Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

All county and campus educators with interest and responsibilities in community horticulture are invited to participate in our PWT discussion.

Wednesday January 16th we will meet at the offices of CCE of Oneida County from 9:30am to 3:30pm (lunch will be provided).

We will also connect via Polycom with CCE of Orange County, CCE Wayne County and CCE Suffolk County

If you have not done so already please RSVP by Monday January 14th.

Please send emerging issue you would like to discuss to Lori (bushway@cornell.edu). Our current list of topics include:

State Lawn Care Initiatives

• 2007 Survey & in-service
• 2008 regional trainings

Master Gardener Volunteer Development

• Cornell Sponsored Trainings for 2008 & 2009
• Master Gardener Training Manual
• Using adobe connect to broadcast trainings
• Toolkits created by Hort 610 students
• 2008 off campus statewide MGV gathering
• Collecting data for your success stories - MGV yearly reports
• Identifying and developing MGV as key leaders

Telling our story in-service follow-up

Update Bulletin 74

Community Horticulture PWT - 5 year plan of work

• Stakeholder engagement
• Chair

This article from the National Gardening Association’s Edible Landscaping newsletter highlights several exciting varieties of vegetables and herbs gardeners will want to consider for their landscape.

Full article here.

And we hope gardeners share their reviews of these top edibles at Cornell’s Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners site.

From the National Gardening Association on-line news:

We often think of corn as an edible crop and not — except for fall decorations — as an ornamental one, too. That could change with the introduction of new corn varieties with multi-colored leaves. One of the best is the new ‘Garden Leader Rainbow’.

‘Garden Leader Rainbow’ has stalks that reach 4 feet tall at maturity. The leaves start out green, but in a few weeks they’re tinged with red and cream colors as well. Best color is achieved if the corn is grown in full sun. By fall, the multicolored stalks produce small colorful ears for decorations.

For more details on ‘Garden Leader Rainbow’ corn, go to: National Garden Bureau.

And we hope gardeners share their reviews of this edible at Cornell’s Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners site.

This American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) December 2007 press release is one of many you’ll find on this website and one of many you might like to share with your local gardening audiences.

Full article available here.

Confused about the right planting depth for flower bulbs? Trust the bulbs! Researchers have discovered that some flower bulbs are actually “smart’ enough to adjust themselves to the right planting depth. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science proved that bulbs can adjust their planting position by moving deeper into the ground, apparently in search of moister, more conducive growing conditions.

This full article is available at eCALSconnect

A new 15-page booklet by CALS researchers, Using Porous Asphalt and CU-Structural Soil®, details how combining these two technologies:

• Reduces runoff from parking lots and other hard surfaces.
• Increases groundwater recharge.
• Improves water quality in lakes, rivers and streams.
• Helps trees thrive in otherwise tough environments.

Developed 30 years ago, porous asphalt resembles regular asphalt except that the mix contains no fine particles. Water seeps through tiny holes in the asphalt into a bed of crushed gravel below. From there it slowly filters into groundwater.

Introduction to Botanical Illustration: Drawing Plant Forms in Pencil and Ink

A New Online Course Offered by Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture

Course begins on January 21, 2008.
Registration deadline:January 16, 2008

Enrollment limited to 20 students, so be sure to reserve your spot right away.

Cost: $500. (No discounts.)

Have you always wished that you could be more proficient at drawing?

Have you been looking for an opportunity to unwind by finding a new avenue to express yourself creatively?

Have you simply not enrolled in a drawing class because of a lack of opportunity or your busy schedule?

About the course
This six-week online course for beginners teaches you how to use plants as the subject of art with easy approaches and many visual examples. Because you take the course online, you can access it whenever you want and complete the lessons at your own pace. A physical distance from other students allows you to express yourself creatively without comparing your work to those around you, fostering confidence and your own individual style, while still providing an opportunity to interact with others online through a discussion forum.
Introduction to Botanical Illustration is designed for beginning artists of all ages and from all walks of life — from current students, to those who haven’t taken a class in a very long time. Topics include:

• How to observe and approach subjects for drawing.
• How to creatively transfer what you see to paper.
• How to use the elements of line, shape and space constructively to make a composition.

