Hawaiian purple sweet potato with shoots

How to grow dozens of sweet potatoes from one

by Connie Oswald Stofko by Connie Oswald Stofko From one sweet potato, you can sprout several plants, and you can get as many as six to 10 potatoes from one plant. You can eat the leaves, too! Cheryl Harris, a gardener who grows an amazing variety and amount of vegetables on her double lot in Buffalo, tells us how to grow these tasty and nutritious vegetables. You’ll be able to visit her this year during two events: the East Side…...

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red lily leaf beetles and lilies

It’s time to check for red lily leaf beetle in WNY

by Connie Oswald Stofko by Connie Oswald Stofko Gardeners in Western New York have started to notice the red lily leaf beetle, which can devastate your lilies (true lilies, but not daylilies). I’ve written about red lily leaf beetles before; see details here. Last year we shared a couple home remedies that might keep red lily leaf beetles away. One is diatomaceous earth and the other is a homemade spray. There aren’t any controlled studies that look at how effective…...

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leaves with beech leaf disease

New tree disease affects beeches

Beech leaf disease is a new tree disease that has been identified in Erie County. It is listed on the “Top 10 Tree Insects & Diseases,” an article you will find in the newest edition of WNY Gardening Matters. Beech leaf disease Beech leaf disease (BLD) affects and kills both native and ornamental beech tree species. BLD was just discovered in recent years and there is a lot we still don’t know about this disease, according to the New York…...

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dandelion with seeds blowing

Stop weeds before they emerge with corn gluten meal

by Connie Oswald Stofko Stop weeds before they even pop out of the ground–that’s what pre-emergent herbicides do. Pre-emergent herbicides act on seeds at the germination stage. Corn gluten meal is an organic pre-emergent herbicide. There are synthetic pre-emergent herbicides, too. These can work well on grass seed and broad-leaf seeds. However, like every herbicide, they don’t kill every type of weed. They don’t kill existing weeds. And they don’t work on plants with tap roots, such as dandelions. They…...

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arabis 'Spring Charm'

Gardens to Go: A flat of perennials that suits your garden’s needs

by Connie Oswald Stofko Want more color throughout the season? Have a problem with deer? What native plants are good for a garden? How can you attract hummingbirds or butterflies? There’s an easy answer to all these conundrums: Gardens to Go. Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses in Williamsville is creating flats of perennials on different themes, such as Constant Color, Western New York Natives, Deer Resistant and Butterflies. Each flat contains 12 different varieties of plants on that theme, for a…...

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yard covered in lesser celandine

Act now to get rid of lesser celandine

_____ by Connie Oswald Stofko Update: See a newer article on lesser celandine here. Lesser celandine is an invasive weed that can take over your lawn and gardens. “Whatever you do, don’t ignore it,” said Master Gardener Lyn Chimera. It’s pretty, but… Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna, formerly Ranunculus ficaria) is easy to ignore, Chimera acknowledges. It’s a spring ephemeral and dies back, so it’s easy to forget about it once it disappears–but it will return. And because it’s pretty, many people…...

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pansies

It’s spring in Buffalo! 7 gardening tasks you can do outside now

by Connie Oswald Stofko by Connie Oswald Stofko It’s spring on the calendar, and it feels likes spring in our gardens, too! Snowdrops and crocuses are blooming while daffodils and hyacinths are budding. It’s been sunny and warm outside! Here are a few things you can do in your spring garden in Western New York. Take a walk in your yard Pick up any trash that has blown into your yard. See if you have damage from rabbits, deer or…...

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Brandywise tomato F1

Spotlight on ‘Brandywise’ tomato & more from Master Gardeners

The ‘Brandywise’ tomato is said to pair the rich heirloom flavor of ‘Brandywine’ with disease resistance. Twenty Master Gardeners trialed it last year and it lived up to the hype, according to an article in the newest edition of WNY Gardening Matters, produced by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. ‘Brandywise’ was very tasty and firm, free of diseases, prolific and easy to grow. The tomatoes ranged from three to five inches in diameter. See more…...

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daffodil in March snow

Tomatoes & daffodils: when you can’t wait for spring

by Connie Oswald Stofko It seemed like we had winter and summer at the same time last week. There was plenty of snow at our house to make a snowman, and my husband participated while wearing shorts! In spite of that, it’s not spring yet– not even on the calendar! But here are a couple of topics for this time of the year when we can’t wait for spring. A trick to plant (some) seeds outside now Last week we…...

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seed packets from Botanical Interests

Start seeds now (or soon) for cool weather veggies in WNY

by Connie Oswald Stofko You can get a head start on gardening in Western New York by sowing seeds for cool weather vegetables such as onions, endive and cabbage. In this article, Patti Jablonski-Dopkin, general manager of Urban Roots Cooperative Garden Market, 428 Rhode Island St., Buffalo, lays out the details on starting cool weather vegetables from seed. Some cool weather vegetables can be started inside now–or soon–depending on the last frost date in your area. Other seeds are sown directly…...

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