January 17, 2016

Christmas tree update 1.17.16

Digging back through the masses of email.  And then getting ready for MORE meetings and presentations!

Even though we haven’t seen much salt use so far, it is useful to know the impact of salts on plants and how to protect them

More or less deer browse with no snow? Learn more about how to manage the little darlings – Deer management resources, including webinars January 20 and 27, 2016.  Registration and webinar information in second paragraph.

More webinars – Soil and Nutrient Management for Field Grown Ornamentals and Christmas Trees in February from Michigan State University

There may be no such thing as a free lunch but MSU has free Pest Scouting Bulletins to download.  Perennial Crops includes conifers.

Just in case you didn’t do it yet – how to winterize your sprayer

Getting an old field ready for new trees – help from MSU
Part 1 and Part 2

Well, that should keep you off the streets for a bit!  Have a great week!  Come by and say HI if you are at the CTFANY meeting!

February 9, 2015

February 9, 2015

Ahhh – lovely snow!  Not so great for driving but it is pretty. Or are you cheering for Staten Island Chuck (did you know we have our own groundhog in NYS?) and his prediction for an early spring?

It’s not just dirt!?  The Cornell Soil Health Program has lots of resources and can do testing for you. And the USDA has a webinar coming up on the program that can help you interpret your assessment for better soil health!

You probably have a general idea of what hardiness zone you are in but did you know that there can be variations on a relatively small scale?  Check out the interactive USDA hardiness zone maps.   Whee!  I’m 5b!  (no colder on average than –10 to –15) But there are little chunks of 5a nearby and it’s 6a near the lake!

And here’s one with the US drought index I didn’t know it was abnormally dry here in Tompkins County. I think the recent snow might help!

Don’t worry – be hoppy!  (okay – I couldn’t help myself! But did I really try?)

Beginning Hops Class

Saturday, March 7, 2015, 9:00 am – 2:30 pm

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County, 480 North Main Street, Canandaigua, NY

 

Feb 11, 2015 HOPS and Barley Webinar sponsored by USDA at 1:30 p.m. EST. You can stream audio through your computer.  Or you can call in to listen to the audio via your phone, U.S. & Canada Toll-Free    855-810-2136.

I don’t think the neonicitinoid conversation has hit Christmas tree growers yet, but if your customers are asking, do you know which insecticides are neonics?  Mode of action class 4A – which includes acetamiprid,  dinotefuran, imidacloprid, and thiomethoxam.Did anyone get questions this Christmas?  Don’t know what I am talking about?

Stay safe and warm and dry.  Or if you are bored and stuck inside – start planning.   (I think # 13 is in Syracuse!)

January 12, 2015

January 12, 2015

How did it get to be January 12th?  I barely remember seeing the ball drop.  Oh, maybe that’s because I was asleep!

Getting ready for the CTFANY meeting next week.  We apparently want to be talking ALL the time – well, maybe that’s just me.  Come and see what we are saying.  Entomology, sad plants, beneficial insects.  And meet another IPMer – Tim Weigle talks about hops.

Want apps? Most are ag – not all are applicable but its quite a list!

It’s cold out.  More ways to stay inside and learn – Online IPM Academy webinars from Michigan State University.  You can’t get NYS recertification credits from them but you can learn some IPM or plant pathology or entomology or . . .

Did you know that 2015 is the International Year of Soils?  Get down with your dirt.  Learn what the Cornell Soil Health program can do for you.

On we go – at the usual rapid rate!

 

Have a good week.