I was interested in learning more about Pumpkins recently because our Master Gardener group is preparing for a Pumpkin Palooza event, October 12, at Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension during the annual Lions Club Scarecrow Fest.
Master Gardener Articles
The Art of Seed Saving
Reclaiming Our Inheritance Somewhere along the way, we shifted away from saving our own seeds and became dependent on the commercial garden industry instead. We rely on hybrid and patented seeds and plants, which we have to purchase year after year, and we lost track of the self-sustaining...
October Garden Checklist
Prepare for Frost, but Keep Growing Keep some overnight frost protection handy for vegetables, annuals and tropical plants that can’t easily be moved inside. You can use blankets, sheets, towels, or frost fabric to cover these tender plants when nighttime temperatures dip. They’ll be effective until...
Clean Up in the Toolroom
Clean up, clean up! Children hear the song in their toy room, but this refrain applies as well to garden tool care. After having invested effort and funds in finding tools that serve your needs, you want to maintain them. Spending a short amount of time, both on a daily basis and as the season...
Goodness Gracious Galls!
What are galls? Galls are underappreciated aspects of the ecosystem. Galls are the ultimate specialized relationship. They need their host plant, aid in biodiversity and do little harm to the plants they need. They are abnormal growths in a plant’s leaves, twigs flowers, or roots, often caused by...
From Bowling Alone to Growing Together
In his landmark book "Bowling Alone," sociologist Robert Putnam painted a troubling picture of American civic life. While more people were bowling than ever before, participation in bowling leagues had collapsed. The metaphor captured something profound: we had become a society of individuals...
November Garden Checklist
Garlic and shallots can go into the ground as late as mid-November for harvest in July. Choose a well-drained site in your garden, and be sure to amend it with compost to give these heavy feeders a solid start. We still have time to plant spring-blooming flower bulbs, too. Get spring-blooming bulbs...