 

        00:22:45 Heather Zidack 

        All right, so this is for the UConn Soil Analysis Lab and it's 860-486-4274. Again 860-486-4274. 

        00:23:01 Stephen Thal 

        Great. Now after all of this, what else should we do to keep the gardens going? 

        00:23:09 Heather Zidack 

        So there's a lot of things that you can do right now. In June you want to be cutting back your perennials for sure that anything that has already flowered for your perennials you want to try to cut back. If you cut back some of these early flowering perennials at this point in the year, it may encourage them to push out new flowers. This happens very frequently in things like Salvia and Nepeta, which is known as Catmint as well. So if you cut back things that have already bloomed. 

        00:23:43 Heather Zidack 

        It will help encourage new growth and new flowers where you potentially. A lot of plants are in production mode right now. So they're producing fruit or flour for you. So water is going to be incredibly important. I went through all of the details with you before of like how to check your soil, but make sure that you can be checking your soil to see if there's enough moisture in there. 

        00:24:05 Heather Zidack 

        We don't recommend watering in the evening if you can avoid it. Early morning is going to be best because you're going to saturate that soil. And then it has the day to dry out instead of saturating at night, getting dark and cool. And then that's when there's a lot of rotten things that can happen. 

        00:24:23 Heather Zidack 

        You also want to avoid water on your leaves. You want to add water to the soil because if you have any droplets on the leaves, it can actually burn the plants a little bit. Believe it or not, plants can get sunburn, so you want to be careful. 

        00:24:37 Heather Zidack 

        It's also a good time to prune spring flowering shrubs immediately once the flowers are gone, so a lot of shrubs out there are like, again, I go back to rhododendrons, lilacs, things like that. They're gonna start to set their buds in this summer or during the fall. So if you prune too late, if you prune in the fall, when you're doing all your other cleanup chores or you prune over the winter like you do with your summer blooming shrubs. You could lose your seed-your 

        00:25:05 Heather Zidack 

        Lose your flowers. The next thing is that you can still plant from seed right now, so there's a lot of things out there that you can do. Radishes, beans, squash, carrots are all pretty quick to come up, so you could put those in the garden. Just check the back of the seed packet to see how many days till maturity we have and if it falls within, you know from here too. Let's say October, you've probably got a good shot in getting a crop. I know radish is an example only goes about 21 days in between seed to days to harvest. So that's really cool. I've even planted sunflowers in July after I've harvested. 

        00:25:45 Heather Zidack 

        My garlic needed to throw something in the bag, so there's a lot of really good plants out there that you can still plant in June. It does. It's not too late. 

        00:25:54 Stephen Thal 

        That's great. 

        00:25:55 Stephen Thal 

        We have about 6 minutes left. Anything you'd like to cover in the last 6 minutes? 

        00:26:02 Heather Zidack 

        Yeah. 

        00:26:03 Heather Zidack 

        Couple of really important things too. Looking at your house plants, so if you grow house plants and you want to put them outside, I think we finally hit that point where they can go out on the patio and be pretty comfortable for the rest of the summer. 

        00:26:18 Heather Zidack 

        Temps have stabilized for tropical and exotic plants that usually thrive indoors. So like I said, we look for that 50° at night and we're definitely there. It took a while, but we got there. If they haven't been outside yet and you're just putting them out soon, you want to start slow. 

        00:26:36 Heather Zidack 

        If you put them in a sheltered, shaded kind of outdoor space for a few days before you move them to full sun into the high heat of the day. So you wanna make sure that they have a couple of steps to take in between going from inside your office, let's say, from out to your patio. So that's something really important that you want to make sure that you're doing. The other thing that's really, really important, and I emphasize this with all gardeners at this point in the season is get yourself into the habit of making observations you really want to go out into your garden and take a look at the leaves. Take a look at the undersides of the leaves. 

        00:27:16 Heather Zidack 

        Take pictures. This is a great way to monitor so that if something does look a little different or disease develops or insects start showing up, you know early enough to do something. 

        00:27:29 Heather Zidack 

        I see a lot of times gardeners necessarily don't see what's happening in their garden, and then we hit a point where we're overwhelmed with disease or pest or weeds, even because of all the rain we've had. So if you can go out and get yourself in the habit of just looking at your plants, seeing what the leaves actually look like. Seeing what's normal and what's not normal. 

