Cornell Cooperative Extension

Columbia and Greene Counties
Master Gardener volunteer conducts a pH soil test on a soil sample
Image by Sandy Repp

A soil pH test is a great first step to successful gardening.

Produce at a farm stand
Image by Sandy Repp

Find recommended varieties of vegetables that grow well in our area!

Striped cucumber beetle Acalymma vittatum (Fabricius, 1775) from Bugwood.org
Image by David Cappaert, MSU, Bugwood.org

What's eating your plants? We can help you find out, and suggest ways to control it!

Gardening

Our offices are closed for the foreseeable future but don't worry, we can still answer your gardening questions. Please email your questions to Donna Peterson, Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator, at dmp234@cornell.edu and she'll connect you to one of our Master Gardeners. Stay well!

DIgging In with Master Gardeners Radio Show logo

Radio Show featuring CCE Master Gardener Volunteers

Tune in to WGXC on 90.7 for Digging In with Master Gardeners, a radio show that includes conversations about multiple seasonal gardening issues. Access recordings here.

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Spotted Lanternfuly has recently been found in New York State

Spotted Lanternfly

The NYS Dept. of Agriculture & Markets recently confirmed that the invasive spotted lanternfly has been found in Delaware County, New York. The pest targets ailanthus trees and attacks a variety of crops (grapes, hops apples and forest products).

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Brown Marmorated Stink Bug on leaf

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is native to Asia, and was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2001. It produces an unpleasant smell indoors, and can damage shade and fruit trees, vegetables and legumes.

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Black-tailed deer grazing by the roadside in Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington [public domain].

Deer Resistant Plants

Is there anything they won't eat? Although no plant is completely "deer proof", we've compiled a chart of deer-resistant varieties that may avoid their browsing.

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fresh compost

Making Compost!

Find resources here on how to start and maintain a home compost bin! Learn how to turn food and yard waste into "black gold" for your garden!

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agrugula sprouts in soil

Test Your Soil!

Learn the correct way to gather soil for a soil test at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties

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Contact

Donna Peterson
Program Coordinator, Community Horticulture
dmp234@cornell.edu
518-828-3346 ext.106

Last updated July 24, 2020

Gardening

Capital Area Agricultural and Horticultural Program (CAAHP)

The CAAHP program is a regional program supported by the Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Albany, Columbia, Greene, Schenectady and Washington Counties as well as Cornell University. This regional agricultural team provides agricultural producers, processors, and the industry with high quality educational programs and cutting edge research-based information.  You can find more information on our website as well as the CAAHP website for additional details on their programs and services.

Find Your Zone!

NYS Hardiness Map

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map helps gardeners and growers determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. For the first time, the map is available as an interactive GIS-based map, for which a broadband Internet connection is recommended. Users may also simply type in a ZIP Code and find the hardiness zone for that area.

image to use when linking to the USDA Web Soil Survey at: http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/HomePage.htm 200px wide for use in SIDEBAR

The USDA Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. Use their online tool to see soil type data over an aerial map of Columbia or Greene Counties.

An update on Soil Samples and Ticks submitted to CCE.

While we are closed to the public, we're still testing soil samples and identifying ticks. We have drop boxes outside both Hudson and Acra offices. Please use the updated instructions on these pages to help maintain safe social distancing practices.

Tick Identification

Soil Samples

Blueberry Diagnostic Tool

Here is information on blueberries if you have a problem with leaves that are unusually colored, spotted or necrotic (browning).  From Cornell's College of Ag and Life Sciences (CALS). 

Insect Diagnostic Lab

decorative chart of insects

For more information about an insect, or how to deal with an insect problem in or around your home or garden, contact the Insect Diagnostic Lab, a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension in the Department of Entomology. For a $25 fee, an insect or related arthropod can be shipped to the lab, or a detailed photo can be emailed, for expert identification. Diagnostician Jason Dombroskie, Ph.D. has many years o fexperience identifying insects and other arthropods. More information about this service, including fact sheets on common outdoor and indoor insects, can be found at http://idl.entomology.cornell.edu/