by Connie Oswald Stofko It’s a heady time for gardeners—plant sales and plant exchanges from nonprofit groups are popping up all over Western New York! These plant sales are a great way to find bargains, connect with friends and neighbors and find out what other gardeners in WNY are planting. Some of the plants in the sales come straight from the gardens of the members in the organizations. Since those gardeners have extra plants to share, it’s a good sign…...
Take it slow: That tip & more from Master Gardeners in WNY
Master Gardeners in Erie and Orleans Counties offer helpful tips and advice in their monthly newsletters. Here’s the latest information. Orleans County Digging In, the newsletter by Master Gardeners in Orleans County, starts off with suggestions on taking it slow: We are all itching to get back into the garden, to clean up the leaves, cut back spent perennials, and dig in new plants. But there are reasons to take it slow. Yes, they include protecting our pollinators, but they also…...
Dealing with a taste of spring in WNY
by Connie Oswald Stofko How did you feel on Friday, that sunny day that hit 75 degrees at the airport? I have lived in Western New York my entire life, so I should know better, but to me, it felt like spring was here to stay. In weather like this, I always think of a cartoon, To Spring, that I saw on TV when I was a kid. It’s a lovely short cartoon movie created in 1936. A bunch of…...
Protect peat bogs: article from Orleans County MG, plus tasks for March
We need to protect peat bogs. Learn more about that in the article “Peat Moss and Sustainability” by Kathy Contrino, Master Gardener in Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension. Peat moss, which is used to help soil retain moisture, is grown in peat bogs. However, peat moss grows slowly and it grows only if the conditions are perfect. Peat bogs are also an environment for native carnivorous plants, so harvesting peat moss can disrupt that ecosystem. There are alternatives to peat…...
Gardening season is starting now with cool weather veggies
by Connie Oswald Stofko There’s snow on the ground and more snow to come. As I write this, the temperature might reach a high of 16 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill as low as -5. Brrr! That’s the forecast in the Buffalo area, but the weather is pretty much the same in the rest of Western New York. Yet despite the weather, the beginning of gardening season is here! Now is the time to get your supplies, equipment and…...
Random tip: keep rabbits out of veggies
by Connie Oswald Stofko We’re not ready to plant vegetables outside yet, but this is a good time to plan for spring. Here’s an idea for keeping rabbits out of your vegetable garden. I saw these raised beds in the yard of Beth and Brian Kreutzer in Cheektowaga. I think these garden beds are genius: simple, fairly easy to build and a solid defense against pesky rabbits. You can tell the fencing works by the healthy vegetables! The Kreutzers’ patch…...
Tropical Orchard to open at Botanical Gardens; get a sneak peek here!
by Connie Oswald Stofko A completely renovated greenhouse, the Tropical Orchard, will open this Thursday, Jan. 23 at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. I was given a sneak peek yesterday to share with you! The Tropical Orchard features a collection of edible plants from around the world. Some of the plants you’ll see are starfruits, bananas, Australian finger limes, pineapples, chocolate tree, ponderosa lemon, strawberry guava tree and coconut palm. More common plants include peanuts, a peach tree,…...
What to do when the easiest crop—garlic—fizzles
by Connie Oswald Stofko I had a poor garlic crop this year. Instead of large bulbs with separate cloves, I got small bulbs without any separate cloves. I don’t know what I did wrong. For years I have planted garlic with no problems. I think it’s the easiest food plant you can grow. John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County, concurred. “It’s hard to go wrong with garlic,” he said. Though garlic is usually easy to grow,…...
Table beets are getting trendy
Did you know: These are a few takeaways from a talk by Julie R. Kikkert, team leader of the Cornell Vegetable Program. You’ll find much more information, including the interesting way beet seeds germinate, in her talk on this video…....
Plant garlic now, plus more from WNY Gardening Matters
It’s time to plant garlic. Find out about that and more in the newest edition of WNY Gardening Matters, produced by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County. See these articles:…...