Cornell Cooperative Extension

Columbia and Greene Counties
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

Gardening Questions and Soil Testing!

The Master Gardener Volunteers are available to answer calls at 518-622-9820 x212. Please leave a detailed message. You can also reach us anytime by emailing [email protected]. Photographs are helpful.

We also test soil pH. Please note this is a very busy time for soil testing and we have a limited number of volunteers to help. Turnaround could take up to a week. $5.00 for the first sample and $1 for each additional sample. Call 518-828-3346 x106 for more information. 

If you are looking for information on jumping worms, go to this website page.  

Become a Master Gardener

Learn how to become a Master Gardener.

Ticks submitted to CCE.

You may drop off a tick for identification.  We do not test for diseases.  If you'd like to have a tick tested, please go to TickReport and follow the directions to submit a tick. 

Tick Identification

nature calls logo, master gardener logo

Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley

A weekly podcast by the Master Gardener Volunteers.

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Spotted Lanternfuly has recently been found in New York State

Spotted Lanternfly

The invasive spotted lanternfly has been found in counties across NY State. Learn how to identify and control it here.

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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

Make 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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Last updated July 8, 2025

Gardening

Find Your Zone!

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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.

Events

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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/