Garden Chores

The Carbon Sink Under Your Feet: Why Your Lawn Matters

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By Dr. Avishesh Neupane, UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Lab

A close up of a field of green grass
Photo by Maria Kovalets on Unsplash

When we think of climate solutions in Connecticut, our minds usually go to big things such as offshore wind, public transit, and forests. We rarely think about our lawns. But soil science suggests that the roughly 40 to 50 million acres of lawn and managed turfgrass in the United States represent a large and often-overlooked opportunity to help keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, especially when those landscapes are well managed. Although forests store far more carbon overall in wood and soil, lawns can still play a supporting role by storing carbon mostly belowground, as long as maintenance inputs like fertilizer, mowing fuel, and irrigation are kept in check. In other words, done well lawns can store carbon in soil; done poorly, those same inputs can wipe out the gains and even make a lawn a net source of emissions. 

Your lawn and garden are not just aesthetic choices. They are living systems. Through photosynthesis, grass and other plants pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turn it into sugars. Those sugars are basically “carbon packages” the plant uses to grow. Some of that carbon ends up in leaves, stems, and flowers, and some is sent belowground to build roots and feed soil microorganisms. 

As roots and microorganisms grow, die back, and regrow, they add carbon-rich material to the soil. That material becomes part of the soil’s organic matter. In the Northeast, well-managed turfgrass can store carbon at meaningful rates, with published estimates often ranging from a few hundred to more than a thousand pounds of carbon per acre per year. 

That same organic matter also gives soil what many gardeners call the “sponge” effect. It helps the ground absorb water, hold moisture longer, and maintain better structure. That means less runoff during storms, better drought tolerance during dry periods, and a healthier root zone overall. Healthier, carbon-rich soil helps a lawn do more than stay green. It helps the landscape better withstand weather stress and keeps more water and nutrients where they belong. 

Management that Protects Soil Health 

The benefits of a lawn or garden depend heavily on how it is managed. Poor soil management can weaken plant growth, reduce biological activity, and limit the soil’s ability to store carbon over time. If we want the lawn to store more carbon and withstand weather extremes better, management matters. We can start with the following practical steps. 

First, test your soil and apply only what the test calls for. Guesswork often leads to over-application of fertilizer, especially phosphorus and nitrogen. Excess phosphorus wastes money, can upset nutrient balance, and increases the risk of runoff into local waterways, where it can contribute to algae overgrowth. Excess nitrogen is also a concern because it can be lost to the air as greenhouse gases and to water through leaching and runoff, affecting groundwater and streams. A soil test helps you target nutrients and lime where they are actually needed, supporting healthier roots and the soil biology that helps build carbon-rich soil over time. 

Second, address compaction. When soil is compressed by repeated foot traffic or heavy equipment, it loses pore space. That limits air movement, reduces water infiltration, restricts root growth, and weakens biological activity. Carbon storage does not stop altogether, but the soil becomes less effective at building and holding additional organic matter. In lawns, core aeration can help relieve compaction. 

Third, keep the soil covered. Dense grass cover and recycled clippings help shield the soil, reduce erosion, buffer moisture swings, and support soil life. This also supports soil carbon by keeping roots growing and by reducing the loss of carbon-rich soil through erosion and rapid drying. The key is to maintain healthy turf and avoid practices that leave bare ground for long periods. 

A Landscape of Stewardship 

For Connecticut lawns, the real test is not just how green they look in a good week. It is how well they hold up through heavy rain, summer dry spells, and changing weather patterns. That resilience starts in the soil. 

A healthy, carbon-rich soil is one of the best ways to make a lawn more resilient. By focusing on plant-appropriate pH, good soil structure, and science-based nutrient management, we do more than improve how a landscape looks. We make it better able to absorb water, support plant growth, and store more carbon over time. 

Your lawn will not solve climate change on its own. But better soil management can make it healthier, more resilient, and modestly better at storing carbon. That is a practical win for landowners, for water quality, and for the broader environment. 

The UConn Home Garden Education Office 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 extension.uconn.edu/locations.    

 

This article was published in the Hartford Courant March 21, 2026

Watch for these Temperatures this Spring

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By Heather Zidack, UConn Home Garden Education Office 

Emerging daffodil shoots growing at the base of a stone wall amid fallen leaves.
Photo by H. Zidack, UConn Home Garden Education Office

With a taste of spring earlier in the week, gardeners are itching to get back out there for a little bit of sunshine and horticultural therapy. Don’t let the forecast fool you, we still have a stretch of time before we can really do many of the gardening activities we love.  

Interestingly, there is a magic number for gardeners to watch out for. 50°F is a significant temperature for when we, as gardeners, can start to act. However, this temperature, in various applications, needs to be monitored to ensure we’re doing the right activities at the right time.  

The first thing we will look for in the spring is air temperature above 50°F during the day. Unfortunately, the couple of days we had last week weren’t enough to really set off the start whistles for us. Consistency is key. When we hit this consistent daytime temperature, we start to see more obvious signs of seasonal changes. With a sustained air temperature above 50°F during the day, we can start to do things like clean out our gardens. Many species of pollinators and beneficial insects will start to become active at these temperatures. While a more accurate tool, known as Growing Degree Days (GDD) can help you identify the specific needs of specific species of both plant and insect development, this rule of thumb gives us a guideline to start with. Remove thick, dense piles of wet and matted leaves, or consider gently fluffing them up with a rake. A one-to-two-inch layer can benefit our plants as a natural mulch, but dense piles should be relocated to compost or the edge of the wood line. If you encourage pollinator habitat, avoid shredding or mulching leaf material as an extra protective measure for any stragglers that may be slow to wake up.  

Soil warms much slower than the ambient air temperature, so while it may feel comfortable to work outside, the soil may not be primed for activity. We commonly encourage gardeners to monitor for a soil temperature consistently above 50°F as another milestone.  This guideline is found to be the baseline for germination rates of many warm-season plants, and sustained temperatures above this threshold are necessary to promote growth. Cool season annuals and perennials will have different soil temperature thresholds for germination and success. In addition, this is an ideal temperature range for many garden products like fertilizers and pre-emergent herbicides to be effective. As always, check the product label for specifics on temperature ranges, as different products and different species of plants all have different needs. While we get a daily forecast almost anywhere for air temperatures, soil can be a bit more challenging to track. Use tools like Cornell’s Fore Cast or similar resources to help track local soil temperatures.  