        00:27:52 Heather Zidack 

        That's really important to do so that when something abnormal happens, you're right on top of it and you can do something to save your plants instead of losing your fruit or your tomatoes or whatever the case may be. 

        00:28:05 Heather Zidack 

        If you do notice anything, it's really important to know that our office is here to help you with the UConn Home and Garden Education Center. We can always look at photos via e-mail. That e-mail is ladybug@uconn.edu again, ladybug @uconn.edu. Or you could call us at any time. Our number is 860-486-6271 again 860-486-6271 and we can help with plant disease as well as insects and environmental things that just look weird in the garden. We can help get you pointed in the right direction so. 

        00:28:49 Heather Zidack 

        That's definitely something that I I remind everybody is just be observant, be out in your garden, you know, be present with what you're doing. If you're out there watering, don't just go looking around at everything else around you go get the plants that you're watering and see what's going on. 

        00:29:05 Stephen Thal 

        Ah, that's great. 

        00:29:07 Stephen Thal 

        So we have to hope this is good information for our listeners and we have the phone numbers and we'll have them have you give it to them one more time. 

        00:29:18 Heather Zidack 

        So give you a couple of phone numbers, so I'm with the UConn Home and Garden Education Center. Again, my number here is 860-486-6271One again 860-486-6271. There's also the soil lab that I had mentioned earlier. Their number is 860-486-4274, again 860-486-4274. Between our two offices, we can definitely help gardeners get a handle on what they need to know. 

        00:29:55 Stephen Thal

        Well, we thank you for coming into focal point. We always appreciate the invaluable information to help our listeners enjoy their garden, not only a garden if they're doing or house plants or combination thereof.

        00:30:13 Stephen Thal 

        This is Stephen Thal with another segment on Focal Point. 

        00:30:13 Heather Zidack 

        Thanks for having me. 

        00:30:17 Stephen Thal 

        We hope you enjoyed today's program. 

        00:30:20 Stephen Thal 

        Two quick items for you. Please wear sunglasses and a hat when you're outside with the bright sun, and also to do a emergency plan for your home or for your business or whatever. And practice it very important to involve the people in case there is an emergency. People. Everybody knows what to do and that's the key piece. 

        00:30:47 Stephen Thal 

        So again, enjoy the Summer. 

        00:30:50 Stephen Thal 

        Stay safe and stay healthy, Steven Thal saying thanks to our guest speaker, Heather and all of our listeners that tuned in today. 

         

        Put an End to Blossom-End Rot: Water and Nutrient Management is Key

        By Nora Doonan, UConn Soil Science Graduate Student, Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture

        5 ripe tomatoes
        Photo by Julie-Ann Adorno, Soil Science Graduate Student, UConn Plant Science & Landscape Architecture

        It can be frustrating to put time and energy into growing tomatoes, only to find that your tomatoes have developed blossom-end rot. Blossom-end rot is a physiological disorder that commonly affects tomato plants, characterized by a black, sunken spot on the fruit. This disorder is caused by insufficient calcium as a result of nutrient and water management challenges. Blossom-end rot can also affect peppers, eggplants, squash, and watermelons. In tomatoes, it is commonly seen on larger and elongated varieties, which can have a greater demand for calcium. Calcium is an essential plant nutrient that is required for proper growth, especially for the development of cell walls in the tomato fruit. When a fruiting tomato plant experiences calcium deficiency, the cell wall can collapse and show the appearance of blossom-end rot. Soil tests can reveal if your soil has sufficient levels of calcium and can determine if your soil pH is optimal for nutrient availability.  

        Oftentimes, the soil is sufficient in calcium levels, but blossom-end rot still occurs. Blossom-end rot can be closely associated with soil moisture that is too wet or too dry. The soil should never dry out completely. It is important to water regularly to ensure that plants receive 1 to 2 inches of water a week. A cycle of dryness followed by overwatering is only promoting calcium deficiency in the plant. If soil is too saturated, there may be insufficient oxygen levels in the soil that can affect the roots’ ability to take up water and nutrients.  

