Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

here are details

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

Find part 2 in HTML format at:

http://ipmguidelines.org/Home/content/default.asp

Pesticide Management Education Program (PMEP) preparing to print hard copies of Part 2 for distribution around mid-October.

Part 1 is online as a pdf so can be printed from there for hard copies.  If you have trouble printing Part 1 contact PMEP directly as they maintain the site.
PMEP contact:

Mike Helms
Managing Editor – Cornell Guidelines
Pesticide Management Education Program (PMEP)
Cornell University
5140 Comstock Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-2601
Phone: (607) 254-6441
Fax: (607) 255-3075
Cornell Guidelines Web Site: http://ipmguidelines.org
PMEP Web Site:  http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu

Date: Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:47:13 -0400

From: Carolyn Klass <ck20@cornell.edu>
Subject: leek moth found in NY

Hello everyone:
Just a short note to let you know that samples of leek moth have been found in Clinton Co., NY.  This is the first record of this insect in the continental United States.  It was reported in Ottawa, Canada in 1997.
http://www.pestalert.org/viewArchPestAlert.cfm?rid=25
The first sample arrived in the Insect Diagnotic Lab in late July, was sent to a national identifier and confirmed in August. Additional larvae, and pupae have been found since.  Anne Lenox Barlow, horticulture educator,  has prepared a fact sheet for people on the leek moth situation, and I am glad to share it with you. (Here).  She is also cooperating with the Department of Agriculture and Markets as they are surveying surrounding areas in Clinton Co. this fall.   We will keep you posted as new developments occur.
Carolyn Klass  9/2/09

Carolyn Klass
Sr. Extension Associate
Department of Entomology
4140 Comstock Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY  14853-2601

Phone 607 255-3144
Fax 607 255-0939
e-mail ck20@cornell.edu

From Meg McGrath, Assoc. Professor in Plant Pathology

Are the unaffected parts of blighted tomatoes and potatoes safe to eat?

Yes the unaffected parts probably are safe to eat. Parts with symptoms likely do not pose a health risk when consumed either, but they do not look appetizing and will have an off flavor. However, no published scientific study on this specific issue was found to confirm this conclusion, therefore consumers need to make their own decision on food safety. The conclusion that unaffected tissue is safe to consume is based on several points. This pathogen does not produce a toxin that can make people sick, as a few plant pathogens can do. Plant pathogens cannot infect people. No food safety issues have been found with other diseases that affect tomato fruit or potato tubers. Late blight appears to be like other more common diseases, e.g. anthracnose on tomato fruit and pink rot of potato (which incidentally is caused by/ Phytophthora erythroseptica/, a pathogen related to that causing late blight), in that these do not appear to affect plant tissue beyond the area of infection. Many home gardeners likely often cut off diseased tissue rather than throw out the entire fruit or tuber having found the healthy appearing part of these to taste fine. This has not been associated with any human health issues. Diseases like late blight and anthracnose are not considered a health concern for commercial tomato processing. Fruit are sorted to remove affected ones, but this is because of the impact on fruit quality. For home canning, only disease-free, preferably vine-ripened, firm tomatoes are recommended in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning because fungal pathogens may raise tissue pH and thereby allow growth of potentially harmful microorganisms.

CCE’s Food Preservation Expert Judy Price echos  the caution to only can food that is of the highest quality. The possibility of a dangerous product is great when inferior and questionable food is placed in an anaerobic environment.  It is also recommended that only high quality food be frozen, although the same dangers do not exist.  Rather, the quality issues of an off flavor and unappetizing product should be considered in freezing tomatoes affected by blight.

This brief (6 minute) narrated overview of Civil Rights Compliances basics needs to be shared with your Master Gardener Volunteers.

Narrated powerpoint:
http://staff.cce.cornell.edu/civrights/index.html

Please email me (bushway@cornell.edu) after you have shared it with volunteers to tell me

1) all the ways you shared it (i.e. via email, watched it at a meeting, handed out paper copies…).

2) how many volunteers “received” it.

3) your county.

I greatly appreciate your assistance with keeping our valued volunteers aware of this important matter.

In addition, please review this laws and policies document.  If you have questions contact Sarah Dayton, CCE Professional Development Specialist.

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