The last big milestone in the spring comes when nighttime air temperatures consistently reach 50°F or higher. At this point many of our houseplants and tender annuals, including  warm-season vegetables, can be planted in the garden or put out onto the patio without protection. This is the stage where we truly feel like spring has arrived and our gardening is in full swing.  

 When we have a typical season, these benchmarks tend to happen in order. Days get warmer, soil follows suit, and nighttime temperatures are the last to stabilize. However, occasionally, the seasons can throw us a curveball and these may not sync up exactly as planned. Always monitor them as separate markers for the best outcomes in your garden.  

By watching these temperature thresholds as the season unfolds, we give our gardens the best possible start. These guidelines are a great place to start for the beginning gardener, and tools like the soil temperature map and growing degree days are there to help the advanced gardener fine tune their practice. Whatever your skill level, we’re here to help you grow!  

The UConn Home Garden Education Office 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 extension.uconn.edu/locations.    

This article was published in the Hartford Courant March 14, 2026

Seed Starting, Simplified

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By Holly McNamara, UConn Home Garden Education Office 

Seed-starting trays with tiny green seedlings emerging in soil
Photo by H. Zidack, UConn Home Garden Education Office

Growing plants from seed is one of the most rewarding parts of gardening. In Connecticut, late winter is the time to start many cold-weather crops indoors, so they’re strong and ready to move outside after the last frost. Starting seeds requires a fair amount of attention, but you don’t need any special tools – this is an affordable project that anyone can tackle.  

Start by choosing seeds from a New England or Connecticut–based company. Local seed companies offer varieties adapted to our shorter growing season and changing spring temperatures. One seed packet is usually enough for a 10- to 30-foot row.  To determine when to start your seeds, use a calendar and the most up-to-date forecast for the last frost. Write the sowing date on each seed packet, then group packets with similar planting times together to stay organized.  

You don’t need any fancy equipment to sow your seeds. All you need are containers with drainage holes and catch trays for excess water. Reuse items from around the house – Styrofoam cups, yogurt or cottage cheese containers, salad tubs, plastic takeout boxes, egg cartons – the list goes on! Before planting, wash containers with soap and water, then rinse with a solution of one part bleach to ten parts water to prevent disease.  

Choose a commercial seed-starting mix that is loose and drains well. Garden soil is not recommended because it is not sterile and can introduce mold or disease. Fill containers to about one inch from the top with a moistened seed-starting mix. Level and gently firm the surface. If planting more than one type of seed in a container, make shallow rows and sow seeds evenly. If planting just one type, you can scatter them lightly across the surface. Make sure to label them immediately before or after sowing. Then, cover your seeds with a thin layer of vermiculite or seed-starting mix. Very tiny seeds should remain uncovered. Mist gently with water or set the container in a pan of warm water to moisten from below. Cover the container loosely with plastic wrap or a plastic bag to hold in moisture. You likely won’t need to water again until seeds germinate. Place trays in a warm spot out of direct sunlight. Once seedlings emerge, remove the plastic and move them to a bright window with indirect light. Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings, but don’t let the seedlings wilt. If needed, thin them out by snipping extras at the soil line with scissors. If they outgrow their containers, you can transplant them into individual pots once they develop one set of true leaves.  

Seedlings must adjust gradually to outdoor conditions, a process called “hardening off.” Start by placing them outside in part shade, protected from wind, for about a week. Bring them in at night before temperatures drop. During the second week, slowly increase sun exposure. Start by leaving them outside in direct sunlight for an hour for the first day, and then increasing the amount of time each consecutive day. After this week, if no freezing temperatures are expected, plants can remain outside until transplanting. Hardening off is important in the seed sowing process: skipping this step can lead to sunburned, damaged leaves.  

Choose a cloudy day to transplant your seedlings to reduce shock. Dig a hole twice as wide as the plant’s root ball. Gently remove the plant from its container with a spoon, keeping as much soil around the roots as possible. Try not to grasp the plant by its stem; this can cause serious damage. Set it in the hole at the same depth it was growing in its container. Fill the hole gently, without packing the soil tightly around the roots.  

Annual flowers like marigolds and zinnias are excellent for beginners. Check the seed packet to determine how many weeks are needed before transplanting outdoors. In late winter, gardeners can start artichokes, perennial herbs, chard, salad greens, onions, leeks and more. By late February/early March, sow cole crops such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale. Tomatoes and peppers can also be started indoors for transplanting later in spring. In New England, peas can be planted outdoors as soon as the soil is workable.  

Starting seeds indoors may seem technical at first, but it’s simply a matter of timing, clean containers, good grow mix, and patience. With a little planning now, your garden will be off to a strong start when warm weather finally arrives.  

The UConn Home Garden Education Office 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 extension.uconn.edu/locations. 

This article was published in the Hartford Courant March 7, 2026

Winterize your Garden Gear Before It’s Too Late!

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By Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Outdoor water spigot with attached green hose and rust around the base on concrete.
Y Connectors like this should be removed and stored inside to keep the plastic from cracking in the winter. Photo by H. Zidack

It’s already November! It doesn’t seem like that long ago when we were giving advice about seeding lawns and watering in new fall plantings. Now that the time has changed, the days feel shorter, and the nights are getting colder, it’s important to remember to take the time to properly store your garden equipment and accessories before locking up the shed for the season.

Freezing temperatures are on the way fast. Drain and roll up any hoses to remove tripping hazards from the landscape. Store them inside a garage or shed to keep them out of the elements and lengthen their lifespan of use in the garden. Make sure that your outdoor water systems are properly winterized. Whether that means flushing your irrigation system, or simply shutting off your outside water, don’t forget this important step to protect your pipes! Once lines are turned off, open external valves to relieve any remaining pressure.

Water can not only wreak havoc on pipes but many garden accessories, too. A glass rain gauge left outside can and will freeze and shatter outdoors. Ceramics like pottery and bird baths are susceptible to cracking, so store them either in the shed or upside down in a sheltered area. Stash your garden gnomes, garden flags and solar pathway lights to protect them from fading and damage. Brittle cold, freezing water, and a careless throw of the snow shovel could spell disaster for garden décor left out in the open.