        One method of maintaining optimal soil moisture is to mulch tomato plants with an organic mulch, such as wood chips or straw, after the soil has warmed up. This will help to prevent excessive evaporation and drying of the soil. Another method is to plant tomatoes in a mound of soil that is high in organic matter or compost. Organic matter can retain soil moisture and provide adequate drainage.  

        There are other factors that can affect calcium uptake by the plant, such as high concentrations of ammonium, potassium, and magnesium in the soil. This can be caused by over fertilization. Specifically, over fertilizing with nitrogen can promote excessive production of leaves in the tomato plant, which can preferentially distribute calcium to the leaves rather than the fruit.  

        Calcium movement in the plant is dependent on transpiration, which is the loss of water to the atmosphere from plant leaves, stems, and flowers. Calcium is taken up through the roots and relies on water flow through the xylem for transport through the plant. This movement of water through the xylem is driven by the process of transpiration. Calcium is not redistributed from the leaves to the fruit. In addition, the overfertilization of ammonium, potassium, and magnesium can allow for competition in root uptake of calcium because they are all positive cations. Damages to roots, caused by fertilizer burns or cultivation, can also be a factor in impairing nutrient and water uptake. To prevent blossom-end rot through fertilization practices, apply fertilizer as recommended by a soil test and apply nitrogen fertilizers in the form of nitrate, rather than ammonium.   

        Any affected fruits can be removed from the plant, as they will continue to drain moisture and calcium for development from other fruits. A foliar application of calcium can be made to the leaves when the fruit is young, but it is not the most effective method, since calcium in the leaves is relatively immobile. The goal is to prevent the need for foliar application through water and nutrient management across the tomato plant growth stages. Hopefully these methods will allow you to prevent blossom-end rot starting at beginning stages of growth, so that you can enjoy a bounty of beautiful, red tomatoes.  

        The UConn Home & Garden Education Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension center at cahnr.uconn.edu/extension/locations. 

        This article was published in the Hartford Courant June 14, 2025

        Put in the Work Now for Lasting Garden Beauty 

        By Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center 

        If you’re planning to do some landscape renovations this summer, you will often hear the suggestion of doing certain tasks “until the plant is established.” If you’ve heard this phrase and wondered what the pros mean, you’re not alone. It’s crucial to understand that the first year of growth is one of the most critical to ensure the success of trees, shrubs and perennials in the landscape.  

        The “establishment period” is when a newly transplanted plant pushes roots beyond the original root ball to anchor itself into the surrounding soil and adapt to its new environment. Establishment happens in as little as 2-4 weeks for your veggie starts and other annuals. However, if you are installing woody ornamentals or perennials, it is recommended to provide support for their first year in the landscape. Some species, especially fruiting plants may need longer attention to ensure establishment and landscape success. 

        Keeping the plants properly hydrated is going to be your first line of defense in preventing transplant shock. Using sprinkler systems for supplemental water can be problematic for trees, shrubs and perennials. These systems, especially those designed for lawns, maintain moisture in the top 1-2 inches of soil. Our non-turf plants need much more.  Providing adequate water will help new plants acclimate by providing sufficient hydration, but it will also encourage the root system to expand. Roots pull moisture and nutrients from the soil but also act as an anchor to keep the plants upright. Keeping only the top few inches of soil moist will encourage roots to stay in that shallow layer instead of expanding deeper into the soil, hindering the development of that anchoring system. Additionally, watering demand tends to be more frequent with shallow root systems, as the first few inches of soil are more susceptible to drying out on sunny days. Lastly, the shallow roots need to compete with established turf for resources at a 1-2-inch depth. 

        While in this establishment period, the standard watering recommendation is 1-2 inches per week, depending on the species of plant. An inch of water is equivalent to 0.62 gallons per square foot of garden area. Watering the plant at this rate encourages it to stretch its roots downward into the soil.  With deeper roots, plants can find moisture even during times of temporary drought deep below ground. This is a huge contribution to drought tolerance, as opposed to the common belief that the plant will just “live longer without water.”  

