From Exit 18 – Interstate 84 (Route 311 Carmel Exit)
Eastbound: (To Danbury):
From exit ramp turn right on to Route 311
Westbound: (To Newburgh):
From exit ramp turn left on to Route 311
Go 1 mile on Route 311 to the Route 52 intersection. Turn left on to Route 52, go 3 miles to the hamlet of Carmel to Route 301 intersection (Traffic Light, Sign: Cold Spring). Landmark: Putnam County Court House on Left. Turn right on to Route 301, go 1.25 (one and one quarter) miles, at the end of the causeway turn right on to Gipsy Trail Road; go .8 (eight tenths) mile to Putnam County Park Fairgrounds on right just past sharp left turn in road.

From Exit 19 Interstate 84 (Route 312 Carmel Exit)
Eastbound and Westbound: From the exit ramp turn right on to Route 312. Take Route 312 for approximately 1 mile to Route 6 intersection. Turn right on to Route 6, go 2.3 ( two and three tenths) miles to route 6 & Route 52 intersection in Carmel. Landmark: Lake Gleneida will be in front of you. Turn right on to Route 52, go .3 (three tenths) mile to Route 301 intersection. (Sign: Cold Spring, Landmark: Putnam County Court House on Right) Turn left on to Route 301, go 1.25 (one and one quarter) miles, at the end of causeway turn right on to Gipsy Trail Road. Proceed for .8 (eight tenths) mile. Fairgrounds on right just past sharp left turn in road.

From Taconic Parkway:
Northbound: Turn right on to Route 301 East
Southbound: Turn right on to Route 301 East
Go approximately 8.8 (eight and eight tenths) miles to Gipsy Trail Road. Turn left on to Gipsy Trail Road. Landmark: if you go across causeway you’ve gone too far. Proceed .8 (eight tenths) mile to Putnam County Park. Fairgrounds on right just past a sharp left turn in road.

From Rockland County over the Bear Mountain Bridge
Follow signs to Route 9D Cold Spring – end of bridge bear left and proceed north on Route 9D to Route 301 (traffic light). Go right on to 301 – follow Route 301 – after passing the Taconic State Parkway the approximate mileage is 8.8 (eight and eight tenths) miles to Gipsy Trail Road. Landmark: if you go across the causeway you’ve gone too far. Proceed .8 (eight tenths) mile to Putnam County Park Fairgrounds on right just past a sharp left turn in road.

Call 845-278-6738 for more info.

4-H Public Presentations 2009 Presenters Guide

4-H Progression Chart

Public Presentations Preparation/Poster Tips

Types of 4-H Public Presentations

• Cloverbud Demo Evaluation Form
• Cloverbud Pledge/Creed Evaluation Form
• 4-H Member Demonstration Form
• 4-H Member Creative Communication Evaluation Form

 Public Speaking Feedback Form

Food Demonstrations

4-H Pledge Creed

Planning Checklist for Parents, Club Leaders & 4-H Members

2009 Evaluator’s Guide

Cornell Cooperative Extension professional horticulture staff and Master Gardener volunteers help you solve your gardening challenges.  We also help with non-gardening questions, like dealing with wildlife and common in-home insect and wildlife problems (bees, bats, birds and more).

          You can call our Hotline Monday through Friday from 9-12 and a horticulture professional or Master Gardener volunteer will help you.  Some information is readily available and can be e-mailed, mailed or faxed to you. Some questions require research and will take some time to answer (usually from one to five days).  This information is provided free of charge to Putnam residents.

The Diagnostic Lab

          If you bring a sample of a plant, weed or an insect to our office, our staff or volunteers will perform a thorough visual and — where necessary — microscopic examination, and give you recommendations for control and/or remedial treatment based on university research.  The formulations we recommend have been tested by scientists at Cornell or other universities, but we do not endorse specific brands of products.

          After you submit your sample to the Diagnostic Lab, we will phone, e-mail or write to you with an identification of the pest or problem and recommendations for treating it.  We may contact you to ask for further information before we can determine our recommendation.

          We can also diagnose problems with lawns (turf grass) but we cannot normally identify specific fungal diseases.  Most often, however, a treatment recommendation will be suitable for a wide range of pathogens.

          The Diagnostic Lab fee is $10 per sample.

Soil pH and Texture Analysis

We can test your soil for pH (acidity/alkalinity) and analyze its texture and give you recommendations for amendments that will bring your soil to a pH that is proper for what you want to grow.  We may also recommend adding compost or other materials to adjust the soil texture, or — alternatively — recommend that you use the area from which you’ve taken the soil to grow something more suitable to the soil in its current state.

          Your soil pH and texture results will be ready in a few days; we can phone, mail, fax, e-mail or phone your soil pH results to you.

          Soil testing in the office is done for a fee of $10 per sample.  If you have multiple garden beds, each sample is $10.

How to submit samples

Provide as large a sample of the plant problem as possible:

• At least 12” of a tree branch showing the problem
• At least three leaves and a stem section of an annual, perennial or vegetable (whole vegetables, such as tomatoes, strawberries, etc., should be packed in a plastic bag or container).
• One cup (or more) of soil in a plastic bag — not a paper bag
• At least a 12” square section of lawn showing the problem
• An entire insect in a sealed container, such as an empty pill bottle, sealed plastic baggie or glass jar. Do not tape insects to paper. 