Participants will read very straightforward lessons on six different topics in botanical drawing and observing the natural world. You will advance your own skills through practice and assignments, and reflect critically on your experiences in journal entries shared with your instructor and with other students via an online forum.

The six lessons of the course will begin on January 21, 2008, and the course will end on March 12, 2008. The deadline for submission of all assignments will be on the Friday of each week.

To get the most out of the experience, you should expect to spend 3 - 5 hours per week on the lessons and assignments. The course is offered through Moodle, an easy-to-use online interface that you’ll view through your personal computer’s web browser, or print out to use elsewhere. No additional software is required, but you will need a scanner to submit your assignments.

To register, please follow the link http://hosts.cce.cornell.edu/hortdl and click on Introduction to Botanical Illustration.

Course syllabus

Are you wondering what exactly are Program Work Teams PWT’s and what do they do?

Program Work Teams (PWT’s) are affinity groups involving faculty and staff, extension educators, and external stakeholders. PWT’s provide a mechanism through which faculty and extension educators connect with stakeholders in identifying issues, studying needs, creating educational materials, and designing learning experiences that address these issues and needs within specific content areas like our Community Horticulture Program Work Teams which works to address issues related to home, school and community gardening as well as managing volunteer programs in this area such as the Master Gardener Volunteer program.

Program Work Team (PWT) annual reports are now posted on the web.

Here’s the link.

They offer an opportunity for you to find out what is happening in many other areas including:

Community Forestry

Greenhouse Horticulture

Landscape Horticulture

Youth Community Action

A link also appears at the top of the PWT web page.

“New Frontiers” in horticulture and gardening — March 22-26, 2009 Las Vegas

The Las Vegas International Master Gardener Conference will address issues that gardeners everywhere face — water conservation, proper plant selection, soil enrichment, pest control — while also presenting new concepts in environmental stewardship and “green” technologies. Since what is old has become new again, we will also explore historical and traditional plants and methods.

Workshop Topics:

Green Technologies, Water Conservation, Heirloom Plants, LEED, Healthy Gardening, Native Seeds, Farm to Restaurant, Ancestors’ Gardens, Trees for Tomorrow, Artful Gardening, Water Harvesting, Soil Microbes, Interactive Learning.

Tours:

Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, LV Springs Preserve, Ethyl M Cactus Garden and Living Machine, Red Rock Canyon, Spring Mountain Ranch, Desert Rose Garden, China Ranch Date Farm, Gardens at the Bellagio and Wynn resorts.

Website here

Save the date

2008 Annual National Conference

Association of Volunteer Resources Management (ARVM)

Binghamton, New York

October 1-3 2008

(pre-conference activities September 29-30, 2008)

The Hudson River Estuary Program’s “Trees for Tribs” Initiative is offering free native trees and shrubs for qualifying projects in the Hudson River Estuary watershed within the State of New York
from the Verrazano Narrows Bridge to the Troy Dam.

The Estuary Program’s Riparian Buffer Coordinator can assist with plant selection, designing a planting plan, and other technical information to improve the odds of success for your project.
If you’re interested in a project for spring of 2008, application deadline is March 1st.
Please direct any questions to Kevin Grieser, Riparian Buffer Coordinator, at 845-256-3145 or email:kagriese@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Riparian (streamside) buffers are a major component to maintaining healthy streams and water. These buffers, composed of trees, shrubs, and grasses help to reduce pollution entering waterways by slowing down and filtering runoff, thus extending retention time.

Buffers also help to reduce flooding and erosion by stabilizing shorelines and absorbing high velocity flows. In addition, they
serve an important role for wildlife as a shoreline transition zone and travel corridor, not to mention increasing overall biodiversity and improving in-stream health.