        If the forecast does not predict an inch of rain within the week, gardeners should be out checking the soil for moisture a few inches down and providing supplemental water if necessary. Always check the soil before watering, especially if you are new to gardening. Squeeze the soil in your hand. If the soil particles stick together easily, it is likely that there is enough moisture. If soil clumps fall apart between your fingers or the texture is dusty, the soil is too dry and more water is needed. If you can squeeze water out of the soil like a sponge, there is too much moisture, and you should come back and check in a day or two. Overwatering can lead to root rot and other diseases and finding the balance is a fine-tuned skill developed over time.  

        Monitor your new plantings for the first year and watch for signs of transplant shock, pests and disease so that you can adjust quickly and keep your plants healthy during this time. While transplant shock is a normal response to being planted in a new location, the symptoms can be startling to gardeners.  Remember that the UConn Home & Garden Education Center is here to help you determine if you are looking at transplant shock, disease, or possible pest damage. It’s easier to catch and treat issues earlier than it is to react at the end of the season. If you’re vigilant, we can help you find your way to solutions much more quickly! 

        Staking should only be done as a temporary measure for young trees where the environment or the species of tree requires extra support. In most cases, trees should be perfectly capable of supporting themselves. Exposure to the elements, like the occasional strong breeze, can help to strengthen them as they adjust. However, temporary staking can help take some of the stress off the young trees if they are establishing in harsher environments. While there are many situations that may be appropriate, consider staking newly planted trees when they are in open areas, have high wind exposure, or are in an area that risks mechanical or physical damage. Staking may also be appropriate if the root ball is significantly smaller in relation to the tree’s size, or if the tree has a top-heavy canopy. 

        Once your plants are well anchored into your landscape, they will be able to find water and nutrients on their own while standing tall in the face of our New England climate. Putting in the attention and care to help plants establish in their first year or two in the landscape will reward you with many years of enjoyment to come.  

        The UConn Home & Garden Education Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension center at cahnr.uconn.edu/extension/locations. 

         

         

        This article was published in the Hartford Courant June 7, 2025

        Move Houseplants Out, Prune Spring Shrubs and Other June News

        June 2025

        In June as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them.

        — Aldo Leopold, "Prairie Birthday"

        Move Your Houseplants Outside!

        Potted tropical hibiscus flowering on an outdoor patio
        Photo by Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

        With summer sunshine finally arriving in Connecticut, it’s a great time to give your indoor houseplants a seasonal boost. The increased sunlight, warmer temperatures, and higher humidity can help your plants thrive—but only if they’re eased into the change. Like people, houseplants need time to adjust to new conditions in order to succeed in them.

        To help them transition from indoors to outdoors, start by placing them in shaded areas. If desired, you can gradually increase their sun exposure over about two weeks. This slow adjustment helps prevent sunscald, a common issue when plants are suddenly exposed to much stronger light, similar to a sunburn. Keep in mind that even the brightest indoor spots receive far less light and radiation than full sun outdoors. Therefore, many houseplants do best in full shade or indirect light all summer, while some can tolerate part shade once properly acclimated.

        To keep your plants happy and hydrated, place them somewhere visible so you’re reminded to check on them regularly. With more sunlight and warmth, they’ll likely be pushing out new growth, and will need water more often. Check the soil daily during hot, sunny weather to prevent drying out and ensure a smooth adjustment to their new environment.

        Moving Plants Outside for the Summer

        Summer Vacation for Houseplants


        Spring Flowering Shrubs Need Maintenance!

        Pruning spring flowering shrubs is an essential aspect of maintaining a healthy and vibrant garden. Early spring is typically the ideal time for pruning these shrubs, as it allows for healthy growth and better blooms during the upcoming season.

        When pruning these shrubs, focus on removing any dead, damaged, or diseased wood, as well as any crossing branches that may cause damage or hinder growth. It's important to keep in mind that each shrub has its own unique pruning requirements based on its growth habits and flowering times. For example, early-flowering shrubs should be pruned after their blooms have faded, while late-flowering shrubs should be pruned in late winter or early spring before new growth begins. 

        Springtime Pruning Tips

        Some Shrubs Best Pruned After Flowering


        Native Plant: White Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata)

        Open flower of a white water lily with a yellow center
        Photo by Pamm Cooper, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

        This native water lily occurs in still water that is 5-6 feet deep. The fragrant flowers appear in June and float between the large, circular leaves.

