Gardening Best Practices

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Native Plants in your garden

Native plants are the best choices for Long Island gardeners. Not only are they vigorous and attractive, but native plants support our pollinators. Discover the increasing array of handsome native plants that can you can incorporate in your landscape.

Gardening with Deer

There are beautiful plants deer don’t like to eat! Incorporate these perennials, annuals and shrubs in your landscape to create an attractive yard with three seasons of bloom. Also learn about physical and scent strategies to reduce deer browsing in your yard.

The Magic of Compost

Compost is a residential win-win for increasing soil health and for reducing the volume of waste headed to a municipal landfill. Learn 4 different types of composting methods in this workshop, including outside and indoor composting, aerobic and anaerobic techniques, worm and lasagna approaches.

The Art of Saving Seeds

This year's seeds can be next year's bounty. Save time and money by discovering which of your seeds can be saved for reproducing the same plant in the following season. Learn when to collect and process your seeds. Tips on proper labeling and storage methods will also be discussed.

Lawns Love Fall

Early fall is the perfect time to give your lawn a makeover! Learn how to make your lawn a more environmentally friendly green space while maintaining a healthy and attractive landscape. Grass seed features, mowing, watering and organic amendments will be discussed. Suitable groundcovers and other plantings will be introduced as complements and alternatives to turf grass.

The Secrets of Soil

Soil is the underlying secret of garden success. Explore what your vegetables, flowers and shrubs need for healthy growth. Discover how to grow more productive ornamental and edible plants in your landscape.Learn what improves soil structure, fertility and water retention. Get ready to get your hands dirty.

Landscape Troubleshooting

Become a plant detective! Follow the lead of the Cornell Diagnostic Lab staff in discovering how a picture from your yard tells a story about disease, pests or horticulture practices that could interfere with growth. Learn how to identify what’s up with your plants. This fun and informative presentation includes a question and-answer session with a plant expert who will help you solve some of your own landscape issues. A picture is worth a thousand words!

Lawn Alternatives

Whether you want to reduce the size of your lawn or replace it, there are many handsome choices including weed-suppressive groundcovers, ornamental grasses, perennials, and shrubs.Take this opportunity to give your front or back yard greater biodiversity by attracting more pollinators as you enhance landscape composition and appearance.

Winter Seed Sowing

Winter is the time to start seeding, but NOT indoors. Learn how to successfully start seeds OUTSIDE in the winter. No greenhouse needed. Winter sowing techniques outside are easier than the windowsill or with light lamps in the basement.

Drip Irrigation is Ideal

Whether you’re growing flowers or food, drip irrigation is the most effective way to water garden beds. Learn how to design and install a drip irrigation system that’s right for you, starting with understanding the flow of water from your supply to your plants. Leave with basic knowledge of how to design and install it yourself, and with enough knowledge to oversee installation by a contractor.

Organic Gardening

When you garden organically, the gardener feeds the soil, the soil feeds the plants, and the plants reward the gardener.Learn about improving your soil’s health, role of compost, sanitation and other best organic practices.

Best Planting and Pruning Practices

This presentation addresses how to choose a good specimen, how to properly transplant container-grown, balled and burlapped, and bare-root trees and shrubs. Cultural care such as pruning and fertilization is addressed as well. Contact Mina Vescera, Extension Educator: Nursery/Landscape Specialist via email mv365@cornell.edu

Woody Plant Nutrition and Fertilization

Not all fertilizers are equal. Timing, growth stage of the plant, soil health, and species all determine fertilization practices. This presentation will review the many types of fertilizers from organic to water soluble and how to best use them in your garden. Contact Mina Vescera, Extension Educator: Nursery/Landscape Specialist via email mv365@cornell.edu

Pruning Practically

Pruning trees and shrubs is an important practice. This presentation will teach you how to not butcher your plants, but instead to support their health and beauty with timely pruning done correctly. Contact Mina Vescera, Extension Educator: Nursery/Landscape Specialist, via email mv365@cornell.edu

Last updated October 31, 2023