Vegetable links

Cornell's Vegetable Growing Guide

The Gardener's Handbook

NY Guide to Farm Fresh Products

Food Safety Begins on the Farm

Organic Crops Fact Sheets

Choose the best Vegetable Varieties for Home Gardens.

Need to know how much fertilizer or lime to add? Learn how to test your soil. (pdf)

Vegetable Pests

Managing Insect Pests in the Vegetable Garden

Biological Pest Control for Vegetables

North Carolina Vegetable Insects Notes

Cucurbit Disease Calendar

Tomato Disease identification guide

Pest Management Guide for Vegetables

Photo gallery of major weeds

Weed identification from University of Missouri

Grass Weed Identification

Resources for Youth

Cornell Farm to School Program

Ag in the Classroom

Frequently Asked Questions

Look in the links above for a specific topic or scan the questions below. Questions are arranged by date so you may want to jump down to the month when you are experiencing trouble. Follow the links within the answers for a complete description of the insect/disease cycle and discussion on causes and control.

A. Because of food safety concerns from the E. coli bacteria, vegetables should not be harvested within 120 days of manure application. Properly composted manure that has been regularly turned and heated is less of a risk. This bacteria is frequently found at low levels in NY dairy herds. It can cause gastrointestinal distress in healthy people but can cause kidney failure and death in the very young, the very old, and in anyone who’s immune system is compromised. To minimize pathogen contamination to production and harvest of fresh produce, follow these guidelines:

• In fall- apply manure to all planned vegetable ground, preferably when soils are warm (>50°F), non-saturated, and cover cropped.
• In spring- incorporate manure two weeks prior to planting.
• Whenever possible, incorporate manure.
• Do NOT harvest produce within 120 days after manure application.
• Keep records of application rates, source, and dates.
• Choose Crops Carefully
  • Avoid root / leafy crops if manure is applied in spring.
  • Plant perennials crops where manure is applied in spring.

Another product used for fertilizer is Milorganite, which is a sewage sludge product and, in New York, should not be applied to vegetable gardens. Find out more about Home use of Milorganite.

Damping-off (phytophthora blight) causes the collapse of young seedlings at soil line due to an infection with a fungus. For seed starting, begin with sterile soil. Microwave 2-3 lbs of moist soil at full power for 150 seconds.

A. Cutworms cut off young vegetable stems near the ground. Cardboard collars can prevent damage.

Wildlife in gardens are almost impossible to "get rid" of completely, especially when you do not have control over nearby property. The first step is to cut tall grass and remove brush piles or other cover. Protect the vegetable garden from rabbits and woodchucks with chicken wire fencing with one inch or smaller mesh. Wire should be at least three feet tall. Install around garden and bend back six inches of fencing and bury below the soil. This will keep animals from crawling underneath the fence. Bend to top 15" out at a 45* angle to keep them from going over.

A. Tomato cracking may be due to inconsistent watering. Like if they went through a dry period before you began the 3x a day watering. The roma's seem to be affected by a condition called blossom end rot. This disease is caused by the inability of calcium to be transported due to one of three things; too little water, too much water, or cold temperatures. After those conditions are corrected, there is nothing to do for the black ends. Try to maintain consistent moisture by watering and/or using a mulch.

A. Your assumption is correct. You should cut off the curling top (it is called a scape). It will allow more energy to go into the bulb. Wait until the foliage turns yellow before digging the bulbs. Save some of the bulbs for planting in the fall. Selecting the largest cloves will produce larger bulbs next year. Plant cloves around the time of first fall frost. For more info on garlic go to Cornell's garden page on garlic

A. Slugs and snails are mainly active at night and eat the leaves of tender vegetables, annuals and perennials. Here are a few control options:

• Hand picking slugs can provide limited control, which can be tedious, but avoids the use of chemicals.
• Traps are a good option: shallow pans of stale beer, or yeast dissolved in water, placed in 1 inch deep pie pans or similar containers are very attractive to slugs- they crawl in and drown a "happy death". Pans should be placed about 10 feet apart throughout the garden and emptied and refilled as slugs accumulate, or as rain dilutes or the beer evaporates. Overturned grapefruit skins and old boards are sometimes used as traps. Slugs tend to accumulate under such places during the hottest, driest part of the day. Handpick and destroy slugs as found.
• Commercial slug poisons containing iron phosphate sold under the trade names Slug-go or Escar-go can be purchased. Baits are applied to the soil surface, not directly to plants. It is recommended to set out baits before plants are up or transplants are set out, as slugs are more likely to find and feed on baits when other food is not readily available. When using pesticides, always read the label. More on The Spotted Garden Slug (pdf).