Inside the shed, take a quick inventory. Leftover seed or bagged mulch could be rodent attractants. Seeds should be stored in areas safe from extreme temperatures to preserve germination rates. Bird seed should be stored in animal proof containers. Chemical products like pesticides and fertilizers may be adversely affected by temperature fluctuations and freezing. They could also make a real mess if a water-based or pressurized solution were to burst. Products leftover from the growing season should be evaluated and moved into a space safe from freezing temperatures. Product labels or manufacturers will have storage and disposal information to help you make the best decision about what to do with your garden chemicals at the end of the season.

Close-up of a rusty metal latch with a padlock on a weathered gray wooden door.
Before you lock up the shed for the winter, remember to winterize! Photo by H. Zidack

Winter will be a great time to thoroughly clean, repair, and sharpen tools. Store them somewhere that is easy to get to later so you can make sure your tools are fresh for the new season! If you have to do the seasonal shed shuffle, this is also a great time to rotate the lawn mower and snow thrower to prepare for the first storms of the season.

Speaking of your gas-powered equipment, check your owner’s manuals for winterizing recommendations and instructions to help maintain the life and quality of your equipment. You may need specific maintenance before long term storage.  Contact a professional for any maintenance tasks that you do not feel confident performing on your own.

If you’re running out of space in the shed and garage, consider covering lawn furniture with UV and mildew resistant covers. Take down awning covers and temporary structures. I, myself, have fallen victim to the false sense of security of a mild winter, only to be devastated by the collapse of my garden tent in the first, albeit belated, heavy snow.

While all of this seems like common sense, the mad dash from here to the holidays will have many of us pulled in different directions. Our equipment, tools, and garden infrastructure are some of the biggest investments we put into our gardens. Hopefully this short checklist will help you knock out those last few chores that come with maintaining a four season New England 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 extension.uconn.edu/locations.

This article was published in the Hartford Courant November 8, 2025

Don’t Let Dry Soil Follow Your Plants Into Winter!

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By Holly McNamara, UConn Plant Diagnostic Lab

This year, Connecticut’s notably dry summer conditions have continued into fall. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, all counties are abnormally dry for this time of year, and some are even considered to be in a moderate drought. Thus, many trees, shrubs, and perennials are heading into winter low on moisture. These conditions combined with the dry air, low precipitation, and fluctuating temperatures characteristic of Connecticut winters can lead to plant damage if no supplemental water is provided. Many of your plants will benefit from a deep final soak before the ground freezes.

Fall drought stress often doesn’t show up until spring, or even the following summer.Affected plants may appear perfectly normal and resume growth in the spring, using stored food energy. Plants may be weakened or die in late spring or summer when temperatures rise. Browning evergreens, delayed leaf-out, and sudden dieback are common signs of plants that went into winter too dry.

Moist soil is so important in the fall and winter months because it provides insulation to the roots. It may seem counter-intuitive, but properly hydrated soil does a much better job at protecting roots from freezing temperatures than dry soil. Root damage occurs for this reason when plants do not receive enough late-season moisture.

Woody plants with shallow root systems require the most supplemental water during extended dry periods in the fall and winter. Trees in this category include maples, birches, willows, and dogwoods. This category also includes perennials, and shrubs like hydrangeas, boxwoods, and azaleas. These plants benefit from mulch to further conserve soil moisture and buffer the roots from temperature swings. Apply mulch about 2 to 4 inches away from the trunk all the way to the outermost reach of its branches in a doughnut shape.

Evergreen needles up close
Evergreens need sufficient water in dry falls to help prevent winter injury. Photo by Heather Zidack

Evergreens also benefit from fall and winter watering because they do not go dormant in the winter. Evergreens of any age are still actively respiring during the coldest months of the year and will continuously lose water through their needles. If they go into the winter with dry soil, they are more likely to have a difficult spring recovery. This is especially true for those in open or windy areas.

Only water when daytime temperatures are above 40°F, ideally in the late morning or early afternoon so the water can soak in before possible freezing at night. Feel the soil at a depth of 4 to 6 inches to ensure that supplemental water is necessary. Soil should be consistently moist, but not oversaturated or muddy. Stop supplemental watering after the ground freezes because plants cannot absorb water through frozen soil. To water, use a soaker hose to provide a slow stream of water that can penetrate deeper into the soil with limited runoff. If your hose is already stored away for the winter, and your tree or shrub is small, consider drilling a 1/8-inch hole at the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket and filling that with water for a slow, steady stream. If dry weather continues into the winter and there’s little snow cover, additional watering once or twice a month may be needed until the soil hardens.

A final round of watering now can prevent root injury that won’t be visible until much later. Evergreens, deciduous trees, and other landscape plantings will head into winter stronger with a little extra attention this month. Giving the soil one last watering before it freezes is one of the simplest ways to protect your landscape from winter stress.

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 extension.uconn.edu/locations.

This article was published in the Hartford Courant October 25, 2025

Why is My Lilac Blooming in the Fall?

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By Pamm Cooper, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Bumblebees on fall blooming lilacs
Photo by Pamm Cooper, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Spring-blooming woody plants like lilacs (especially the old, grafted varieties), ornamental cherries, forsythia, crabapples, azaleas and some magnolias set their flower buds for the following year in early summer shortly after flowering.  Usually, flower buds are triggered to bloom by environmental conditions which normally occur after an extended fall and winter cold period, followed by longer days and warming temperatures in spring. It is not typical for these plants to have a second bloom in the fall, but environmental conditions sometimes trigger premature flowering in the fall. Some plants may have only a few flowers rebloom, while other plants may have more flowers open in the fall.  

Some of the reasons for this out of season bloom are extended summer heat and drought conditions where supplemental water is lacking.  Severe early defoliation, especially from certain fungal pathogens, can also contribute to reblooming. The past two springs have been very wet and diseases such as anthracnose and Pseudocercospora spp. leaf spot may have caused leaves to brown, shrivel and drop early. This stresses the shrub and contributes to out of sync rebloom if other conditions are right. Good sanitation practices such as cleaning up infected leaves will be helpful in reducing fungal infections the following year. 

If a plant is healthy and relatively unstressed, the normal seasonal move to cooler weather triggers dormancy. Plants that are deciduous will drop leaves as daylight length and temperature both decrease. Next year’s leaf and flower buds will also remain in a dormant state. Flowering and leafing out will be triggered by increasing daylight and air temperatures the next spring. 

