Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

The United States Botanic Garden has posters that we create in with the Northeast IPM Community Horticulture Working Group on display in their gardens and posted on their web site. So if you haven’t seen them yet, here’s your chance.
http://www.usbg.gov/education/events/exhibitors_map.cfm

Our lawn care display is under Bartholdi Park #32 Sustainable Turf Care, the bloopers are #33 Don’t Do This at Home. The site can be painfully slow…just hit reload if it gets hung up.

• If you click on an exhibit number (black circle) photos of that exhibit appear - these will be updated as the summer goes along.
• If you click on the listed exhibitor name then you see interpretive material, any resource material, and a link to your web site
• If you click on the gold star the over all exhibition introductory panels can be viewed
• If you click on the information icon (i) then the Exhibition Visitors Guide is viewable.

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

is a community science project with the goal of increasing our understanding of where bees are doing poorly and how the pollination of our garden and wild plants
are being affected. We’re hoping you will join us by planting
sunflowers in your garden. Community, demonstration, and school
gardens are invited to participate.

We’ll send you some free native sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seed and
twice a month, we’d like you to time how long it takes for 5 bees to
visit that sunflower. This information will give us an
index of pollination that we can compare across the United States.
Once we know where bees are in trouble, we can start developing a plan
to help them.

You can see the details about the project and register at
www.greatsunflower.org or contact us at sfbee@sfsu.edu.

Do join us!

Thanks so much,

Gretchen LeBuhn
Associate Professor
San Francisco State University

Gretchen LeBuhn
The Great Sunflower Project
www.GreatSunflower.org

Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Livingston County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 158 Main Street, Mt Morris, NY
1 pm-3 pm
So You Want to Be a Berry Farmer?
Cornell Berry Extension Support Specialist Cathy Heidenreich from the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca will present a program on berry growing on Tuesday, February 26 at the Cornell Cooperative Extension building in Mt Morris from 1 to 3pm.
The program will point out the keys to successful commercial and non-commercial berry farming including marketing, startup costs, site selection, preparation and layout, cultivar selection and planting, crop production and management, labor, and profitability. Strawberries, brambles, blueberries, currants and gooseberries will be included in discussions. Topics include nutrient management, weed, insect and disease management, trellising, irrigation and more. Printed materials are included in the presentation and production guides for brambles, highbush blueberries and strawberries will be available to examine for ordering.

There is no fee, but registration is suggested to assure notification of any change in scheduling. Phone 585-658-3250 for registration or questions.

Update…

APRIL 4 & 5 GREAT GARDENS AND LANDSCAPING SYMPOSIUM IS HOT!

For those needing Friday, or Friday and Saturday night accommodations,
please call The Reluctant Panther Inn (www.reluctantpanther.com
<http://www.reluctantpanther.com>) at (802) 822-2331. They are only one
block from The Equinox Resort - an easy stroll! If you need additional
assistance with lodging, please call the Manchester Chamber of Commerce at
(802) 362-6313.