A. The cause of your squash's lack of bloom could very well be an excess of nitrogen fertilizer, which can result in a plant with all leaves and few flowers. My suggestion is to use a fertilizer with a higher middle number, for example, 6-12-6, the middle number is a higher phosphate level. This will help promote flower development. Limit applications of rotted manure to fall. Dry soil and/or high temperatures (daytime temps over 90 F) can also cause blossoms to drop off.

Q. 8/2 Many of the leaves of my summer squash have yellow spots. And some leaves have white patches. Will this hurt my plants?

A. Powdery Mildew causes White, powdery growth on the upper or lower leaf surface of squash and pumpkin plants. Also, yellow spots may form on the upper leaf surface, opposite mildew growths on the under side of the leaf. Treat with fungicides when symptoms first appear. Try to select varieties resistant to powdery mildew next year.

Tomato late blight
Q. 8/21 My tomato plants have all died back. The tomatoes have black greasy-looking spots on them. Are the tomatoes safe to eat and how can I avoid this next year?

Late blight of tomatoes causes spots to develop on leaves and stems. Fruit develop brown greasy areas. And the entire plant can wither within days. Tomatoes may be used after cutting out blemishes. All plant material should be burned, or discarded. To prevent this disease next year, follow recommendations to minimize diseases and use protectant fungicides such as chlorothalonil, mancozeb or copper. Circumstantial evidence has shown that the varieties 'Juliet', 'early girl' and 'sweet 100' may have some resistance.

A. I would doubt that you are using up micro-nutrients to that extent. However you could bring a soil sample (pdf) to the office for testing just to be sure. And if you have been adding lime, maybe it's gone too high. Maybe it is just a lack of organic matter that has led to soil compaction. Oxygen is a much overlooked element that plants need and they get it through their roots. So the soil needs to be loose enough to "breath". Try adding organic matter in the form of compost, manure or cover crops. That and a soil test should get you back to consistent yields, as long as the weather cooperates. The procedure for taking a soil sample is below:

Use the proper sampling tools. There are two important requirements of a sampling tool: first, uniform slices of soil must be taken from the surface to the total depth of sampling (usually the plow layer), and second, the same depth and volume of soil should be taken from each soil core. Additionally, it is desirable to have a tool adaptable to various soil conditions from dry, sandy soils to moist, clayey soils. For a manageable quantity of soil from mixing, it is helpful if only a small volume of soil is removed form each spot. Tubes, augers, and spades are common tools used for sampling soil. Soil core tubes usually have a hardened steel cutting edge. To assist with the removal of the soil core, the tubes often have an open side. These tubes work well except in very dry or gravelly ground. The soil auger is the best tool for gravelly or hard soil conditions, but may be more time-consuming than a core tube. The soil auger is difficult to use in dry, sandy soils. Trowel and spades are widely used for topsoil sampling, but with them it is difficult to obtain a small constant soil volume from spot to spot. The technique for using a spade is to imitate the action of a core tube. Dig a small hole to the sampling depth, cutting a ½-inch-thick slice of soil from the face of the hole, then trimming both sides of the slice, leaving a 1-inch wide strip of soil in the middle of the spade to be mixed with about 10 to 15 other slices for the sample.

This publication may contain pesticide recommendations that are subject to change at any time. These recommendations are provided only as a guide. It is always the pesticide applicator's responsibility, by law, to read and follow all current label directions for the specific pesticide being used. Due to constantly changing labels and product registrations, some of the suggestions given in this writing may no longer be legal by the time you read them. If any information in these recommendations disagrees with the label, the recommendation must be disregarded. No endorsement is intended for products mentioned, nor is criticism meant for products not mentioned. The author and Cornell Cooperative Extension assume no liability resulting form the use of these guidelines.