Lilac flowers opening in October
Photo by Pamm Cooper, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

If certain woody plants have been stressed during the growing season, however, the change to cooler weather followed by some warmer weather can trigger some of the flower buds to open prematurely. This false dormancy especially affects flower buds near the tops of old-style lilacs where it is sunnier and warmer. Ornamental cherries may show sporadic flowering all over the tree where there is a southern exposure.  

While fall reblooming of ornamental trees and shrubs can lead to a disappointing floral display the following spring, it is not harmful to the plant. After a less showy spring bloom period, flower buds will be produced normally. If stressful conditions caused by environmental conditions, insect pests or fungal pathogens are minimal, then a second bloom in autumn is unlikely to occur. Gardeners and landscapers can only do so much, and while the weather is out of our control, making sure plants are maintained properly to avoid stress during the summer will go a long way in helping them remain as healthy as possible.  

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 extension.uconn.edu/locations.

This article was published in the Hartford Courant October 18, 2025

We Asked Gardening Pros If You Should Rake Leaves From Garden Beds—And They All Agreed

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We Asked Gardening Pros If You Should Rake Leaves From Garden Beds—And They All Agreed

The Spruce – Heather Zidack and other professionals give their insight on raking leaves from your garden beds.

Fall Gardening and Preparing for Winter on CRIS Radio

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CRIS Radio: Focal Point 10/13/2025

Heather Zidack from the UConn Home & Garden Education Center talks to host, Stephen Thal, about the summer weather patterns, and how they have impacted our fall garden chores!

Transcript

00:00:01 Stephen Thal 

Hi, welcome to another segment on Focal Point. This is Stephen Thal, your host. And boy, we got another exciting program for our listeners. Today we're going to be talking about plants and gardens and how to take care of them, especially with the challenging weather- humid, hot. Oh, the plants must be having a tough time and garden things. What's happening? 

00:00:27 Stephen Thal 

Well, here to help us work this all out is Heather Zidack, and she's from the UConn Plant and Garden Education Center. Welcome, Heather. 

00:00:40 Heather Zidack 

Hi, Stephen. Thanks for having me. 

00:00:42 Stephen Thal 

Oh, it's always a pleasure. So what did the weather do to the plants this year? 

00:00:49 Heather Zidack 

So, this year was a wild year for our plants. It was a wild year for us too. Some of the weather that we noticed was quite crazy. But in particular, we had a very hot, very humid summer that led us to see a lot of fungal diseases. We got a lot of phone calls, a lot of emails, a lot of samples into our diagnostic lab that had a lot of diseases in the garden. So that was something that we saw. We actually have also been getting reports right now. People are asking us why are their lilacs blooming? And it's because of the stress that we've had this season. 

00:01:28 Heather Zidack 

So with that heat, that humidity, we've also had some really dry stretches that have kept us kind of right on the border of a drought. We're not quite there yet, but we are in abnormally dry conditions. So when plants are stressed, sometimes they do some really strange things and so people have been seeing their lilacs blooming in the fall when that's normally a spring blooming plant. It's not something that's normal, but it's definitely it's an environmental thing and it's not going to be like detrimental to the lilacs if you are seeing that. So it's it's worth noting, but it's not necessarily need for alarm. 

00:02:06 Heather Zidack 

We had earlier in the summer, we had the wildfires and smoke from that may have affected some of your plants. Because believe it or not, the air quality can affect your plants in the garden. And so that could have led to some ozone damage, which we see is like curling in the leaves. It can look like distortion in the leaves. So some weird things with that. 

00:02:29 Heather Zidack 

And then the other thing is that we saw temperatures whenever we went over 85 degrees, usually our common vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, things like that will actually kind of put a pause on. And so, they will not ripen or they may not fruit as heavily. So, we got some calls in saying, “Hey, why have my tomatoes been green for so long?” And it was probably because of the weather. 

00:02:56 Heather Zidack 

So a lot of things happening, the swings in moisture, so we'd have some really warm days, some really dry weather, and then we'd get kind of a deluge of rain. That kind of also stressed the plants out as well. 

00:03:12 Heather Zidack 

So we are advising right now to water your plants, especially your evergreens going into the fall. If we're not seeing an inch of rain forecasted, you want to make sure you're out there watering during any of your new plantings, any of your evergreens, anything like that. 

00:03:31 Heather Zidack 

The drought that we had last fall, so fall of 2024, actually caused a lot of losses in the garden for evergreens, rhododendrons, things like that in 2025 when we were coming into the spring and plants were starting to wake up. So, watering now is going to save you a headache in the spring for sure and if you've had anything like if you have had experience with like fungal disease in your garden this year we're recommending cut all of that tissue back let those leaves drop rake them up and dispose of them don't come compost it because you don't want to put it back into your garden so a lot of different weather patterns have caused the gardeners to have a little extra work this fall I think. 

00:04:14 Stephen Thal 

Okay so where do we go from here with the weather are we going to be bringing some plants into the house? And and we'll also be checking on the plants that have been in the house that may need some help for the fall. 

00:04:32 Heather Zidack 

Yeah, so it's definitely that time of year we recommend bringing in your plants when nighttime temperatures are 50 degrees or lower. And so, we've kind of been doing okay with that weather-wise but we are starting to get into that time where it's consistent and we're seeing that below 50 degrees. 

So, a lot of things if you keep, you know, palms outside or if you keep any citrus trees or anything outside, they need to be in if they're not already. So, some species can be a little more sensitive, so they may have needed to come in already, like even before that 50 degree mark, but that's our rule of thumb. 

00:05:13 Heather Zidack 

When you start to bring them inside, definitely look them over really well, feel them over really well, make sure that the leaves are smooth, everything is healthy, you're not feeling any kind of like insects or any sticky leaves or anything like that. If you are, it is time to kind of have a little bit of a closer look, have checked out for bugs, make sure that you're not bringing anything into your house that you don't want staying there for the winter with your plants. You know, check the undersides of the leaves, check through the soil a little bit, and identify and treat any of those issues before they come into the house. 

00:05:51 Heather Zidack 

So, we do help homeowners if you have pictures, you can send us pictures and we can take a look to see if any of those plant related insects are anything that you need to do anything about before it comes inside. 

00:06:07 Heather Zidack 

You want to give your plants a chance to transition from inside to outside. So if 50 degree nights is what they're-the goal is and we've been letting the weather come down to that 50 degrees and then you're bringing it into your 68 degree house, that's an 18 degree temperature difference. So they may show signs of stress. 

