Urban Ag Pest Updates: Twospotted Spider Mite

March 3, 2022


If you are an urban farmer in NYC and your tomato or cucumber leaves start showing small light-colored specks in summer, turning into yellowing, wilting, and "drying up," there's a good chance you have twospotted spider mites. The tiny yellow and black mites are the top pest of tomatoes in NYC, and can be a big problem for cucumbers, eggplant, beans, and various other crops grown both outdoors and indoors.

In this lunch session, CCE Urban Agriculture Specialist Sam Anderson will give an overview of what we know about twospotted spider mite in NYC, including how to recognize it early. We will see what has and hasn't worked for other urban farmers, and we will talk through some strategies you can try this year, leaving plenty of time for Q&A and farmer-to-farmer sharing. This is a free event!

NYS Mushroom Summit

December 5, 2025
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
New York, NY

The NYS Mushroom Summit, hosted by the Cornell Small Farms Program, will convene a regional network of mushroom farmers and educators from indoor, outdoor, and community production systems; restaurateurs, food creatives and chefs; and extension, government and industry representatives. This diverse group will work together to determine grower research and marketing needs, interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities, and community building initiatives. Group conversations and presentations will be structured around value added products, frontiers in mycology research, and peer-to-peer learning.

Pruning & Fruit Tree Health 101

December 13, 2025
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Cambria Heights, NY

Join us at Cambria Heights Community Garden for a free, hands-on workshop with CCE Harvest NY Urban Garden Specialist Karen Guzman. Participants will learn about basic tree maintenance and pruning techniques. Proper winter care helps trees conserve energy, prevent damage from cold weather, and prepare for growth in the spring.  

Pruning & Fruit Tree Health 101 (Flushing, NY)

January 25, 2026
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Flushing, NY

Join us at Ridgewood Community Garden for a free, hands-on workshop with CCE Harvest NY Urban Garden Specialist Karen Guzman. Participants will learn about basic tree maintenance and pruning techniques. Proper winter care helps trees conserve energy, prevent damage from cold weather, and prepare for growth in the spring. 

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.