February is for Fennel 'Green Leaf', Forcing Branches to Bloom, and Feeding our Feathered Friends
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February is for Fennel 'Green Leaf', Forcing
Branches to Bloom, and Feeding our Feathered
Friends
Fennel 'Green Leaf' 'Green Leaf', Foeniculum vulgare, is a tender perennial but in
Connecticut is an annual or biennial non-bulb variety of fennel that is grown for its sweet,
feathery leaves that may be used as an herb in salads, dressings, and flavored butters.
Seeds may be started indoors around the first of April, 8 weeks before the last frost. Plant
after the last spring frost in fertile soil that drains well and in an area that receives at least
6 hours of sunlight each day. Soil should be kept consistently moist. Fertilize regularly for
best results. When the edible blooms appear, pinch them to keep the plant from going to
seed or leave them to attract pollinators. (image by Bonnie Plants)
Seed Starting Fact Sheet
Forcing Branches to Bloom Many of the flowering trees and shrubs in our yards
may be forced to bloom indoors far ahead of their normal time, creating lovely bouquets to
brighten the late winter days. It is easy to bring branches to bloom if you choose a day
when the temperatures are above freezing to take your cuttings. Cut medium sized
branches that have visible buds, taking those that may need to be pruned away. Make
diagonal cuts and then crush the cut ends slightly to help with water absorption. Set the
branches into warm water in a large enough vase that won't tip over. Keep it in a cool
sunny spot until the bids begin to open and then move to a warmer location, changing the
water every few days. (image by Carol Quish)
Feeding our Feathered Friends It is most important to continue to supply our
feathered friends with a variety of bird food, from sunflower seed hearts for the cardinals
and bluejays, nyjer seed for the finches, and suet for the wood peckers. They also need a
source of fresh water: a heated birdbath would be very welcome as long as it is cleaned on
a regular basis. (image by Susan Pelton)
Feeding the Birds article
Ten Tips for the February Gardener
Click on highlighted links for additional information.
• Visit our booth at the 2019 Connecticut Flower and Garden Show from February 21st
- 24th in Hartford, at the Connecticut Convention Center. Bring ½ cup of soil for a
free pH test and your garden questions for free horticultural advice.
• Begin fertilizing houseplants with a water-soluble fertilizer once they resume active
growth.
• During stretches of mild weather, turn the compost pile to provide aeration. If you
are storing any roots or tubers over winter check weekly and compost any that are
soft or moldy.
• Finish purchasing this season’s seeds and organize them by planting dates. Also,
purchase seed flats, containers, peat pellets and seed starting media as
necessary.
• Use sawdust, sand, or cat litter to provide traction on icy surfaces; sodium salts
can be toxic to many plants.
• Prune dead or damaged limbs from any trees and shrubs, and begin pruning apple
and pear trees as weather allows.
• Start some seeds indoors under lights; onions, leeks, and slow-growing flowers
need to grow for 10 to 12 weeks before going in your garden. Also, check light
bulbs and replace if necessary.
• Build a bird feeder for a fun indoor project. Hang it at least six feet off the ground to
keep predators away and keep it full of seed or suet
• Inspect hemlocks for woolly adelgid. Plan to apply a dormant horticultural oil
treatment in April if the cottony egg masses are found at the base of needles.
• Contact your local garden club for a list of upcoming lectures, workshops, or
courses.
For a more extensive list of tips visit Gardening Tips for February
ORGANICONN
Join CT NOFA for the 37th Annual Winter Conference—the largest gathering of organic
farming and food enthusiasts in Connecticut. Enjoy a wide array of workshops, great gift
and farm goods shopping, food trucks available for breakfast and lunch, as well as the
keynote speaker CR Lawn, founder of Fedco Seeds in Maine.
February 23rd, 2019 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at Housatonic Community College,
Bridgeport, CT.
ORGANICONN Registration
Have Your Soil Tested for Macro- & Micro Nutrients
Beat the spring rush and send your soil sample in for testing now. Our standard nutrient
analysis includes pH, macro- and micro nutrients, a lead scan and as long as we know
what you are growing, the results will contain limestone and fertilizer recommendations.
The cost is $12/sample. You are welcome to come to the lab with your ‘one cup of soil’ but
most people are content to simply place their sample in a zippered bag and mail it in. For
details on submitting a sample, go to UConn Soil and Nutrient Laboratory.
Photo by dmp, UConn
Click on the Following Links to Visit Any of Our Sites:
UConn Extension
UConn Food Safety
UConn Home & Garden Education Center
UConn Plant Diagnostic Laboratory
UConn Science of GMOs
UConn Soil & Nutrient Analysis Laboratory
Events/Programs/Save the Date
Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
CAES History Part 2: 109 Years of History of Field Day at Lockwood Farm-
Wednesday, February 20th, 2019 from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. at Britton Laboratory,
Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington Street, New Haven, CT Speaker-Dr. Kirby Stafford
Connecticut College
Visit the Plant Collections The Connecticut College Arboretum manages four major plant
collections containing 6,195 individual, accessioned living plants.
Winter Waterfowl Walk Saturday, February 2nd, 2019 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Meet and
park at the east end of Benham Avenue (Waterford) just before the railroad tracks.
Instructor: Robert Askins, Professor Emeritus of Biology $10 (free members + CT
Audubon)
Great Backyard Bird Count (See the information further below in this update)
Tap into Maple Syrup Production Saturday, February 23rd, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00
noon Meet in Olin Science Center Lounge. $10 (free to members), registration is required
Instructor: Jim Luce, Retired Supervisor of Grounds
CT DEEP Programs
Nature Macro Photography Saturday, February 16th, 2019 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. James
L. Goodwin Conservation Center, Hampton, CT Instructor-David Cappaert
Animal Track and Sign Sunday, February 17th, 2019 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. James L.
