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NYC Urban Growers Update

Last Modified: January 13, 2026

The NYC Urban Growers Update is an occasional email publication focused on production-oriented resources for NYC urban farmers who are growing for market or growing at a similar scale (e.g. nonprofit farms growing for food banks). Updates and announcements from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Urban Agriculture Program are provided too.

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2025 Archived Issues

NYC Urban Growers Update - November/December 2025
Winter pests / “late season weirdness”

NYC Urban Growers Update - July/August 2025
Heat stress / twospotted spider mite / brassica pests / pepper maggot

NYC Urban Growers Update - May 2025
Slugs / aphids / leafminer / flea beetles / roly-polys


2024 Archived Issues

11/11 – NYC Market Growers Update

8/26 – NYC Market Growers Update
Pepper maggot / aster yellows

7/3 – NYC Market Growers Update
Edema / spotted lanternfly / twospotted spider mite / blossom end rot

2/29 – NYC Market Growers Update
2024 Crop Planning Guide


2023 Archived Issues

9/25 – NYC Market Growers Update
Sunscald on peppers / basil chilling damage

6/5 – NYC Market Growers Update
Tomato brown rugose fruit virus / spotted lanternfly

4/27 – NYC Market Growers Update 
Spotted lanternfly / spinach leafminer / slugs

2/6 - NYC Market Growers Update
Downy mildew-resistant cucumbers and basil


2022 Archived Issues

11/11 - NYC Market Growers Update
Spotted lanternfly / aphids / downy mildew-resistant cucumbers

10/13 - NYC Market Growers Update
Basil chilling damage / aphids / cover crops

8/15 - Heads Up: Pest & Disease Alerts
Spotted lanternfly / twospotted spider mite / cucurbit downy mildew

6/16 - NYC Market Growers Update
Aphids / cabbageworm / onion thrips / twospotted spider mite / *guide to ordering predatory mites* / cabbage whitefly / bacterial leaf spot on peppers / bacterial speck on tomato

4/19 - NYC Market Growers Update
Brassica break and early season pests

2/24 - NYC Market Growers Update
2022 NYC Crop Planning Guide -- vegetable diseases, pests to watch for in 2022


2021 Archived Issues

12/3 - NYC Market Growers Update
announcements

11/12 - NYC Market Growers Update
ginger trial results

9/15 - NYC Market Growers Update
spotted lanternfly / brassica pests (cabbageworm, whitefly, harlequin bug) / tomato pests/diseases (twospotted spider mite, bacterial speck) / cucumber and squash pest/disease (downy mildew, powdery mildew, squash bug)

7/26 - NYC Market Growers Update
cabbage whitefly / cabbageworms / black rot / tomato diseases / onion thrips / pigweed flea beetle (callaloo) / basil downy mildew

7/14 - Heads Up: Cucumber Problems
cucurbit downy mildew / twospotted spider mite

5/19 - NYC Market Growers Update
farmer-to-farmer Slack channel / cabbage whitefly / pillbug (roly-poly) on radishes & turnips / spinach leafminer / flea beetles

1/8 - NYC Market Growers Update
ginger trials


2020 Archived Issues

8/7 - NYC Market Growers Update
twospotted spider mite / tomato diseases (bacterial canker & speck, fusarium) / brassica pests / black rot / flea beetle on callaloo

6/16 - NYC Market Growers Update
aphids / potato leafhopper

4/2 - NYC Market Growers Update
aphids on winter greens

2/19 - NYC Market Growers Update
2020 NYC Crop Planning Guide -- basil / cucumbers, squash, melons / tomatoes / kale, collards, other brassicas / peppers


2019 Archived Issues

12/03 - NYC Market Growers Update
NYC Agricultural Soil Survey / soil testing and nutrient levels

10/15 - NYC Market Growers Update
harlequin bug / cabbageworms / whitefly / cabbage aphids

09/19 - NYC Market Growers Update
basil downy mildew / twospotted spider mite / whitefly / cabbageworms / harlequin bug

07/26 - NYC Market Growers Update
Bacterial canker on tomatoes / blossom end rot and water stress / onion thrips 

07/18 - Heads Up: Twospotted Spider Mite

07/09 - NYC Market Growers Update
Black rot on brassicas /  basil downy mildew / bacterial diseases on tomatoes

06/11 - NYC Market Growers Update
early-season nutrient deficiencies / cabbageworms / flea beetles / potato leafhopper

05/01 - NYC Market Growers Update
tomato bacterial diseases / grafting cucumbers onto squash

03/15 - NYC Market Growers Update
NYC Agricultural Soil Survey / hydroponic nutrient deficiencies

02/22 - NYC Market Growers Update
cabbage aphids




Upcoming Events

Urban Agroforestry Summit

July 14, 2026
9:30 AM - 3:30 PM
New York, NY

Learn and network with urban agroforestry practitioners, service providers and city government partners on ways to scale agroforestry in NYC

Join the Cornell Small Farms Program and Harvest New York for the first annual NYC Urban Agroforestry Summit. Begin the day by learning from invited speakers who will explore the evolution, current landscape, and future potential of agroforestry within New York City's food systems and urban forestry initiatives.

Urban Tree Health: New Pest and Disease Challenges

July 24, 2026
8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Trees in urban environments can face unexpected challenges, including new insects and diseases. Join Cornell Integrated Pest Management, in collaboration with Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Cornell Cooperative Extension, to learn how to recognize and manage some of the most pressing IPM challenges in urban forests. 

Rochester Soil Health Day

September 1, 2026
4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Rochester, NY

Join Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY, New York State Soil Health, and Foodlink for interactive activities focused on soil health and an opportunity to get your garden soil screened for lead (reservation required).

Announcements