Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

News from National Public Radio

Morning Edition, May 22, 2008 · The cost of groceries is going up this year, and so are the numbers of people who have started growing their own produce. Now seed companies are reporting a surge of orders.

Article from National Gardening Association

A Container Veggie Garden

Now is the time to plant crops for bountiful harvests this summer and fall. Even small-space gardeners can grow enough nutritious produce to prepare a few meals, supplement your diet, and save some bucks. With a little planning and attention, container gardens can produce like mini farms.

Almost any vessel can be used as a container, but it must have drainage holes that allow water to freely flow through the pot. Most veggies only need about 6 inches of soil depth…. more

Project from Cornell Garden-based Learning Program

Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners

Home Depot Canada Voluntarily Phases Out Pesticides and Provides Consumers Over 50 Options in Natural Lawn Care

TORONTO, April 22 /CNW/ – The Home Depot(R) today announced that it will
voluntarily stop selling traditional pesticides and herbicides in its stores
across Canada by the end of 2008 and will increase its selection of
environmentally friendly alternatives.
    The Home Depot is the first home improvement retailer to stop selling
pesticides voluntarily across Canada and will phase out the products long
before legislated deadlines. The Home Depot stores in Quebec do not sell
pesticides. In addition, there are currently over 55 municipalities in Canada
where the residential use, but not sale, of pesticides is banned. As the
leader in the Canadian home improvement industry, The Home Depot will not sell
any traditional pesticides and currently offers over 50 natural alternatives
for its customers.

full article at this website

These EPA reports on pesticide sales and usage might offer some evidence for persuading granters or government funders or supervisors to invest in our community horticulture public education efforts.

EPA reports on Pesticide Industry Sales and Usage are at this site.

Figure 3.4 in the latest reports notes pesticide usage in the Home & Garden category since 1998 usage has steadily increased from 72 million pounds of a.i. to 102 million pound of a.i. in 2001 while usage in agriculture was 724 million pounds of a.i. in 1998 and down to 675 million pounds of a.i. in 2001.

What is your guess as to why?
And what resources do we need in our CCE community horticulture programs to decrease this rise?

These research articles note that according to their study:

Having a garden can decrease the likelihood of hunger among households.

They go on to state that:

This may indicate the important role of gardening in maintaining food security and underscore the need for educational programming related to both gardening and safe preservation methods. Initiating community or school gardens may be one strategy not only to teach gardening methods and improve food security, but also to improve dietary quality and promote health.

Food Security Status of Households in Appalachian Ohio with Children in Head Start
DAVID H. HOLBEN, PhD, RD; MEGAN C. MCCLINCY, RD; JOHN P. HOLCOMB, JR, PhD; KELLY L. DEAN, RD; CAITLYN E. WALKER, RD

Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 104, Page 238-241

The Food Security Status of Ohio Food Pantry Users and Its Relationship to Household Characteristics
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 105, Issue 8, Supplement 1, August 2005, Page 14
K.E. O’Connell, D.H. Holben

I can’t post the whole article but CCE educators can contact Lori if you want a copy.

Community Horticulture Educators I hope you can apply for this program. At least 3 of your peers are in the first cohort and the more we have involved the more we can incorporate these approaches into our culture.

Applications for the Fall 2008 Cohort are now being accepted through June 12, 2008.

CCE Program Leadership Certification is a comprehensive professional development curriculum for those with program leadership responsibilities. It provides a group learning experience delivered through face-to-face workshops and electronic technology over a period of approximately 18 months. Applications are now being accepted for the first cohort of 20 persons. A complete program description and application forms are available at the link below. http://staff.cce.cornell.edu/administration/profdev/plc/

Happening in Oneida County…

Festival Brochure (PDF)

Saturday, June 28
9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Farm & Home Center
121 Second Street
Oriskany
For directions:
(315) 736-3394 or visit
http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/oneida

Contact: Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, jlg23@cornell.edu, 631 420 2022
http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/press_rel/plant_mgr.asp
The Interactive Plant Manager, a new online guide from the New York State Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, helps you diagnose and deal with insect pests of ornamental trees and shrubs. Search from the homepage by pest name, plant name, signs, and symptoms to learn what’s eating your plant and what to do about it. Our easy-to-read fact sheets include range maps, photos of pests and the damage they cause, and life-cycle charts to help you time least-toxic controls.
“What a great resource — a one-stop shop for pest questions,” says Margaret Fox-Jackson, a landscape designer who helped test the website. “It’s a real convenience for the industry.”