00:06:29 Heather Zidack 

They may kind of not be used to the amount of moisture in the air in your home as compared to what was outside, especially as it starts to get a little colder and we start kicking on the furnace and the air is drier inside the home. 

00:06:43 Heather Zidack 

So keep an eye on your plants, monitor them. Those stress responses may happen, but don't-go ahead and-don't overreact to it. So if you see them drying out, if you see them wilting a little bit, don't change your practices too much. Continue to water as you've always watered. Continue to take all the care that you always have to make sure that they're not drying out, but you're not over watering either. 

00:07:12 Heather Zidack 

We see a lot of people that will over love their plants and over water them. So you end up kind of seeing things come inside, the wilt, we’ll panic and then we'll put a ton of water on it, which then sends it to swing the other way into that over watering and root rot and things like that. 

00:07:30 Heather Zidack 

So just keep doing what you're doing, but keep an eye on what's happening to make sure that you can respond if there is an issue. 

00:07:39 Stephen Thal 

Okay. And that also goes for the local gardeners too. They probably experience a lot of people requesting help during the summer and now how to make best use of their garden. 

00:07:54 Heather Zidack 

Yeah, yeah. And we're going to start seeing now with, you know, again, weather related, we're going to start seeing frosts. Some parts of the state may have seen them already. 

If you have anything like mums or pumpkins outside, those are things that you may want to protect from those frosts. 

What happens is that when the dew falls at night and it crystallizes into frost on your plant material, it can actually damage the tissue and that causes your pumpkins to rot faster. It causes a lot of tender flower petals to not look so good. 

00:08:31 Heather Zidack 

So, what we recommend is to either bring them inside if you just have one mum on the front step, that's easy to bring in and just leave in the kitchen overnight. 

00:08:40 Heather Zidack 

But if you have a larger grouping of plants or if you have some, you know, some cole crop vegetables or something like that that you may want to protect, you can use something as simple as a bed sheet or a towel even. 

Never use a plastic tarp or anything to cover plants because that will just exacerbate the cold against the plant tissue, but definitely do find a way to cover them if frost is coming or bring them inside. 

00:09:12 Stephen Thal 

What kind of covers can you use? 

00:09:14 Heather Zidack 

So, anything that is fabric based is going to work really well. They do sell specific like frost covers, but you don't have to go that far. 

If you have an old sheet, if you have towels, a pillowcase even, kind of depends on your plant size, but a lot of those just to keep that frost from falling onto and making contact with the plant tissue. 

00:09:37 Stephen Thal 

Okay so now we got to get in and roll up our sleeves and begin the work to preparing the plants as Heather has been saying earlier because of the weather and now she's trying to talk a little bit more specifically about plants that come in the house to make sure they don't have some sort of a disease, which will impact the plants that are in the house as well. 

Now, is this the time too, because of the changing of the sunsets and amount of light coming in, you have to move your plants inside the house to different positions in the house. 

00:10:21 Heather Zidack 

So not necessarily different positions. Plants that we have indoors go through yearly cycles just like the ones outdoors. And so some of them may be able to tolerate that change in light as they adjust because it happens slowly. Always check your plant label to make sure if it needs like a full sun or indirect sun. 

You know, we've talked about before those differences are kind of like if you think about a cat in the living room, right? So, if it needs bright indirect light, maybe the cat is somewhere that the light is not shining through the window but it's right next door versus if it needs bright direct light, the cat is sitting right in the window and if it needs shade, it's over by the couch and you don't see it necessarily. 

So, if you always kind of think about in that way, you can remember where your plants need to be in terms of their labeling, which is important to follow. 

00:11:14 Heather Zidack 

But they do adapt a little bit over time when they're indoors, which is why we need to help them adapt when they go outside. 

So if you keep them in a place that is draft free, bright enough for whatever their requirement is, and away from any of the heat sources, so away from any radiators, vents, anything like that that can dry them out, keep them away from like being too close to wood stoves obviously, and that will help them to not be too dry so they don't lose water as quickly. But the other thing too is that like I said, they go through those yearly cycles, so they will go dormant just like the outdoor plants. 

00:11:58 Heather Zidack 

Cooler temperatures, changes in light, changes in water can trigger dormancy, but it is species dependent and so with our houseplants because we keep them in a steady environment as possible, some years they'll go into dormancy, some years they won't. 

And so it's just kind of knowing what plant you have and whether to expect that or not. That can be really helpful. The other quick tip with houseplants that I like to remind everybody is that we allow the soil to dry in between waterings. 

00:12:32 Heather Zidack 

So don't keep your soil wet when your plants are indoors. Let it dry out as much as you can in between to help prevent fungus gnats. Those are those little black flies that seem to get everywhere. 

Again, follow what your plant needs for watering, but if you can stretch it and let it dry out a little bit, you're going to help reduce that issue. 

00:12:54 Stephen Thal 

Oh, that's great. Is this also a time to take a look at repotting any of the soils or any of the plants that we're bringing in or the house plants that have already been there. 

00:13:07 Heather Zidack 

You certainly can. 

00:13:09 Heather Zidack 

People like to repot either in the fall or in the spring. Usually when you repot in the fall, it can be good if you've had them outside and you're worried about any critters that may come in with them in the soil. It's a good time to do it. 

You can do it in the spring if they've put on a lot of growth over the winter while they've been indoors.  

So it all matters on checking the plant in the pot to see if there's any presence of any kind of insect or anything. 

00:13:40 Heather Zidack 

You're definitely going to want to change out your soil. But also if the plant is, those roots are a little too tight in the pot, it starts to get root-bound, that's more your sign of whether to do it or not. It doesn't have to be on a time frame per se. 

00:13:56 Stephen Thal 

Okay, this is Stephen Thal with another segment on Focal Point, and we're interviewing Heather Zidack from the University of Connecticut Plant and Garden Center up in Storrs, Connecticut. 

00:14:08 Stephen Thal 

And she'll give us some phone numbers that we can call regarding if you need some help with your plants or the garden that you've been doing. 

Heather, you got some phone numbers we can use? 

00:14:24 Heather Zidack 

Absolutely. 

So, if you have questions about anything in the garden, anything plant related, your house plants, anything that you have that you you keep for plant material, we can help at the Home Garden Education Center. 