Fifth Annual Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium

April 4 & 5, 2008 at the world-class Equinox Resort in Manchester, VT

Sponsored by Bradfield Organics, Coast of Maine Organic Products, Davey

Hecht Woodworking, Dutch Gardens, Equinox Valley Nursery, Gardener’s Supply

Company, Messenger, People, Places & Plants, Proven Winners, SafeLawns,

TerraCycle, The Vermont Association of Professional Horticulturists & Garden

Arts Custom Landscapes

Friday 7:00 - 9:00 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Enjoy six dynamic lectures by renowned professionals in their fields. Last year the symposium sold out two months prior to the event. Guest speakers are Tara Dillard, a national award winning author, designer, speaker and former TV host on CBS from Atlanta, Georgia; Shepherd Ogden, a renowned speaker, author, teacher, horticulturist, and founder of The Cooks Garden (a pioneering organic seed company); Mardell Steinkamp from Sunny Border Nurseries, one of the largest wholesalers of perennials and new introductions in the northeast; Kerry Mendez, a popular speaker, teacher, writer, consultant and former TV show host; and Kelly Sweeney, master designer, landscaper and head gardener for the 700 acre Basin Harbor Club in Vermont (one of the Historic Hotels of America). Topics include The Art of Garden Design, New Perennials for 2008, Creating Focal Points In The Garden, Sensational Flowering Shrubs, Step-by-Step Organic Vegetable and Flower Gardening, and All About Annuals. Package price for one night’s accommodations at a four diamond resort, welcome reception with heavy hors d’oeuvres and cash bar, full breakfast, gourmet luncheon buffet, six garden lectures with handouts, garden gift, chance to win great door prizes, and all taxes and gratuities is only $276.97 single or $406.79 double ($203.40 per person). Two night packages available. Day rates available starting at $75. For package reservations, call the Equinox Resort (www.equinoxresort.com) at (800) 362-4747. For day rates and registration forms, as well as the agenda and topics, please visit www.pyours.com/Symposium2008.html or call (518) 885-3471.

“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

Deadline: October 15, 2007

The National Gardening Association Healthy Sprouts Award helps support the growth of health-focused school and youth garden programs that teach about nutrition and the issue of hunger in the U.S. To be eligible, a school or organization must plan to garden in 2008 with at least 15 children, ages three to eighteen.

http://www.kidsgardening.com/healthysprouts.asp

Trying to reach new audiences in your community?

Cheryl Hearty from Dutchess County CCE shares this national Gardening Association site brought was brought to her attention by a Master Gardener Volunteer.

She says it is easy to post events and it can’t hurt to help spread the word about your CCE educational opportunities. Check out the events calendar section at:

http://nationalgardenmonth.org/index.php

By Evelyn Alemanni
Towns that participate in America in Bloom receive detailed evaluations from their judges. In fact, some communities enter America in Bloom specifically to get those recommendations and insights. Towns including Loveland, Ohio and Eureka Springs, Arkansas, have told us that getting an equivalent report from a consultant would cost thousands of dollars. Elfin Forest, California took their judges suggestions and ended up with more than $100,000 in grants for community improvements.

In your evaluation, judges will mention projects that they admire and also offer suggestions for enhancements and improvements. You can use the evaluation to bring specific needs to the attention of your local government, to support material in grant applications, and also to brag about your accomplishments.

Publishing parts of the evaluation, for example, in newspapers, on a city website, and in newsletters, helps share good ideas with everyone in your town. The judges are sensitive to limitations that towns have, for example, weather, funding, etc., and will try to make recommendations that are achievable. So send in your application for this year’s contest, so you can look forward to receiving your evaluation in September.

America in Bloom

Take your garden to the next level!

And now, in celebration of the National Wildlife Federation’s 70^th anniversary this year, we’ve set forth a goal of certifying the 70,000^th Backyard Wildlife Habitat site. Certify your yard today and you can help get us there!
nefits!

• Recognition - Receive a Certification Packet and a personal Certificate of Achievement suitable for framing.
• Enjoyment - Be rewarded with a beautiful yard filled with colorful butterflies, sweet-singing songbirds and other fascinating wildlife.
• Satisfaction - Feel good about nurturing wildlife all year long by providing food, water, cover and places to raise young.
• Useful Tips - Receive a free subscription to the quarterly email newsletter, Habitats, with tips on improving your yard and attracting wildlife year after year.
• Unique Sign - Be eligible to purchase a special yard sign to show your commitment to nature and wildlife.
• Free Membership - Get a complimentary membership to NWF including a full-year of the award-winning National Wildlife magazine, a $15 value in itself!

Click here to complete the application. It costs only $15! Once your application is accepted, you’ll begin to enjoy the benefits listed above.

Help Us Reach Our 70,000 Goal Certify Today!

We’re getting
so close!
Help us hit our 70,000 goal in 2006!

Friend of Wildlife, in the U.S., 63,525 citizens have already certified their backyards.

Certify your yard today and receive many benefits, including a free NWF membership.