Download the form that relates to your garden problem.  Answer the questions on the form and bring it with your sample to the office, with the $10 fee.  Please do not send samples in the mail.

Fees

          Diagnostic Lab fees are $10 per sample.  Each insect, soil sample or plant submitted is one sample.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County Diagnostic Lab Forms

          Insect & Plant Identification Form

    Plant Disease        �
    Lawn Problem

If we cannot diagnose your problem . . .

Cornell University Laboratories have comprehensive scientific diagnostic capabilities.  They will accept properly packaged specimens for insect identification, soil nutrient analysis, plant pathology identification and turfgrass problems. Please remember that it is illegal to send live insects through the mail.  Cornell Lab results, which take about two weeks, are mailed or e-mailed to you; if you have other questions when you receive them, please contact one of our horticulture professionals.

          We have a Cornell Soil Nutrient Analysis kit available for $15.00 at the office.  Buy the kit, follow the instructions and send your soil to Cornell. 

Or you can download the forms to send your soil, plant or insect samples directly to the Cornell labs.for soil analysis, insect identification or plant pathology identification at:

• Soil Nutrient Analysis     http://cnal.cals.cornell.edu/
• Insect Lab                       http://www.entomology.cornell.edu/public/IthacaCampus/ExtOutreach/DiagnosticLab.html
• Plant Pathology               http://www.cals.cornell.edu/cals/plpath/

Cornell Cooperative Extension is seeking donations for the annual County-Living Auction.  This event, open to the public, will take place Saturday, July 25th during the 38th Annual 4-H Fair, at the Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park, 201 Gipsy Trail Rd, Carmel.
To make this event successful, outdoor items such as New and Nearly-New items, tickets and services may be auctioned.
Donated items are tax-deductible and, if clean and in good condition, will be picked up within Putnam, Northern Westchester, and Southern Dutchess Counties.  The proceeds will help support Cornell Cooperative Extension Youth Development, Environmental, and Community & Economic Vitality educaton programs.
Wheter or not you make a donation, please join us at the Country-Living Auction for an afternoon of fun, followed by the Annual Chicken Barbeque Dinner. Please click here for more info 2009-country-living-auction

Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park
201 Gipsy Trail Rd, Carmel
 

July 24-26, 2009
Friday, 12noon-6pm, Saturday, 10am-7 pm and Sunday, 10am-5pm

The 4-H Fair is a unique mix of hands-on educational activities, craft demos, animal exhibits, live entertainment, Master Gardener Plant Sale, community service displays, and a live country auction. Showcased in the Exhibit Building are creative and educational projects created by 4-H youth and talented residents of all ages. FREE Admission!

The 4-H Fair is sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County.

Our volunteers are working hard on the 2009 4-H Fair.  Your support is needed now – more than ever before – to keep the 4-H Fair tradition going strong in Putnam County. Your tax-deductible contribution will allow us to continue to host one of the County’s largest community events.  For more information on contributing to the 4-H Fair, please click here: 4-H Fair Donation Form

A number of water-related issues face Putnam County residents and businesses, including drinking water quality, non-point source pollution, over-use and mis-use of fertilizers, landscaping practices and loss of water-protective ecosystems due to population growth.  About one-third of Putnam County is water, much of it in the New York City Watershed, operated by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/watershed_protection/home.html.   

The Great Swamp, a wetlands ecosystem that provides habitat, food and shelter to a wide variety of birds, amphibians, fish, insects and plants, is one of the most effective purifiers of underground aquifers.

Putnam County is home to a number of protected species, including the Indiana Brown Bat and a small population of Blandings turtles. Invasive plants like the Common Reed, Mile-A-Minute Vine and Giant Hogweed can endanger these and other animals and change the ecosystems they depend on.  Native plants, on the other hand, are hardy, low-maintenance solutions that help protect the environment and give you a beautiful garden. 

Emerald Ash Borer
http://www.emeraldashborer.info

Asian Longhorn Beetle
http://www.uvm.edu/albeetle/identification/index.html

Giant Hogweed
http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/putnam/pestalert.pdf

May 16
Master Gardener Plant Sale
Tilly Foster Farm, Rt 312, Brewster
8:30 am – 12:30 pm
The sale features an incredible bariety of plants grown by or specially selected by the Master Gardener vounteers of Putnam County.  Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions about planting, nurturing and harvesting.  There will be copies of Planting Putnam for sale, as well as our favorite gardening gloves, soaps and other select gardening items. Free soil ph test, bring a soil sample (1 cup) in a plastic cup

May 21
Shade Gardening
Mahopac Public Library
7-8:15 pm
FREE. Perennials, shrubs and trees for the shaded and wooded areas of our property.  For more information, call 628-2009

June 6
Cold Spring Farmers Market
8:30 – 1:30
Master gardener volunteers and Cornell Cooperatvie Extension horticulturists answer questions and provide detailed recommendations for home gardeners. Available at the booth will be Planting Putnam, written by the Master Gardeners, other books and small gardening items. Soil pH testing: $5 per sample.

June 6
4-H Fishing Clinic
Learn How to Fish
All participants will receive a FREE Rod, Reel, Tackle Kit, 2009 Fishing Directory and a Hat.
Free to the first 100 Youth ages 8-14. For more info, 2009 4-H Fishing Clinic Flyer
Time:10 am – 3 pm
Location: Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park

July 24, 25 & 26, 2009
Putnam County 4-H Fair
FREE & Open to the Public!
For more information click here