That number is 877-486-6271. Again, that's 877-486-6271 or you can always e-mail us at ladybug@uconn.edu. Again, that's ladybug@uconn.edu. 

00:15:03 Heather Zidack 

We look at pictures to help with diagnosis, so sometimes a picture says a thousand words. Also, I can give you the phone number too. It's a great time of year to be doing soil testing. 

So, the Soil Nutrient Analysis Lab, their number is 860-486-4274. Again, that's 860-486-4274. 

00:15:26 Heather Zidack 

So, between the services in the Home Garden Education Center, we work with our plant diagnostic lab and then the soil lab. We have pretty much everything that the home gardener or plant enthusiast needs to make sure that they're keeping their plants healthy. 

00:15:45 Stephen Thal 

That's good. 

00:15:45 Stephen Thal 

What about fertilizers? 

When does that come into play? 

00:15:50 Heather Zidack 

Yeah, that's a good question. So at this point, we should not be fertilizing anything. There are some exceptions for like lawn care and things like that, but my colleague is much more versed in that. 

00:16:05 Heather Zidack 

In general, it is too cold to fertilize anything right now because what's going to happen is if you were to put down any plant food,you would be pushing growth and any growth that's new on plants is very tender and very small and very susceptible to damage. 

So, it'll push out new growth and then it would freeze and cause damage and not do so well for your plant. So, we don't recommend fertilizing at this point in the year. 

The next time that you would be able to or you should would be for the springtime, once the soil temperatures start to climb up again and it starts to warm up. 

00:16:46 Heather Zidack 

If you have houseplants, you can fertilize. 

00:16:50 Heather Zidack 

However, some of them only need it once a year. It really depends on the species of houseplant you have. 

And so again, like I talked about over loving our plants with watering, sometimes we can over love our plants with fertilizer and, you know, overfeed them. And so sometimes we don't want to do that. So it's something to be aware of. 

Usually, as long as the plant is in active growth, you're able to fertilize. And so since we're kind of in that time of year where things are winding down and going to bed for the season, we just don't do it. But it all depends on what you're growing and what you have to keep an eye on. 

00:17:30 Stephen Thal 

Okay, what are some of the other things that we need to take care of in the fall? 

We did mention, we talked a little bit about fertilizer. 

We talked about bringing plants into the house. Making sure they're not bringing some critters in. 

00:17:43 Stephen Thal 

What about the compost pile? Is that something that we do all year round or just certain times of the year? 

00:17:50 Heather Zidack 

Yeah, composting is year round. So you want to make sure that you're continuously turning your compost pile. There's a couple different kinds. 

So there's hot composting where you keep your compost pile at 140 degrees by turning it throughout the year. 

There's also cold composting, which is what I'm a little better at, where you kind of throw it together, turn it when you can, but it takes longer and it may not necessarily take out all of the pathogens and weed seeds in the same way that hot composting will. So you have to be really careful with your compost at that point. 

00:18:25 Heather Zidack 

Which is a good thing to keep in mind because right now, we advise people who are doing their garden cleanup for the season. 

There's a lot of controversy between that going for do I clean up in the fall or do I clean up in the spring? And so, what I tell people with that is to maintain what I call goal-oriented gardening. So, if your garden is all about pollinators and wildlife support and native plants and all of that. Definitely clean up in the spring. Don't cut back your perennials right now. You can leave your leaves a little bit. That leaves habitat options like hollow stems, leaf litter, and all of that for overwintering insects. And it leaves seed heads for birds to feed on as well as for winter interest. 

00:19:16 Heather Zidack 

However, if you have had a lot of disease this year and we talked about like with all the weather conditions, we saw fungal disease, people had, you know, if you had insects in your garden this year or things like that that you needed to manage, then one of the best things that you can do is clean up your garden in the fall. 

00:19:37 Heather Zidack 

And it goes against that instinct to leave the leaves and leave that pollinator habitat, however, it does help us to reduce our need for chemicals and other products in the spring and the following season because you're taking out anything that's potentially infected and just disposing of it right now instead of letting it overwinter and come back in the next season. So, if you've had disease in the garden and your goal is to have to try to not have that happen again next year. 

You want to clean up all your leaf litter, you want to pull up all your sick plants, dispose of everything in the garbage, don't compost it. You know that you are removing some of those habitat opportunities for the pollinators, but you're keeping your plants healthy for them to come back to and find next season. So it's kind of a toss up between the two. 

00:20:31 Heather Zidack 

And so I always encourage gardeners to really look at their own personal goals in their garden and see what they're willing to work with. If they really want that pollinator habitat to clean up in the spring, go for it. If they want to manage the disease, then fall may be the better time. And the other thing to keep in mind that I encourage people is to think about their own time. 

00:20:56 Heather Zidack 

So your time is valuable when it comes to garden cleanup. And make sure you're doing what you have time for when you have the time. So I've explained this and I've talked to other gardeners about this and I am a big football fan and so on Sundays, I am watching football instead of being out in my garden, believe it or not.  

And so sometimes for me, cleaning in the spring allows me to have that extra hobby and so it's kind of looking at my time and my priorities and really making sure that my garden is fitting that. 

00:21:31 Heather Zidack 

Because at the end of the day, we all do gardening as something we enjoy, and we want to make sure that we continue to get out there to enjoy it. 

00:21:40 Stephen Thal 

Okay, are there any other major things that we need to cover at this point, Heather? 

00:21:46 Heather Zidack 

One of the things that I definitely encourage people, like right now, if you're out in the garden, make sure that you're digging up any of your bulbs. It's the bulb time of year. 

So when I say dig up bulbs, I mean all of your elephant ears, your canna lilies, your gladiolus, any of those annual bulbs should be dug up, put into paper bags for storage. If you're growing them in containers, you can just cut them back and put the container in the garage or the basement to make sure that it will stay cool, but it won't freeze. 

On the other side of that, you want to start planting your spring blooming bulbs right now, you want to plant your garlic in late October, early November, you want to remove your vegetable plants that have those signs of disease, and don't compost again like I had mentioned. 

00:22:39 Heather Zidack 

The other thing that you want to do is you want to try to cover your soil in any of your garden beds. So a lot of the perennial garden beds that you have and a lot of your foundation plantings and things like that may already have mulch around them, so it might not be as important. 

