Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

Here’s their website with more information:

http://mastergardener.umd.edu/Handbook.cfm

Here’s a resource to help you and your volunteers approach those biting questions:

protocol factsheet (pdf)

Do you other resources you have found useful in address these questions? Please share in the comment section or send material to bushway@cornell.edu

Are you thinking of engaging youth in a gardening project? Check out the fun they had with this one out of VT….

When did kale become so cool? At Burlington’s Intervale Center, the Healthy City kids are growing vegetables, becoming farmers, volunteering in their community, working a summer job and changing the world, weed by weed.

check out this video documenting their experience:

http://www.7dvt.com/2008intervale-centers-healthy-city.

Check out this Growing Green Lawns factsheet(pdf).

It was produced by the Northeast IPM community horticulture work group.

Tell us what you think of it by sharing a comment below.

Useful piece for your lawn care audience?

This message is from

Eric Harrington
Assistant Director for Occupational & Environmental Health
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Dean’s Office

Cornell University e-mail: eh22@cornell.edu

I would like to remind Cornell pesticide applicators of issues concerning using and recommending “home remedies.”

The Environmental Conservation Law (specifically Article 33) requires a commercial pesticide applicator when performing the commercial application of pesticides to apply a pesticide product that is registered by both NYS DEC and US EPA. Article 33 also allows a commercial applicator to apply a pesticide which has been specifically exempted from registration by the US EPA (25b list of exempted materials). Since a “home remedy” is neither a registered or exempted pesticide, a commercial applicator is prohibited from commercially applying a “home remedy.” As a certified commercial pesticide applicator, it is not a good practice to recommend “home remedies.”

If you have any questions or concerns about this, please let me know and I would be happy to discuss it further with you.

Eric

--

=========================================================

Eric Harrington
Assistant Director for Occupational & Environmental Health
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Dean’s Office

241 Roberts Hall (US Mail) 607-255-0485 (Office)

204 Rice Hall (Campus Mail) 607-254-6569 (Fax)

Cornell University e-mail: eh22@cornell.edu

Ithaca, NY 14853 USA http://oeh.cals.cornell.edu/

This article from Hort Technology January - March 2008 reveals that in MN gardeners most often obtain their garden or plant related information from friends and neighbors.

…what this says to me is that our county community horticulture educators and volunteers are absolutely critical to our role in getting Cornell research based information to NYS citizen. The number of NYS citizens who view you as friends and neighbors far excessed anything Cornell University could gather.

Keep up the good friends/neighbor work. You are the faces of our successful CCE educational system.

Lori

Here’s the full research article and please share your perspectives with a comment.

article.pdf

Programs are held at the Agroforestry Resource Center located at 6055 Route 23 in Acra, New York. Pre-registration is required for all programs by calling Cornell Cooperative Extension 518-622-9820 or emailing greene@cornell.edu

Project Bud Break

Date: Saturday, March 8 Registration deadline: March 6

Time: 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Cost: Free

Presenter: David Weinstein Assistant Research Scientist Cornell

Climate change is bringing warmer temperatures to this region. These changes are undoubtedly already accelerating the timing of the spring opening of flower buds and leaves, the summer growth of fruits, and potentially delaying the autumn coloring and drop of leaves, events called “plant phenology.” These shifts in timing could greatly affect the local survival of many native plant populations by disrupting their needed synchronicity with pollinating insects. The range of these plant populations may be rapidly advancing northward. Associated with a national effort, a network of citizen scientists, established through Cornell University, observes the timing of flowering, leaf development, fruiting, and leaf drop in populations of common native trees and herbaceous species. This program will explain how to become a part of this study including learning about the individual plants we will be monitoring and a web site that will help observers understand how to enter their data on the timing of important plant events through the growing season.

Invasive Species and Gardening

Date: Wednesday, March 19 Registration deadline: March 17

Time: 11:00 a.m. Cost: Free

Presented by: Ben Murdock, Catskill Center for Conservation and Development

Join members of the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership (CRISP) for an informative presentation and discussion on the threat of invasive species in the Catskills and this partnership’s current and ongoing efforts to prevent them. Join us to learn more about existing and encroaching plant and animal invaders, and learn what you can do to stop or limit their spread. This talk is designed with gardeners in mind, and will cover invasive ornamental and garden plants, removal and replacement options, as well as various other plants, pests, and pathogens that pose a threat to habitat and biodiversity in our region and beyond.

For more information about our programs and the Agroforestry Resource Center,
check out our website! http://agroforestrycenter.org

FLIER (word doc)

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.