by Connie Oswald Stofko “I finally got fed up with the baloney I saw on the Internet,” said Carolyn Stanko, associate professor of horticulture and biology at Niagara County Community College and a senior CNLP. She’d see posts of bogus gardening information, but other readers would think it was true and share it. “I finally had to stand up and preach the truth!” she said. She will help you separate gardening fact from fiction when she presents “Garden Myth Busting –…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko If you have bad patches of lawn, you can take steps in November to repair them by using what is called the dormant seeding method. November isn’t the best time to sow grass seed, but if you missed the ideal period (mid-August to mid-September), you can sow in November, said John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County. Don’t plant grass seed in late September or in October because the seed will sprout,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Caution. Warning. Dangerous. Keep out of reach of children. That’s what you’ll find on the labels of pesticides and other chemicals that people routinely spray on their lawns, said Paul Tukey, and he used to spray them, too. Tukey shared his story of how he went from routinely using chemicals with warning labels to using all-organic practices in his landscaping business. Now he is chief sustainability officer for Glenstone, a contemporary art museum in Potomac, Maryland…....
Tips on how to keep your lawn healthy without pesticides are being distributed through the Erie County Environmental Management Council, an advisory board to Erie County Department of Environment & Planning. They’ve printed it as something you can hang on your door. Get a full-size pdf of the doorhanger: Here’s the front and here’s the back. Here are the tips you will find on the doorhanger: Don’t cut the grass too short! Taller 3-inch grass outcompetes weeds, better withstands drought…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko In this month’s issue of WNY Gardening Matters, the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County give us some hints on what to do about creeping Charlie, a weed that many of us struggle with. As they suggest, I will get out there now. It’s easier to get rid of this weed when you catch it early, and it’s easier to pull out when the ground is wet. In the article, you will not…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I’ve been getting emails from people wanting to know what to do with lawns filled with lesser celandine. My best advice is to not let it get that far. Dig it up now. And do it this year when you have only a few patches! This is a serious weed, said Carol Ann Harlos, Master Gardener, garden writer and speaker. “You have two choices,” Harlos said. “You can either spend the time and dig it out…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko This would have been a great weekend for raking leaves. The sun was shining, the weather was mild, and I wanted to do something outside in the yard. Unfortunately, most of the leaves in my neighborhood are still firmly adhered to the trees. This happens to me at this time every year. I have to look around for things to do in my garden and yard. Here’s one task: reclaim your patio or sidewalk from your…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I’ve been noticing the pretty yellow blooms of lesser celandine all over my neighborhood. It’s pretty, but it can take over your lawn. Here’s an email I recently got from a reader: I have this weed and it is now covering my entire back yard and is headed into the front. I literally have one-eighth of my back lawn left. I have been digging it out for years and years and it just keeps multiplying. There…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko A reader came to me with a gardening question. Do you have any suggestions on how she can resolve her problem? If so, please leave a comment. Here’s her question: I have an area of my lawn that has had moss, bare spots and grayish/brown grass for several years. It isn’t getting smaller despite suggested treatments from my lawn maintenance company. They recommended lime but it didn’t work. They tested the pH and it is within…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko We don’t live the way people did at the turn of the last century, and that’s reflected in our landscapes, said Laura L. S. Burchfield, co-author of American Home Landscapes: A Design Guide to Creating Period Garden Styles. Back then, people had outhouses. They needed a space for livestock. An area called the drying yard was set aside for hanging laundry. By the 1920s and ’30s, there were garages for cars, large lawns and even stone…...
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