Goodwin Conservation Center, Hampton, CT Instructor- Lena Ives
Wildlife Tracking Saturday, February 23rd, 2019 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sessions Woods
Wildlife Management Area, Burlington, CT Instructor: Wildlife Biologist Peter Picone
UConn Equestrian, Western, and Dressage Teams
Spring 2019 Shows
Equestrian Team Show Schedule: Zone 1 Region 5
• February 9 Connecticut College, Mystic Valley Hunt Club, Gales Ferry, CT
• February 16 Fairfield University, Fairview Farm, CT
• February 23 UConn, Storrs, CT
• March 3 Sacred Heart University, Rolling Meadows Farm, Southbury, CT
• March 30 Regionals, Mystic Valley Hunt Club, Gales Ferry, CT
• April 6 Zones, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
• May 2-5 Nationals, Syracuse, NY
CT Western Team Show Schedule: Zone 1
• February 3 UConn, Storrs, CT
• February 10 Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
• February 16 Regionals, Sacred Heart University, Southbury, CT
• March 16 & 17 Western Semi Finals, Ocala, FL
• May 2 - 5 Nationals, Syracuse, NY
Dressage Team Show Schedule: Region B
• March 9 Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
• March 10 UConn, Storrs, CT
• March 24 Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
• March 31 UConn, Storrs, CT
• April 26-28 Nationals, Lake Erie College
Contact Coach Alena Meacham
UConn Extension
UConn IPM Update
RSVP
Bedding Plants-Spring 2019! Thursday, February 4th, 2019 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Tolland County Extension Center, Vernon, CT 4 Pesticide re-certification credits
Registration
Visit the UConn Animal Barns
Everyone is welcome to explore our animal barns that are open to the public and to learn
more about the animals that are used in the Department of Animal Science program.
Visitors can see dairy and beef cows, sheep, and horses. The poultry units are closed to
the public. Young animals can be found in the barns at the following times of year at barns
that are opened to the public: baby foals in the summer in outside paddocks at Horse Unit
II, lambs during February and March outside only at Livestock Unit 1, dairy calves year-
round at the Cattle Resource Unit and beef calves beginning in mid -March outside at
Livestock Unit 1. Every day visitors can view the UConn dairy cows being milked from
12:30 - 3:00 p.m. at the Kellogg Dairy Center.
UConn Garden Master Classes
Garden Master Classes such as the following items are offered through the UConn
Extension Master Gardener Program. These classes provide continuing education for
Certified Master Gardeners as part of the Advanced Master Gardener certification process.
These classes are also open to the General Public. Anyone with an interest in gardening
and horticulture is welcome.
The Plain Truth About Beekeeping Wednesday, February 6th, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to
12:00 noon. Middlesex County Extension Center, Haddam, CT Inst.: Linda Stuhlman
Woody Plant Identification Wednesday, February 6th, 2019 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Tolland County Extension Center, Vernon, CT Inst.:Gail Reynolds
Pruning Trees and Shrubs Friday, February 8th, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Litchfield County Extension Center, Torrington, CT Inst.: Kevin Wilcox
Plants & Insects: Friend or Foe? Friday, February 22nd, 2019 from 1:00 to 3:00
p.m. Litchfield County Extension Center, Torrington, CT Inst.: Margery Winters
Additional Master Gardener ClassesEnvironmental Martyrs and the Fate of the Forest This talk will be presented on March 11, 2109 at 12:15 p.m. in room 408 of Oak Hall on the UConn campus.
Great Backyard Bird Count
Since 1998, people all over the world have participated in the annual Great Backyard Bird
Count, the first citizen science project to collect wild bird data. Learn about the history and
background of the count, and how to conduct your own count, during an informational
session at the Estuary Center in Old Lyme. A field session will be conducted later in the
week at the Connecticut College Arboretum in New London, a designated important bird
area by the National Audubon Society. Whether you are a seasoned birder or a novice,
this is a great opportunity to learn how to identify and count birds in the wild and be a part
of a worldwide citizen project. This program is free, but registration is requested.
Joint program with Connecticut College Arboretum
Informational Session: Tuesday, February 12, 2019 form 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the RTP
Estuary Center, Old Lyme, CT
Field Session: Saturday, February 16, 2019 from 9:00 to 11 a.m. at the Connecticut
College Arboretum, New London, CT
Informational Session
Field SessionBlue Whiskers 'Blue Fescue' for the Cool Seasons Blue Whiskers blue fescue, Festuca glauca, is a cool-season ornamental grass that lends blue color and fine texture to the garden in spring, fall and through the winter. Blue Whiskers stands apart from other blue fescue varieties because it is larger and a bolder blue. Stiff, wiry blades stand out from the center of the plant. They are an intense silvery blue in color. Greenish wheat-like flowers appear atop 22-inch stems in early summer, persisting through the summer and turning tawny with age. Blue Whiskers grows 10 to 12 inches tall and 24 to 28 inches wide. It makes a rounded clump of foliage and it is considered semi-evergreen. The 2019 National High School Design Competition challenges high school students around the country to design (or redesign) a nature-based solution to a global problem. Be ambitious, innovative, and bold! Create a sketch of your idea and describe how your design addresses the challenge. The design competition is open to all teens ages 13 through 19 years old who are high school students in 9th through 12th grades, or who are
home-schooled students working toward a high school degree anywhere in the United
States. You can enter as an individual or as a team of up to three people. The deadline is
February 11, 2019, 11:59 p.m.
Entry Information
KNOWLEDGE TO GROW ON!
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