But for your vegetable gardens and things that you're turning over every year, it's important to make sure that that soil is covered for the winter. Some gardeners were able to put in some cover crops by now and have something to hold the soil, like plant material-wise, that they'll be able to turn in. However, at this point in the season, we recommend just using something like straw, leaf mulch. You can chop up your leaves and put them out onto the garden as long as they were disease free. 

00:23:29 Heather Zidack 

And what that does is when you break up your leaves and you chop them up first, it allows them to break down faster so that there's less cleanup for you in the spring instead of having like if you've ever seen outside the dense thick leaf patches that we tend to have in the spring where leaves have collected. You want to make sure that they're chopped up, they're fine and that they're able to be turned into the soil at the end of the season. 

When you do, if you do have anything that you're turning in, so if you're going to do the leaves this fall and turn things in in the spring, it needs to be about three weeks before you're planting in the springtime. So, keep that in mind. 

00:24:11 Heather Zidack 

Make sure that you are cutting back any of your perennials, if fall cleanup is your goal, this is the time to do it. You want to cut back and leave one third of the perennials above the ground. 

So, say you have a six inch perennial, you want to cut it back to a two inch stub and that's where you'll leave it for the fall if you decide to clean up now. 

00:24:35 Heather Zidack 

If conditions continue to stay dry like they have been, keep watering all of your trees, your shrubs, your perennials, especially your new plantings until the ground freezes. So we've still got a little bit of time that we should be watering with supplemental water. 

We recommend one inch of water a week, which actually ends up being about, I think it's like 0.62 gallons per square foot. So that can help you kind of figure out how much water you need in a week for your plants. 

00:25:07 Heather Zidack 

And you want to wait till all your shrubs are dormant so their leaves have dropped before pruning in the fall. Do not prune any of your spring blooming shrubs. 

So, you don't want to prune your hydrangeas. You don't want to prune your forsythia, your lilacs, anything like that because things likely already set their buds for next year already. So, if you prune them now, you could lose your flowers. 

00:25:34 Heather Zidack 

The other thing that we recommend is, like I said, you don't want to fertilize anymore at this point. You know, consider getting your soil tested now so that you can have those results in the spring and be able to hit the ground running. 

00:25:48 Heather Zidack 

And again, like I said, our office is open year-round to help support with any of these home garden houseplant questions that you may have. 

00:25:59 Stephen Thal 

And also you have a number of local gardeners, don't you, or grangers? 

00:26:05 Heather Zidack 

We do. We have county offices that will help with garden questions as well through our master gardener colleagues will help with identification and things like that. If it's disease questions, definitely send it to the Home Garden Education Center. 

00:26:23 Heather Zidack 

But the master gardeners at the county offices are also very well equipped to help with cultural questions, how to take care of plants, how to identify them, and some of these fall and spring cleanup tips as well. 

00:26:36 Stephen Thal 

Do you have many fruit plants that need to be taken care of, or are they all pretty much gone? 

00:26:43 Heather Zidack 

They're pretty well done the only one to keep in mind is your fall blooming raspberries or your fall fruiting raspberries those you want to prune after fruiting is complete otherwise you're going to be all set um mostly in the winter when things are totally dormant so we're looking at like March would be the time to start pruning your fruit trees. 

00:27:04 Stephen Thal 

Oh okay one other thing I forgot to ask you you also have to take clean your tools that you use the garden with. 

00:27:12 Heather Zidack 

Absolutely. That's a great winter chore. Clean your tools, especially if you're between pruning diseased plants. 

The other thing is in the winter, it's great to not only clean your tools, but if you need to sharpen your tools or it's a good time also to make sure that you repaint all the handles so you can find them again when you have them in the garden. 

00:27:34 Stephen Thal 

Hey, Heather's going to give us the phone number one more time in case you missed it the first time. 

00:27:40 Heather Zidack 

Yes. So if you have any plant or garden questions, you can always call our office at 877-486-6271. Again, that's 877-486-6271. 

00:27:55 Stephen Thal 

That'll be great. 

Well, thank you again for coming again to help our gardeners or people that have interested in starting gardens or plants or whatever. Great information. 

Give my best to your whole team and I know when it comes around Christmas there's a lot of plants there that have to be protected once the season goes by. 

00:28:20 Heather Zidack 

Yes, yeah there's a lot of holiday plants that we could certainly talk about. 

00:28:26 Stephen Thal 

Okay well thank you again and wishing you and the whole team at UConn Plant and Garden Center continued success. 

00:28:33 Heather Zidack 

Thank you so much. 

00:28:35 Stephen Thal 

Stephen Thal with another segment on Focal Point. 

I want to thank all of you for listening. 

And a couple of things we want to remind you of is first, make sure that you wear a hat and dark glasses to protect your eyes against the sun all year around, particularly during the winter, particularly if we get snow, be a lot of glare. 

00:28:59 Stephen Thal 

The other item I wanted to mention is to make sure that you have an emergency plan and practice it. If you need any help with it, call your local fire department or police department and they can direct you to the proper resources to help you build one of these plans because someday that life may be somebody in your family that you save. 

00:29:23 Stephen Thal 

And also when you travel, make sure you know what the emergency rules are so that should you get into a situation, you know what to do. 

00:29:33 Stephen Thal 

So once again, thank you all for listening. 

Stay safe and stay healthy. 

 

What’s changing with fertilizers in Connecticut, and how to shop smarter this fall?

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By Dr. Avishesh Neupane, UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Lab

If you shop for fertilizer in Connecticut this fall, you will see some labels missing from the shelves and more paperwork behind the ones that remain. The reason is new state rules targeting certain ingredients and how they are documented. 

A compost pile on the edge of a woodlineOn October 1, 2024, Connecticut banned products made from biosolids or wastewater sludge that contain PFAS from being used or sold in the state as soil amendments. Biosolids are the treated solids left from wastewater treatment. Some products made from them were marketed for lawns and gardens in the past years. Connecticut’s new law closed that door to reduce PFAS in soils and runoff. 

So what are PFAS and why the crackdown? Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a large class of “forever chemicals” added to products to resist water, grease, and stains. They do not break down easily and can build up in people, soil, and water. Health agencies have linked PFAS exposure to certain cancers, immune system effects, and developmental concerns, which is why Connecticut has been tightening rules to limit the entry of these chemicals into our environment. 

Effective July 1, 2025, the legislature extended the PFAS biosolids restriction from soil amendments to fertilizers as well. The law also requires manufacturers and registrants to provide a certificate of compliance showing that any fertilizer or soil amendment that contains biosolids is free of PFAS. Products that do not meet the standard must be removed from Connecticut shelves.  

