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

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. 

Whole Farm Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Planning (CAMP) Series

January 27 - February 17, 2026
Jan 27, Feb 3, Feb 10, Feb 17 | 11:30 am - 1:00 pm

Please join Ulster County CCE and CCE Harvest New York for a free four-part webinar and workshop series focused on building climate resilience on your farm. We will cover climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, learn how to access locally relevant historical climate data, and begin a climate adaptation plan or disaster preparedness plan for your farm.

By the end of the series, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to identify vulnerabilities in their operations, determine which strategies best address the issue, and secure funding to support project implementation. 

Tuesday, January 27, 2026, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

The Urban Farmer-to-Farmer Summit (TUFFS) 2026

February 4, 2026
2:30 pm - 5:00 pm
New York, NY

Join us for the 6th annual TUFFS! Every winter since 2021, the NYC urban farm community comes together for an afternoon of conversations and show-and-tell, an opportunity to see what other urban farmers have been working on, to ask questions, and to share what went well for you this year (and what didn't). It's also the biggest NYC CRAFT event of the year, a veritable who's-who of the city's urban farm scene, and a great place to connect with the only other people who really understand what it's like to farm in New York City.

This year's TUFFS is at Pace University, including a tour of the campus' farm project. 

Announcements