        Flowers are open for three days, displaying a cup-shape the first day filled with sugary liquid that attracts the beetles and bees that pollinate them, and on the second and third day pollen is available.

        Seeds are dispersed by water fowl such as wood ducks and by water currents. Sometimes a pink form of the flower occurs.

         

        Learn More About White Water Lily

        The Connecticut Native Perennial, Tree, & Shrub Availability List


        Word from the WiSE

        Nutrients Plant Krave: NPK

        You tested your soil, you receive your soil test report, and now you need to decide on a fertilizer. But in the fertilizer aisle, all you see are triads of numbers: 20-20-20? 0-1-2? 10-5-35?? How do you know which to select? First, it’s important to know that these numbers correspond to the percent by weight of nitrogen to phosphorus to potassium – in that order – in the fertilizer blend. Second, be sure to check the back of the bag – Other nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, and boron, if they are present in the blend, will be listed on the back. The ingredients list will give you a sense of the form of that nutrient – For instance, polymer coated urea is a form of N that will be released slowly over time; Whereas something like potassium nitrate will be highly water-soluble. Most bags will also indicate the effect of the product on the soil pH: It may say something like “potential acidity” or “potentially basic”. For more information about soil testing, be sure to check out our website below! Also, to help calculate what fertilizer you need based on your soil test report, check out this handy calculator tool from Clemson!

        By Abigayle Ward, Soil Science Graduate Student


        Weather Outlook

        A seasoned gardener always keeps their eye to the sky at any time of year! Maps and the 30 day outlook from NOAA will help you stay prepared for any and all of your gardening chores! (Click image to see larger map.)

            Temperature map

        Precipitation Outlook

         


        In the Garden & Pest Alerts

        In the Garden: Fourlined Plant Bug

        Four-Lined Plant Bug nymph
        Photo by Pamm Cooper, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

         

        Fourlined plant bugs (Poecilocapus lineatus) are making their presence known in perennial and herb gardens. Damage from both the small nymphs and adults looks the same: black sunken areas on leaves and sometimes stems.

        While they only have one generation per year, nymphs emerge over a period of weeks in the late spring/early summer. They should be out of the garden by the end of July.

        They can cause considerable cosmetic damage, but they generally do not kill the plants. Adults are neon green with 4 black stripes down the back.

         

         

        Fourlined Plant Bugs

        UConn Pest Alerts

        During the growing season, UConn Extension publishes a regular pest alert for both vegetable and fruit producers. Additionally, the New England Vegetable Management Guide offers a lot of information about specific vegetable crops.

        While the target audience for these publications is usually commercial growers, home gardeners can learn a lot from these materials including identification and management of common pests in your veggie gardens!

        If you ever need confirmation on an ID or have additional questions about what you read in these reports, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at the Home & Garden Education Center! We're happy to help your gardens thrive.

        UConn Vegetable Pest Alerts

        UConn Fruit Pest Messages

        New England Vegetable Management Guide


        Upcoming Events and Things to Do

        • It's Strawberry season! Pick Your Own throughout the month and into July!
        • Strawberry season means Strawberry Festivals! Find one close to you in towns like Mystic, South Windsor, Orange, and more!

        ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​


        Educational Opportunities & Workshops

        • CT State Parks have multiple events happening this month!

        Connecticut is rich in agricultural history, with many operational farms that have lots to offer local markets! 

        Supporting local CT Agriculture is a way that gardeners can supplement the fresh foods they grow in their garden, with seasonal offerings from year round operations.

        Consider attending a local farmers market, joining Community Supported Agriculture (CSA's), or even stopping by your nearest farm stand to see what they have to offer!  