What this means for your yard and vegetable beds is simple: expect fewer “biosolids-based” fertilizers on the market and expect clearer paperwork behind any products that remain. If you relied on those products for lawns or gardens, it is time to switch to other nutrient sources. 

How can you read labels to avoid fertilizers and Soil amendments with PFAS? 

  • Check the ingredients panel. Look for words like “biosolids,” “sewage sludge,” “municipal waste,” or “residuals.” If you see those, consider a different product.  
  • Look for an analysis or ingredient list that spells out plant, animal, or mineral sources, such as feather meal, alfalfa meal, composted poultry manure, sulfate of potash, or rock-derived nutrients. These indicate non-biosolid ingredients. 
  • Ask your retailer. If a product contains biosolids, the maker must keep a certificate on file stating the product is compliant. Retailers should know whether a certificate exists for what they sell. If they cannot confirm, do not buy.  

Safer sourcing ideas that are easy to find 

  • Start with a soil test. Match products and rates to what your soil actually needs. The UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory provides routine tests with fertilizer and lime recommendations for home lawns and gardens. 
  • Yard-waste compost and leaf mulch made from leaves, grass clippings, and wood chips are reliable ways to add organic matter to the soil. 
  • Use animal-based fertilizers like composted poultry manure or feather meal, plant-based products like alfalfa meal, and mineral fertilizers like sulfate of potash and limestone.  
  • Biosolids are not allowed in certified organic production. “OMRI Listed” inputs follow the USDA National Organic Program, which prohibits sewage sludge. Choosing “OMRI Listed” products can be a practical way to avoid biosolids entirely.  

A few quick FAQs 

  • Do I need to throw away the fertilizer I already own? Yes, but only if it contains PFAS or biosolids with PFAS. The new rules apply to the sale and use in the state. Contact your town’s household hazardous waste program for proper disposal guidance.  
  • Will PFAS show up on a routine soil nutrient test? Standard nutrient tests do not include PFAS. If you are concerned about legacy PFAS on a property that received biosolids, specialized testing is required. Your local Extension office can help you locate appropriate resources. 
  • What about compost from my town? Ask what goes into it. Compost made only from leaves, grass, wood, and animal waste is a safer choice for home gardens under the new rules. 

Connecticut has removed PFAS-containing biosolids and fertilizer products from the garden marketplace. Expect clearer documentation from manufacturers and fewer sludge-based products on shelves. With a little label reading and a few ingredient swaps, you can keep building healthy soil while staying on the right side of the regulations.  

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  extension.uconn.edu/locations 

This article was published in the Hartford Courant October 11, 2025

Got Garlic?

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By Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Garlic belongs to the allium family, which includes onions, shallots, chives, and even some ornamental plants. People have strong feelings about garlic; they either love it or hate it. Whether you add it to your pantry of seasonings or not, there are tons of fantastic reasons to plant it in your garden.

Garlic cloves
Photo by H. Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Garlic is great for gardeners on the go. One of my favorite things about these plants is the window in which they grow. You plant cloves in October and harvest the bulbs in July. Planting garlic cloves is one of the last things I do in my garden before hanging up my gloves for the season. This means I have an entire bed already working for me when the spring starts. In early summer, you can harvest the young flower spikes, known as scapes, and use them in recipes for a mild garlic flavor. They blend beautifully with early season cole crops to make some fantastic spring dishes!

From a practical standpoint, the time saved in planting an entire bed before the season has even started is invaluable. Their presence helps to retain garden soil and prevent loss through erosion over the dormant season. Their care is minimal, only needing a side-dress of fertilizer in the spring and supplemental water when active growing starts. On top of all of that, they package themselves perfectly for storage, when cured and stored properly.

A garden bed of garlic with half of the plants removed
Photo by Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Another fantastic benefit to having garlic in your garden beds is that it is well equipped to fend off many vertebrate and invertebrate types of pests. From personal experience, my garlic beds have not needed a fenced in area like my other vegetables and have been relatively undisturbed by local wildlife.  While there are claims out there regarding companion planting, I only can confirm for certain that the properties of garlic keep animals away from garlic plants. Scientists are also studying the benefits of garlic for the microbial environment in the soil, to see what other impacts they may have.

As large bulbs develop, they help to break up the soil in the bed for whatever is next to come in the rotation. Once garlic bulbs are harvested, we usually have anywhere between 90 and 100 days left of the growing season. This is plenty of time to rotate in a fast-growing crop like leafy greens, summer squash, carrots, radish, or even some kinds of brassicas.

If you do decide to give garlic a try this year, make sure you pick up clean seed garlic from a trusted source. As with any other plant, healthy starting material will help in yielding healthy plants. Hardneck varieties tend to grow best in our climate. They have a firm stem that starts at the base of the bulb and grows through the plant, giving it a strong single stalk during the growing season (this is where the scapes come from). They need a vernalization (cold) period, which is why it is best to plant them before the ground freezes. There are many varieties of hardneck garlic with a wide range of flavors.

Do not use garlic cloves from the grocery store. Grocery stores typically carry softneck garlic, which has no central stem and may have more cloves inside. A lot of our commercial garlic is grown in California.  Softneck garlic may not grow as well in our climate. In addition, commercial agricultural produce can sometimes be treated with growth inhibitors or inadvertently carry pests or pathogens that would not serve your garden well. Local farms, farmers markets, and harvest festivals are great resources to find quality planting garlic. There are also reputable catalog companies out there, but you better get to ordering as time is short!

Garlic leaves peeking through straw mulch
Photo by Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Before planting, break the garlic bulb into its numerous cloves. Don’t be too concerned if some skin flakes off of the outermost layer, but do not peel the garlic before planting it. The intact skin acts as a protective barrier to keep them from rotting in the soil. Place cloves pointy end up in the soil at a depth of 1-2 inches, depending on the size of the clove. Water in and cover with a straw or leaf mulch, and it’s done! Don’t be too shocked if you see them start to emerge from the soil before the snow. Leave them be and assess in the spring, sometimes you don’t even have to cut those leaves back!

Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, garlic offers something for everyone. Its numerous benefits in the garden, plus its versatility in the kitchen provide a great starting point for those who want to have their own garden-to-table experience. You’ll be a pro in no time!

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 October 4, 2025