Landscapers, arborists, nursery growers, landscape architects, extension educators, and homeowners — all can use the concise yet comprehensive materials. Also available: quick links to pesticide guidelines and other resources.

“We anticipate using this website with our clients to help them understand their landscape problems,” says Gary Carbocci, an arborist with Goldberg and Rodler Tree Care. “It’s something we’ve all needed.”

The Interactive Plant Manager focuses on the most common insects of New York and the Northeast. More insects, as well as tree and shrub diseases, will be added to the database later in 2008 and 2009.

Find the Interactive Plant Manager at http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/aes_ornamental.asp.

Integrated pest management seeks least-toxic ways to deal with pests. To learn more about IPM, go to http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/

Here’s a new publication from NRAES. It is overkill for most gardeners…

Purchase online here.

The Raspberry and Blackberry Production Guide is the only comprehensive resource for novice and experienced growers as well as crop advisors and educators. It provides information on all aspects of raspberry and blackberry culture including site selection and preparation, trellising and pruning, nutrient management, harvesting, irrigation, pesticide application, budgeting, and marketing. There are descriptions of more than 70 cultivars including summer-fruiting red, black, and purple raspberries; fall-fruiting red and yellow raspberries; thornless, thorny, and fall-fruiting blackberries, and hybrid berries. Field production, high tunnel production, and greenhouse production are reviewed.

Deadline: November 1, 2008

National Gardening Association and Home Depot Announce 2009 Youth Garden Grants Program

The National Gardening Association has announced that Home Depot will return as the Youth Garden Grants sponsor for 2009.

NGA awards Youth Garden Grants to schools and community organizations with child-centered garden programs. In evaluating grant applications, priority will be given to programs that emphasize one or more of the following elements: educational focus or curricular/program integration; nutrition or plant-to-food connections; environmental awareness/education; entrepreneurship; and social aspects of gardening such as leadership development, team building, community support, or service-learning.

Schools, youth groups, community centers, camps, clubs, treatment facilities, and intergenerational groups in the United States are eligible. Applicants must plan to garden with at least fifteen children between the ages of 3 and 18. Previous Youth Garden Grant winners who wish to reapply may do so but must wait a year (e.g., if an organization won in 2008, it can apply again in 2010) and have significantly expanded their garden programs.

For the 2009 grant cycle, 125 grants are available. Packages are as follows: five programs will receive gift cards valued at $1,000 (a $500 gift card to Home Depot and a $500 gift card to the Gardening with Kids catalog and store) and educational materials from NGA; seventy programs will receive a $500 gift card to Home Depot and educational materials from NGA; and fifty programs will receive a $250 gift card to Home Depot and educational materials from NGA. Each award package also includes twelve months of NGA Supporter benefits.

Visit the NGA’s Kidsgardening Web site for complete program information.

Horticultural Specialist, Plant Information Service,
(Part-time, 25hrs/week)

PURPOSE: The Plant Information Service answers more than 30,000 garden related questions each year through a walk-up window, phone hotline, website, and e-mail. Working with 100 Master Gardener volunteers, the Horticultural Specialist strives to ensure all technical horticultural information being disseminated to Chicago Botanic Garden members, staff, the general public, and horticulture professionals is accurate and provided in a professional and courteous manner.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Assist in providing technical information to all clients and serve as the primary professional staff to support to Master Gardeners’ requiring additional information to answer client questions.

2. Train and provide orientation to the resources in the Plant Information Service for Master Gardener volunteers.

3. Oversee work schedules for Plant Information Master Gardener volunteers ensuring all shifts are fully staffed.

4. Collaborate with library staff on information resources and management of the Plant Information book and journal collection.

5. Maintain Plant Information Service resources, equipment, and inventories of office supplies.

6. Staff off-site Garden sponsored events as required.

7. Attend quarterly Plant Information Council Advisory meetings, create monthly reports, statistics, newsletters, and schedules.

8. Work with the other Plant Information Service Horticultural Specialists to create new office procedures and strategies to enhance the mission of Plant Information Service.

DEPARTMENT: Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden

REPORTS TO: Director, Library

SUPERVISES: Master Gardener volunteers

COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIPS: All areas of the Chicago Botanic Garden as necessary, and University of Illinois Cooperative Extension.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS: Degree in horticulture, plant science, soil science, forestry or similar subject and previous work experience in a public garden, horticulture industry, library reference desk, customer service, or work with volunteers. Excellent oral and written communication skills required as well as expertise with computers including Microsoft office products and Internet searching. The work schedule is 25 hours per week, including one weekend day from April – October. Start date is July 21, 2008.

Chicago Botanic Garden website