         


        June Gardening Tips

        • Heavy rains encourage slug problems. Check for slugs during rainy periods and hand pick the pests.
        • Lightly cultivate soil after a heavy rain to avoid compaction. A layer of mulch reduces the soil crusting and compaction caused by raindrops.
        • Be aware that container plants will need more water during hot and windy weather.
        • There is still time to sow seeds of beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, and summer squash. Plant seeds of bush beans every three weeks for a continuous harvest.
        • Sow seeds of fast-growing annuals like marigolds, zinnias, and cosmos directly in the garden.
        • Keep on top of weeds during the early summer when they are small and easy to pull. If you keep your garden plants well-watered and fertilized, they will quickly fill in bare spaces and give weeds fewer places to grow.
        • Mow lawns often enough to remove no more than one-third the total height per mowing. There is no need to remove clippings unless excessive or diseased. 
        • This is a good time to take cuttings of trees and shrubs, such as chokeberry, butterfly bush, spirea, serviceberry, hydrangea, dogwood, and magnolia, to root for new plantings.
        • When deadheading rhododendrons, avoid breaking off the leaf buds which are just below flowers. Carefully twist off spent blooms.
        • Water at ground level for best results. If you must overhead water do so early enough in the day to allow the foliage to dry before nightfall to minimize diseases.
        •  Mosquitoes breed in standing water. To discourage them, change the water in bird baths and outdoor pet dishes every few days.

        This Month’s Newsletter Contributors: 
        Heather Zidack, Pamm Cooper, Marie Woodward, Abigayle Ward, Holly McNamara

        Spring Showers Bring Flooded Gardens

        By Amelia Martin, UConn Plant Science Graduate Student 

        Rain gauge showing half an inch of rain on a cloudy day
        Photo by H. Zidack, UConn HGEC

        You may have noticed the heavy rains and chilly temperatures last week’s nor ’easter brought to Connecticut. Maybe you were one of many who checked their back window to see their gardens had flooded and their plants are looking worse for the wear. If this sounds familiar and you are curious what garden flooding means for your plants and want to know how to protect them- you found the right article! 

        A flooded garden is not a unique problem, especially during periods of heavy rainfall, but there are some factors that may contribute to the severity of flooding. Having minimal or poor drainage can amplify the problem, especially if planting in garden boxes with closed bottoms. Soil compaction can contribute to flooding if you are planting directly in the ground. Compacted soil can happen if there has been too much tillage, if wheels or machinery have been over the area, or even from excess foot traffic. Lastly, the layout and landscaping of a yard can contribute to flooding as well. If you placed your garden at the bottom of a hill or there are minimal drainage angles surrounding your garden, water may be pooling up faster than it can drain.  

        To prevent flooding, check your gutters and make sure they are free from debris and directed to a drain or storm barrel. Put down gravel and mulch to help prevent surface flooding. Avoid cutting your grass too short to maintain strong roots which help to absorb water. Maintain healthy soil to allow for the best water absorption. Dig out a shallow drainage channel if you have the space for it. Consider switching to raised beds with drainage rather than in-ground gardens in easily flooded areas. Try adding native plants to your garden. Native plants have deep roots which helps them absorb excess water and prevent runoff. While handling these issues would be preventative measures, let’s talk about what to do if your garden has already flooded.  

        Assess the drainage situation and take note of where the water is pooling the most. If flooding is unusual in your garden- there may be something blocking the normal drainage route, which may be a quick fix. If not, knowing where water is likely to pool may help in future garden planning, or help you determine where to make improvements.  

        Stay off your garden beds.  If you step on your soil while it is saturated, it will compact it, ruining the soil’s tilth. Instead, if you need to access your garden beds consider putting a wooden board down to walk on to distribute your weight better. 

        Re-fertilize your plants. Heavy rain can wash away nutrients out of the soil through a process called leaching. Check the forecast to make sure no more extreme weather is immediately approaching before fertilizing- or you may have to do it again. 

        Add supports to your plants. The wind and rain may have led to plants falling over. Add in some additional supports to get them upright again and give them a better chance for the next time heavy rain comes.  

        While having a flooded garden may be a bummer, there are some gardening activities that are actually easier to do in saturated soil! Once the rain stops and the ground is still wet, use this time to weed. The soft ground will make weeds especially easy to pull up- just try not to step on the garden beds. After a rain or a flood, re-mulching is always a good idea. The rain might wash away some previously placed mulch, use this as an opportunity to locate any spots barren of mulch and in need of a re-fill. After a couple days when the soil is soft but not sodden, the ground will be the perfect consistency to dig and put stakes.  

