By Kimberly Marshall, Washingtonville Master Gardener Volunteer This article appeared in the June 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County. Nothing feels worse than seeing your squash wilt and die—especially after months of watching those leafy green beauties thrive in your garden. Although the culprit may be many things, it often turns out to be … Continue reading Pest Watch: Squash Vine Borer
June 2021 Garden Maintenance Water in the morning, allowing plants to dry before nightfall. Water newly planted trees and shrubs weekly. Continue to divide spring-flowering perennials. Plant summer flowering bulbs like dahlias, gladiolas, and lilies. Remove emerging weeds before they take over your garden. Learn how to make your garden more attractive for beneficial insects … Continue reading Gardener’s Check List
by Steve Reiners, Professor, Horticulture, Cornell University, Cornell AgriTech This spring has gone from dry to wet and back to dry, which can be frustrating for growers. If you have been able to get your fields planted, it can sometimes be confusing in terms of when to water and for how long. As soon as … Continue reading When to turn on the irrigation?
By Mary Carol Presutti, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer This article appeared in the May 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County. The front of my property is flat and user-friendly, but my backyard is another story. A few feet beyond my backdoor is a landscaping challenge that could have impacted the way I garden. … Continue reading Gardening on a Slope
by Joyce Tomaselli, Community Horticulture Educator, Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County A version of this article appeared in the Times Herald-Record in May of 2017. Many sources provide great advice on sowing seeds. Key factors include sufficient light and temperature for growing the seeds. But the question inevitably arises when to transplant them outdoors. Don’t … Continue reading Patience is a Virtue in Planting Outdoors
By Gerda Krogslund, Middletown Master Gardener Volunteer This article appeared in the April 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County. In New York State, there are six species of sawflies that are common pests of pines. Sawfly larvae are caterpillar-like and usually feed in groups and strip one branch of needles after another. They prefer … Continue reading Pest Watch: European Pine Sawfly
by Joan Kean, Pine Bush Master Gardener Volunteer This article appeared in the April 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County. Crop rotation is the planned, successive cultivation of different crops in a specified order on the same land over time. Regardless of whether you have acres of farmland, grow vegetables in containers, or anything … Continue reading Crop Rotation
By Gerda Krogslund, Middletown Senior Master Gardener Volunteer This article appeared in the April 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County. It is spring and everyone wants to go outside and apply fertilizer to their plants, because that’s what you do in the spring. However, overfertilizering your plants is not only a waste of time … Continue reading Questions about Soil Amendments
By Cecille Jones, Monroe Gardener Volunteer This article appeared in the March 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County. Are your tired of mowing and weeding your lawn? Are you suffering from suburban guilt because your yard isn’t as lush a fairway as your neighbor’s? It’s time to let go of that nagging sense of … Continue reading Smart Gardening with Perennial Evergreen Groundcovers
By Pam Golben, Goshen Florida Gardener Volunteer This article appeared in the March 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County. Many native seeds require 60, 90 or 120 days of cold, moist conditions (stratification) to break dormancy and germinate. These seeds should be planted in the fall and will germinate when the conditions are right … Continue reading Some Native Seeds Can Be Planted In The Spring