by Connie Oswald Stofko You can get free seeds at libraries in Erie County: Central Library, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, and the Hamburg Public Library, 102 Buffalo St., Hamburg. These are in addition to the WNY Seed Library at the Audubon Branch Library, which we talked about previously. The organizers at all these seed libraries hope that after you have borrowed seeds, you will save some seeds from the plants you grew and take them back to the seed library…
by Connie Oswald Stofko You may be a gardener who knows a lot about plants or a connoisseur who knows a lot about craft beers, but what do you know about hops? I learned a lot when I visited the gardens of Matt and Tashia Tribo on the Ken-Ton Garden Tour in July. Hops plants are easy to maintain; you don’t have to water them at all, Matt said. You do have to trim them back at the bottom so…
by Connie Oswald Stofko If you’re having trouble with your cucumber, melon, pumpkin or squash this year, you’re not alone. A disease called cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) has already been identified in Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming and Cattaraugus counties. This map shows the spread of CDM. Chautauqua County and Northern Pennsylvania expect to see the disease soon. Cornell Cooperative Extension in Chautauaqu County would like gardeners to send in samples of suspected cases of CDM. (See more below.) Unfortunately,…
by Connie Oswald Stofko You can plant a second crop of cool weather vegetables now in Western New York. As the name implies, cool weather vegetables actually like cooler temperatures. Cool weather vegetables include basil, beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, kale, peas, radishes and spinach. Here are some reasons why you should try planting cool weather vegetables now: Plants such as lettuce won’t bolt in the autumn like they do when temperatures get warm in spring. Basil likes warm night temperatures…
by Connie Oswald Stofko When you visit Dan Murak’s gardens on the Snyder-CleveHill Garden View, you may think he’s got a green thumb and succeeds with every plant, all the time. But starting in the front yard with the sick peach tree that he replaced last week, Murak is happy to tell you about the downs as well as the ups of his landscape. You can visit his landscape this weekend on the Snyder-CleveHill Garden View, one of six garden…
by Connie Oswald Stofko I love garlic because it’s easy to grow. Plus, you get two harvests per season! The first harvest is when you cut the scapes and the second is when you dig up the bulbs. Harvesting garlic scapes The curlicue stems, which are the flower stalks, are called scapes. You should cut off the scapes. If you don’t, the plant will divert resources away from the bulb to the scape, leaving you with a smaller bulb. Besides,…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Have you ever bought plants and found you had extras? You have space for two cherry tomato plants and one beefsteak, but each variety comes in a package of four. What do you do with the extras? First, are you sure you don’t have space? You don’t need a lot of space to garden. Containers aren’t just for flowers; you can plant vegetables in containers, too. One local gardener I met planted fruit trees in containers….
by Connie Oswald Stofko Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just beginning to grow vegetables, you’ll find great tips here from Jen Weber, vice president and manager of Mike Weber Greenhouses, 42 French Rd., West Seneca. She covers the basics– vegetables need sun– to more random tricks– always plant very hot peppers in containers. Browse through these tips to see how you can improve your vegetable garden this year. Find a sunny space Most vegetables need six straight hours of sun….
Your supermarket may call them yams, but they are probably sweet potatoes, according to an article in the latest issue of WNY Gardening Matters. A true “sweet potato” is not a yam. And a sweet potato isn’t a potato, either. Find out more about sweet potatoes and yams in this article by Carol Ann Harlos. Other articles in this issue are: Not Your Grandmother’s Houseplants Anymore by Vicki Bruning MG Volunteer Meeting Speaker: Dave Zittel by Carol Ann Harlos…
by Connie Oswald Stofko If you’re one of those Western New York gardeners who like to plant your tender vegetables during Mother’s Day weekend, I hope you checked the forecast first. Last night we had a frost advisory for all of Western New York. Tender vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, can’t tolerate frost! In fact, they want nights–nights, not days– that are at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It will be a few days before we see even daytime…
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