Pests & Weeds Archives - Page 18 of 30 - Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com

Late & early blights: dealing with these diseases of tomatoes, potatoes

by Steven Jakobi, Allegany County Master Gardener Volunteer Gardeners love growing tomatoes, and losing them to disease can be disappointing. There are two blights to watch out for: late blight and early blight. These can affect potatoes as well. Causes of late blight and early blight There are two very different blight diseases that affect tomatoes and potatoes (and some of their relatives in the plant family Solanaceae). Late blight, caused by the fungus-like water mold, Phytophthora infestans, is a…...

Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

Jul 3, 2018

Now is time to check for Japanese beetles in WNY gardens

by Connie Oswald Stofko Adult Japanese beetles are out and active, so now is the time to check to see if you have them in your garden, said John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County. He has spotted them in his own garden. Japanese beetles occurrences can be very local, so you may not have them in your own garden. If you have them, you’ll know. It’s easy to see the beetles and to see the damage…...

Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

Jul 3, 2018

New threat: jumping worms. Are they already in WNY?

by Connie Oswald Stofko UPDATE MAY 2021: Jumping worms have been identified in Erie County and may be in other parts of Western New York, too. See the article here. There’s a new threat to Western New York gardens: jumping worms. They’re bad for your garden, and they can really screw up the ecosystem of forests. Jumping worms (so named because they jump and thrash when handled) can change the consistency of soil, making it granular and grainy, like coffee grounds. That…...

Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

Jun 26, 2018

Don’t wait to prune early-blooming shrubs

The time to prune shrubs that bloom before the middle of June is right after they flower, according to an article in the newest edition of WNY Gardening Matters, published by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. If you wait too long and prune them after they have set next year’s buds, you will lose the flower production next year. Early-blooming shrubs that you shouldn’t wait to prune include lilac, deutzia, kerria, Philadelphus, forsythia, viburnum, St. John’s…...

Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

Jun 19, 2018

Spotted lanternfly (SLF) can damage plants & keep you inside; please report sightings

Please be on the lookout for an invasive insect called the spotted lanternfly (SLF). Not only can it damage many kinds of plants, it can secrete so much messy “honeydew” that people can’t go outside without getting honeydew on their hair and clothes, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The SLF was first found in Pennsylvania in 2014. A single, dead SLF adult was found in New York this past autumn. The SLF is an invasive pest from…...

Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

May 22, 2018

6 pests & weeds to watch out for during spring in WNY

by Connie Oswald Stofko Now is the time that certain troublesome insects and weeds can show up in your garden, and now is the time to take action. Today we’ll talk about six insects and weeds to watch out for in spring: red lily leaf beetle, ticks, mosquitoes, lesser celandine, creeping Charlie and crabgrass. Red lily leaf beetle Calls have started coming in from gardeners who have spotted the red lily leaf beetle, so it’s time to look closely…...

Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

May 8, 2018

Tips on deer, composting & more for Western New York

by Connie Oswald Stofko I am fortunate that so many Western New Yorkers share gardening tips with me. People often share tips with me after I give a talk. Unfortunately, I am so busy scribbling down notes about the tips themselves that I don’t always get the name of the person who shared the tip. My apologies. Today I’ll share a few of the tips I’ve accumulated. If you have a tip that worked for you, you can share…...

Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

Apr 3, 2018

Don’t be misled by gardening myths; learn more at Plantasia

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 –…...

Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

Mar 20, 2018

Moles and voles creating holes: What to do

by Connie Oswald Stofko Over the years, I have heard gardeners complain about moles and voles, so when I saw a mole in my garden a couple weeks ago, I freaked out. After talking to John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County, I’m much more relaxed. Now I have a plan. And my plan is to do nothing. (I’ve already started. It doesn’t get easier than this.) First, let’s sort out the difference between moles…...

Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

Feb 27, 2018

path to lovely vegetable garden in Lancaster

Gorgeous vegetable garden is focus of Lancaster landscape

by Connie Oswald Stofko In the past, people would hide their vegetable gardens in a back corner of the yard. That’s changing, and more and more people boldly display their veggies in garden beds among their ornamental plants. One problem is that vegetables often need even more protection from critters than ornamental plants do. Jane Bednarczyk protects her vegetable plants, and she does it in a way that’s not only attractive, it’s a focal point of the yard. Bednarczyk…...

Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

Feb 6, 2018