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The Truth About No Mow May

As spring arrives, there are again conversations about the meme No Mow May. This is a movement to restrict lawn mowing in May to encourage flowering plants that provide nectar for pollinators. In this post I’ll share the history of the movement with suggestions for pollinator support that is more applicable to northern New York.

The original concept of leaving grass long in the spring came in 2019 from Plantlife, a British organization. Their climate, however, is very different from that in the North Country so their results have limited applicability here. In 2020 a team in Appleton Wisconsin liked the No Mow May idea so much that researchers there tried it and published a paper which showed benefits to using this concept. It turned out the data was flawed, however, and the paper was soon retracted. In 2024 Appleton removed No Mow May from the city’s municipal code and reinstated an eight inch restriction on grass and weeds.

The Cornell Turf Team from CCE of Westchester wondered about this meme too, and did research in 2024 to test the concept. What the Turf Team and others (such as CCE Eric County , Lakeland Today, Cornell Turf Grass,  and CCE Putnam County) observed indicates that No Mow May did not significantly increase the nectar sugar available to pollinators by June nor was it helpful in the long run. It did not increase the pollinator populations. Read more The Truth About No Mow May

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Meet Anneke Larrance, Master Gardener Volunteer

With a new cohort of Master Gardener Volunteers beginning to serve their community, we’d like to introduce them (AND YOU!) to the group of MGVs who have sustained this program for the last several years. Meet Anneke Larrance!

Can you remember the moment you decided to become a gardener, or when you realized you had become one?  

I was raised on a farm and we grew much of what we ate, so I learned early the miraculous transformation of seed into good things to eat. My mother traded pieces of iris, leaves of African violets, and “starts” of many houseplants, and I learned from those processes too. Weeds and fertilizer were topics of conversation. I didn’t decide to become a gardener, I naturally grew into one.

Anneke's geraniums
I take cuttings from my own geraniums to start new plants every year.

What benefits do you gain from gardening? 

Gardening clears my mind and soothes my soul. It’s also great exercise. I sometimes commune with my free-ranging chickens while I garden and I do my best writing there. 

Why did you want to become a Master Gardener Volunteer? 

There were so many things that I wanted to learn!

In what ways do you serve as a MGV? 

I’ve made presentations, written articles, judged 4H horticulture at the St. Lawrence County fair, weeded at CCE, answered lots of gardening questions, tabled at different events, and led holiday wreath-making.

My two biggest projects were helping to design, prepare, and then plant the original perennial landscape at CCE. During the pandemic I spearheaded the design, construction, planting, and care of a living quilt on the slope at Cornell Cooperative Extension (see picture above).

Read more Meet Anneke Larrance, Master Gardener Volunteer

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Using nature’s signs to time your planting

Ever wonder if those old sayings about gardening are useful or even true? For example, “Snow is the poor man’s fertilizer” (turns out, that one is true.) And many gardeners know the old planting rhyme: “One for the blackbird, One for the crow, One for the cutworm, and One to grow.” The saying has various origins, different constructions, and offers advice about HOW MANY seeds to plant, but just WHEN to plant those seeds in that fertile soil requires additional research.

Phenology, the study of plant and animal cycles and how they are affected by environmental and seasonal changes, can provide clues and answers to spring planting questions. According to phenology, events that would seem to be unrelated (lilac bloom and planting beans) can be linked and are indicators of when the local climate is suitable for planting certain seeds and transplants. Since phenology is based on local observations, it can apply regardless of what zone or local microclimate you’re gardening in. The Wisconsin Cooperative Extension and Cooperative Extension in Maine  offer additional information about phenology. 

The Old Farmer’s Almanac and others have long used these signs of nature as indicators for planting. Lilacs figure into many of these signs. For instance phenology indicates that beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, collards, lettuce and spinach can be planted when lilacs first begin to leaf out and the dandelions are in bloom. When lilacs are in full bloom, they say, it is time to plant beans, cucumber, squash, and tender annuals.  Plant potatoes when the dandelions bloom. Read more Using nature’s signs to time your planting