Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

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Still time for some growing this fall…

From Fine Gardening e-news

by Terry Ettinger

If you dread the annual fall leaf-raking marathon, I have good news for you: Raking and collecting leaves every autumn is a tradition without scientific basis. Research has proven that mowing leaves into your lawn can improve its vigor, and observation shows that unraked leaves in planting beds don’t smother shade-tolerant perennials.

Based upon research at several universities, the organic matter and nutrients from leaves mown into lawn areas has been proven to improve turf quality.

Full article here

The cooperative extension Master Gardener Volunteer originated in Washington state almost 4 decades ago and here a terrific story about the past and present success of this fabulous program…

Master Gardeners

Any writers among our CCE staff or volunteers want to take a stab at telling CCE own Master Gardener Volunteer program story? Please contact bushway@cornell.edu

…via Fine Gardening online forum called the Dirt:

Linda Chalker-Scott, associate professor and extension horticulturist at the Washington State University Puyallup Research and Extension Center, responds to this question:

Rubber mulches are advertised as permanent, effective, and safe materials for use in landscapes and gardens. At first glance, it may seem that rubber mulches are an environmentally friendly way of recycling used tires, but further research indicates they are neither effective in long-term weed control (pretty much anything will work in the short term) nor safe for the environment. While recycling waste tires is an important environmental issue, the solution is not to spread the pollution problem over our landscapes and gardens.

Hazards of rubber mulch

It’s flammable
A research study comparing several different mulches found that when rubber mulch, which contains petroleum products, is ignited, it is more difficult to extinguish than any other mulch–including wood chips.

It’s Toxic
Like any other material, tires and rubber mulches are eventually broken down by environmental factors, such as sunlight, or by bacteria and fungi. The chemicals that leach from tires are anything but benign. They include heavy metals, such as aluminum, cadmium, chromium, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. Two other common rubber leachates are 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) and poly­aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); these chemicals are health hazards for humans and the environment.

It’s Destructive
Many vegetables and ornamentals mulched with rubber can accumulate high levels of zinc, sometimes to the point of death. Other metals found in decomposing rubber can also accumulate in plant roots, leaves, or fruit, depending on the species. Acidic soils are particularly sensitive because heavy metals are more available for plant uptake. Decomposing rubber mulches provide a constant stream of toxic leachates into adjacent aquatic systems. Research has also shown that entire aquatic communities are injured or killed when exposed to these chemicals.

a new video on the White House organic kitchen garden: http://u.nu/74a43

It includes an interview with the Michelle Obama and White House Head Chef, Sam Kass, talking about the importance of child nutrition and the benefits of engaging children in gardening.

Just below the video there is a link to a request to thank Mrs. Obama for her efforts which includes a powerpoint about the journey that inspired the garden.

You may want to spread the word to youth and community gardeners and others who appreciate the tremendous amount of positive attention that Ms. Obama has brought to the importance of youth and community gardening as an effective tool for promoting nutrition and health.

article  From Fine Gardening

by Sally Roth

see: http://nyis.info/plants/GiantHogweed.aspx

A NY TIMES Opinion  By DAN BARBER Published: August 8, 2009

IF the hardship of growing vegetables and fruits in the Northeast has made anything clear, it’s that the list of what can go wrong in the field is a very long one.

We wait all year for warmer weather and longer days. Once we get them, it seems new problems for farmers rise to the surface every week: overnight temperatures plunging close to freezing, early disease, aphid attacks. Another day, another problem.

The latest trouble is the explosion of late blight, a plant disease that attacks potatoes and tomatoes. Late blight appears innocent enough at first — a few brown spots here, some lesions there — but it spreads fast. Although the fungus isn’t harmful to humans, it has devastating effects on tomatoes and potatoes grown outdoors. Plants that appear relatively healthy one day, with abundant fruit and vibrant stems, can turn toxic within a few days. (See the Irish potato famine, caused by a strain of the fungus.)

Most farmers in the Northeast, accustomed to variable conditions, have come to expect it in some form or another. Like a sunburn or a mosquito bite, you’ll probably be hit by late blight sooner or later, and while there are steps farmers can take to minimize its damage and even avoid it completely, the disease is almost always present, if not active.

But this year is turning out to be different — quite different, according to farmers and plant scientists. For one thing, the disease appeared much earlier than usual. Late blight usually comes, well, late in the growing season, as fungal spores spread from plant to plant. So its early arrival caught just about everyone off guard.

full article here

The EAB recommendations for home owners and woodland owners has been posted to the nyis.info EAB homepage resources box as well as in the content box along with the CCE EAB identification protocol.

It has also been posted under both the “Resources for woodland managers and forest owners” and “Resources for homeowners and communities” tabs on the EAB resources page. It has also been sent to the members of the CCE invasive species listserve. — Chuck *********************************************************************** Charles R. O’Neill, Jr. Sr. Extension Specialist Cornell University/New York Sea Grant Director, NY Invasive Species Clearinghouse Coordinator, Cornell Invasive Species Program Morgan II, SUNY College Brockport, NY 14420 Voice: 585/395-2638 Fax: 585/395-2466 E-mail: cro4@cornell.edu Web site: NYIS.INFO