News and Views from the Empire State
Hit and miss rain showers and scattered thunderstorms have provided much of the precipitation over the New York State during this past month.
This has allowed some locations to maintain an adequate level of soil moisture while causing conditions in other places to become especially dry. [Read more…] about In The Dirt: Earthworms and Drought
You’ve probably seen these little fourteen-legged chimeras at some point, though you may not have paid them any mind since you were a kid.
Part shrimp, part kangaroo, and part armadillo, the ubiquitous pill bug (Armadillidium vulgare) is a harmless, if sometimes annoying, critter which scuttles about at night feeding on dead vegetation.
Also known as potato bugs or roly-polys, these are the guys that pull themselves into a tight little ball for protection when disturbed. [Read more…] about Pill Bugs: A Primer
I’ve been wary of lawns since about 1970 when I saw a public-service TV ad which featured a leafy green bundle dropping into an eerily vacant playground. A baritone, God-like voice issued a dire warning, something like: “Grass. We think it’s bad for kids. Stay away from it.”
My five-year-old mind rejected Mom’s account that some grass was bad but ours was OK, because she wouldn’t give any details about the bad stuff. It was a few days before I ventured onto the lawn again. [Read more…] about Keeping the Grass High
June 22-28 is National Pollinator Week and one of New York State’s important pollinator friendly species is Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium spp.), a native essential for any garden seeking to attract and help pollinators.
According to legend, Joe Pye was a Native American herbalist who used local plants to cure a variety of illnesses including typhoid fever. For years, it was unknown if Joe Pye was a real person or a botanical myth, that is until research confirmed the plant’s name originated from the nickname of Joseph Shauquethqueat, a Mohican chief who lived in Massachusetts and New York in the 18th and early 19th centuries. [Read more…] about NY Natives: Joseph Shauquethqueat’s Joe Pye Weed
The old saying “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” has been a great comfort to me over the years, since I figure that means the road to heaven is paved with bad thoughts, which are usually easy to come by.
Since ancient times, we have built all manner of roads, highways, byways, boulevards, terraces, turnpikes, tow-paths, and bike paths. But given the astonishing pace at which our native pollinator populations are dwindling, it’s a critical time to blaze a new kind of road. A pathway, to be specific. [Read more…] about Pollinator Pathways Stamp Out Neatness
Cornell Cooperative Extension has announced a virtual program on Worm Composting, set for Thursday, June 18th at 2 pm. [Read more…] about Worm Composting at Home: A Tutorial
Lambsquarters, Chenopodium album, aka pig weed, fat hen, goose foot. The name lamb’s quarters believed to be associated with “Lammas Quarter,” an ancient English festival that was held at the time this plant, or its relative orache, was harvested.
The name Chenopodium album translates as: cheno “goose,” podium “foot,” and album “white,” referring to the shape of the leaf resembling a goose’s foot and the color of the leaf’s underside. White – goose- foot. [Read more…] about History’s Editable ‘Weed’: Lambs Quarters
Some people have life birds, species of birds they’ve waited their whole lives to see in the wild. I don’t have one of these, but I do have a life mole. I’ve been waiting to catch a glimpse of Condylura cristata, the star-nosed mole, ever since I learned about this animal during a small mammals course in graduate school.
Can you imagine a palm-sized mole whose pink, star-shaped nose contains 22 fleshy tentacle-like appendages, living right underfoot? [Read more…] about Star-Nosed Mole: A Nose That Knows
Grow-it-yourself food. During this time of pandemic it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? Especially if you are, like me, extremely apprehensive about the possibility of becoming exposed to Covid-19 while grocery shopping. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to avoid going out in public, while securing nutritious food, than growing your own. [Read more…] about Victory Gardens: An Old Idea New Again
While many of us are spending extra time at home, now is the perfect time to start planning a vegetable garden.
Whether it be your first time planting a garden or you have been doing it for years, planning what you are going to plant and when will result in a more successful growing season as well allow you to plan ahead for needed seeds, plants, and supplies. [Read more…] about Start Planning Your Vegetable Garden