Vegetable IPM: Gardening From the Ground Up

April 27 - April 28, 2021


Join the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program and other garden lovers the mornings of Tuesday, April 27, and Wednesday, April 28 for important information related to vegetable gardens.

Open to the public via Zoom. Registered participants will receive a flash-drive containing all resources mentioned during the conference upon completing an evaluation after the meeting.

COST
In order to make this meeting accessible to as many people as possible, we invite participants to pay what they can afford:
• $10 (a subsidized rate)
• $15 (covers the cost of the meeting)
• $20 (supports others who wish to attend)

We'd love your attendance. If the subsidized rate poses a barrier, please email Debra Marvin. ALL registrants who complete an emailed evaluation after the meeting will be mailed a flash drive with all meeting resources.

REGISTRATION LINKS
To pay with a Credit Card
To pay with a Check

AGENDA
Morning 1:  Tuesday, April 27
8:30 Gather that morning beverage, get comfortable, and join in for a morning filled with information to fuel this year's dreams of growing your own vegetables.

8:50 Welcome and Introductory Remarks from Cornell Cooperative Extension and the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program

9:00 Keynote: What's the Draw of Gardening? - Don Gabel, Director of Plant Health, New York Botanic Garden

9:30-9:55 IPM and Organic: What do They Mean for Home Gardeners? - Abby Seaman, Vegetable IPM Coordinator, NYSIPM Program

10:00-10:05 What's Bugging You & Don't Get Ticked, New York: Resources from NYSIPM - Joellen Lampman, School and Turfgrass IPM Extension Support Specialist, NYSIPM Program

10:05-10:10 Gardening Through the Seasons - Jennie Cramer, Horticulture Program Manager, CCE Tompkins County

10:15-10:40 Setting Up the Garden (Planning for Success) - Steve Reiners, Professor and Horticulture Section Chair, School of Integrative Plant Science Horticulture Section, Cornell AgriTech

10:40-10:50 Break; Get up and stretch if you haven't already

10:50-11:15 From the Ground Up - Soil is Key (Test? Amend?) - Joseph Heller, Urban Conservationist, USDA

11:20-11:25 Composting - Adam Michaelides, Compost Educator, CCE Tompkins County

11:30-11:55 Choosing Resistant Varieties, Seed Starting, Buying Transplants - Sharon Bachman, Agriculture & Natural Resources Educator, CCE Erie County

12:15-12:45 Lunch Chats: Join others for an informal chat, question and answer session over 'virtual' lunch tables. Limited seating per breakout room. Registered attendees will receive an email the week before the conference to choose their preferred topics, first-come…first served. Topics hosted and monitored by Guest Speakers, Cornell Cooperative Extension and New York State Integrated Pest Management Staff.

Morning 2: Wednesday, April 28
8:30 Settle in for today's great topics

8:50 Welcome from Cornell Cooperative Extension and the NYS Integrated Pest Management Program

9:00-9:25 Scouting, Monitoring- How to ID Insect and Disease Pests - Marion Zuefle, Vegetable Educator NYSIPM Program

9:30-9:55 Watering, Weather, Irrigation and Weather Stations - Dan Olmstead, NEWA Coordinator (Network for Environment and Weather Applications), NYSIPM Program

10:00-10:05 Cornell Garden-based Learning: Using Cornell Cooperative Extension's Online Resources - Ashley Helmholdt, Extension Associate, School of Integrative Plant Science Horticulture Section

10:05-10:10 Permaculture Design Resources - Ashley Helmholdt, Extension Associate, School of Integrative Plant Science Horticulture Section

10:15-10:40 Weeding Smarter, Not Harder - Bryan Brown, Integrated Weed Management Specialist, NYSIPM Program

10:40-10:50 Break

10: 50-11:15 Beneficial Bug Basics - Amara Dunn, Biocontrol Specialist, NYSIPM Program

11:20-11:25 Paying for Home Garden installations? - Leigh McGonagle, CNLP / Owner & Designer at Poplar Point Studio

11:30-11:55 Non-Traditional Gardening: Urban Settings, Imported Soils, and Container Options - Yolanda Gonzalez, Urban Agriculture Specialist, CCE Harvest New York

12:00 Thank you for your attendance: We'll follow up with an online survey. Please complete the emailed survey so we can mail your flash drive full of the great information and links provided by the conference!

2025 Agroforestry Field Day Series -- Agroforestry Implementation and Management

October 23, 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Highland, NY

Interested in incorporating agroforestry practices into your farm? Join us for a series of workshops co-hosted by CCE Ulster, Orange, and Harvest NY with Mastwood Farms, Black Creek Farm and Nursery and Scenic Hudson. 

On October 23, we'll return to Erik Schellenberg's farm, Black Creek Farm and Nursery, for a Fall tour of their agroforestry plantings. Erik will talk about harvesting and managing plantings while we see some seasonal crops and installations of different ages and types. There will be time for questions and discussion as we wrap up the series. covered.

Soil Health 101 for Community Gardens -- A Bilingual Workshop

October 24, 2025
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Staten Island, NY

Join Urban Agriculture Specialists, Karen Guzman and Yolanda Gonzalez, as they discuss the importance of soil health and testing your soil as you prepare for the incoming growing season. They will go into strategies for best practices when it comes to soil health management and highlight the current soil testing program through NYSDAM and CCE. This workshop will be in both Spanish and English.

Biochar 101 for Community Gardens (Upper Manhattan)

October 25, 2025
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Upper Manhattan, NY

Join Karen Guzman and Dr. Rebecca Nelson of Cornell University, Bill Hilgendorf of White Feather Farm, and the NYRP Urban Ag team for a deep dive into biochar as a tool for waste management, carbon storage, and soil health in a community garden context. During this hands-on workshop, participants will have the chance to make biochar using garden waste and learn about best practices when applying it to a garden bed. Workshop attendees will all receive a small amount of biochar to take back to their garden.

Space is limited. Pre-registration required.

New Produce Auctions in NYS!

With the opening of the new Augusta Produce Auction on August 19th, New York State now has 11 produce auctions! See the new map of produce auction locations across the state and contact information.

New York Urban Farms Sustainable Pest Management Fact Sheet Series

Cornell Cooperative Extension has partnered with dozens of urban farms across New York State to demonstrate and evaluate sustainable pest management strategies. Together with farmers, we found success using control methods that prevent or reduce crop losses through exclusion strategies, crop timing, host resistance, the introduction of beneficial organisms, and more. Regardless of management strategy used, common requirements for success include a knowledge of the pest and disease complex, preventative deployment and commitment to the process. The New York Urban Farms Sustainable Pest Management Fact Sheet Series includes case studies highlighting pest management techniques that New York urban farms have found valuable.