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gardening

Annual DEC Tree and Shrub Seedling Sale Underway

January 7, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Staff from DEC's Division of Lands and Forests sort bare-root seedlings at the Nursery during the annual spring saleThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery has kicked off its annual spring seedling sale, which is open to the public and runs until May 12th.

Each year, the tree nursery offers for sale dozens of low-cost, New York-grown tree and shrub species to help implement large-scale conservation plantings across the state. [Read more…] about Annual DEC Tree and Shrub Seedling Sale Underway

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Events, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: gardening, Saratoga Tree Nursery, trees

Gardening With Gas

September 26, 2020 by Paul Hetzler 2 Comments

2014 oil spill in Israels Evrona Nature Reserve provided by Society for the Protection of Nature in IsraelAdequate nitrogen, plenty of organic matter, a dependable rototiller and other attributes coveted by gardeners are the same things that oil-spill remediation engineers need as well. This should not come as a surprise, given that three-fourths of “soil” is “oil.”

Although bulk-storage facilities, tanker semi-trucks and train cars are occasionally the source of oil or gasoline spills, it’s surprising how often faulty home-heating oil tanks or even a leaky auto gas tank lead to significant soil and water contamination. [Read more…] about Gardening With Gas

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: gardening, nature

Tour of Southampton’s Gardens Set

August 17, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Peconic Bay View by Averitt Buttry 2020The Southampton History Museum has announced “An Outsider’s View,” a tour of Southampton and North Sea gardens and landscape settings, set for Saturday, September 12th, from 1 to 4 pm.

With designs ranging from a structured formal garden of clipped hedges and detailed gates to a waterfront cottage garden bursting with flowers and native flora, each setting will provide a look at the interplay between the landscape and the home’s architecture and history. [Read more…] about Tour of Southampton’s Gardens Set

Filed Under: Arts, Events, History, New York City Tagged With: Architecture, gardening, Landscape Architecture, Southampton, Southampton Historical Museum

In The Dirt: Earthworms and Drought

July 19, 2020 by Tom Kalinowski 1 Comment

Earthworm courtesy Wikimedia user ArunaHit 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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New Exhibits, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: drought, gardening, Invasive Species, nature, Wildlife

Pill Bugs: A Primer

July 1, 2020 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

Pill Bug courtesy Wikimedia user Franco FoliniYou’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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: gardening, insects, nature, Wildlife

Keeping the Grass High

June 27, 2020 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

blades of grassI’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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: gardening, nature, Wildlife

NY Natives: Joseph Shauquethqueat’s Joe Pye Weed

June 25, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Joe Pye weed by Danielle BrigidaJune 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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: gardening, Medical History, Native American History, Native Plants, nature, pollinators, Wildlife

Pollinator Pathways Stamp Out Neatness

June 20, 2020 by Paul Hetzler 1 Comment

sweat bee on dandelion - Scott Bauer - USDA Agricultural Research Service - Bugwood.orgThe 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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: gardening, insects, nature, pollinators, Wildlife

Worm Composting at Home: A Tutorial

June 17, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

worm composting provided by CornellCornell 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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Events, Food, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: composting, Cornell Cooperative Ext, gardening

History’s Editable ‘Weed’: Lambs Quarters

June 3, 2020 by Pat Banker Leave a Comment

Leaf shape showing white dusty underside

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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Cornell Cooperative Ext, Food, gardening, Native Plants, wild food

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