        Lastly, check for any young plants that didn’t survive the water or any seeds that haven’t come up. Take this as an opportunity to plant new seeds, as seeds do better in already moist soil where they have less chance of being displaced when watered.  

        At the end of the day, while having a flooded garden may not be the best for your plants, it is not the end of the world. There are a handful of preventative measures that can be taken ranging from backyard renovations to quick fixes- it is about finding what works best for you and your garden.  

        The UConn Home & Garden Education Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension center at cahnr.uconn.edu/extension/locations. 

        This article was published in the Hartford Courant May 31, 2025

        Why Are Seeds Sprouting in My Tomato?!

        Nick Goltz, DPM, UConn Home & Garden Education Center, UConn Plant Diagnostic Lab

        A tomato sliced in half with seedlings sprouting up
        Seed germination within an overripe tomato. Photo credit: J. Copes.

        UConn Home and Garden Education Center alum Carol Quish wrote a short blog post about vivipary in 2014 that, over a decade later, is still one of our most-read pieces. Why are folks still interested to read this post after so much time? Because seeing seed vivipary in a tomato you’re about to eat is just so darn weird. To better discuss and understand vivipary however, we should start with a little refresher on seed biology.

        Reflecting back on 4th period science class with Mr. So-and-so, you’ll recall that producing  a seed is both a distribution and reproduction strategy for plants. Generally, a seed is composed of a developing young plant called an embryo and a nutritious tissue to support the embryo called an endosperm, both of which are encapsulated within a hard seed coat. When an embryo is triggered to begin growing and breaks through the seed coat, many people consider this the stage of germination.

        A seed will typically be in a state of dormancy while within the fruit and for a period after fruit harvest and dispersal. This strategy of undergoing dormancy is usually advantageous to the seed so it does not germinate and begin growing under adverse conditions, such as the beginning of winter or before being eaten by a hungry critter. A delicate combination of environmental cues and plant hormones maintain – and break – seed dormancy. When temperature, light, moisture, and other environmental conditions are right for that seed, hormones like gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) will shift in balance and germination will occur. Dormancy is typically maintained when levels of ABA are higher than levels of GA, and is broken when levels of GA are higher than levels of ABA.

        When germination occurs while the seed is still within or attached to tissue of the parent plant, this is considered vivipary. Appropriately, the word “vivipary” is Latin for “live birth”. Vivipary is an essential strategy for some plants, such as mangrove trees, to increase likelihood of reaching a safe place to grow. For most plants however, vivipary is considered a physiological disorder or otherwise undesirable outcome as it decreases likelihood for successful establishment and growth, post-germination. Some highly-domesticated plants, like tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, wheat, and corn, are more prone to vivipary than others.

        Seed germination within an overripe tomato. Photo credit: J. Copes.

        While there isn’t uniform consensus on what combination of factors trigger vivipary, promoting high ABA levels in seeds while they’re still in the parent plant will certainly lower the odds. While there is nothing that can be done to change the genetics of the tomato on your counter, you can take steps to minimize the environmental triggers that would decrease ABA levels. Minimizing free moisture, preventing excessively cool temperatures, and drying, consuming, or processing the seed before the fruit bearing it become overripe are important strategies.

        For tomatoes specifically, be sure to harvest them before they are fully ripe! Overripe tomatoes are much more likely to experience vivipary. For the same reason, whether buying or growing your own vine-ripened tomatoes, it’s important to consume them quickly. Furthermore, be sure to store your tomatoes at room temperature and not in the fridge. Not only will they be more likely to have a mealy texture when you eat them, but low temperatures may also increase the likelihood of vivipary.

        The next time you happen to take a bite of a tomato filled with seeds that have experienced vivipary, don’t fret! The taste and texture may not be what you were expecting, but they’re perfectly harmless. That said, a better destination for a viviparous tomato may be your garden bed rather than your caprese salad! Seeds that have germinated within the fruit will still grow and eventually produce fruit like any other tomato seedling.

        If you have questions about growing tomatoes, or any other gardening topic, call the UConn Home & Garden Education Center (toll-free) at (877) 486-6271. You can also email us at ladybug@uconn.edu, visit our website, www.homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or visit your local UConn Cooperative Extension center.

        This article was published in the Hartford Courant May 24, 2025