and Natural Resources

Cornell Cooperative Extension provides Putnam's residents with timely information about growing plants and caring for our valuable natural resources. With two-thirds of Putnam County lying within New York City Watershed and many residents relying on wells for their water, water quality is of great concern to people who work and live in Putnam County.

Share Your Enthusiasm for Feathered Friends
You can find out about feeding birds and join Project Feeder Watch, helping scientists keep track of bird numbers throughout North America, at:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/All AboutBirds/

Learn about Sudden Oak Death

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/pest_al/sodeast/sodeast.htm

http://kellylab.berkeley.edu/SODmonitoring/

Green Lawns Clean Water
In response to growing concerns about water quality in Putnam County, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam and Westchester Counties and Cornell University have teamed up to provide educational workshops for its residents. A twelve-month Lawn Care, Water Quality Almanac can be purchased or viewed on the web at: http://www.lawn.cornell.edu/almanac. For more information about the program in Putnam County follow the Lawn Ranger link to the left.

Recycling and Composting
Putnam People Recycle! Cornell Cooperative Extension, in partnership with Putnam County Department of Solid Waste educates the public with information on composting of kitchen, garden and yard wastes. Cornell Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener Volunteers maintain a composting demonstration in front of Putnam County Department of Motor Vehicles.
For more information about Recycling in Putnam County go to the county's website at: http://www.putnamcountyny.com Click DEPARTMENTS and then RECYCLING.

Helping you solve your gardening problems
Cornell Cooperative Extension will help you solve your own gardening problems. We operate a Horticulture Hotline where Putnam County residents can call our office for gardening advice and information. Call 845-278-6738, Monday to Friday from 9 am to 12 noon.

We will even help you with your non-gardening questions. Such as dealing with wildlife, insect identification and control, and water conservation and quality issues. If we cannot help you, our staff will do what we can to find the answer or put you in touch with someone who can.

For the 2008 Selected List of Vegetable Varieties for Home Garden Use in New York State please go to http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/vegetables/vegvar.pdf

Plant Diagnostic Lab
We also operate a small plant disease and insect diagnostic lab. For a fee of $10.00 our staff will identify the problem and offer least toxic corrective measures. (Some samples must be forwarded to Cornell University's Diagnostic Labs for further analysis.) Call the office for more details.

Soil Testing … A good idea!
Happy plants need a healthy soil. Regularly testing your soil will provide valuable information on soil health, and what needs to be done … if anything. Call the office at 845-278-6738 to learn more about tests available and how they can help you grow plants.

Horticulture Forms for Submitting Samples

Gardening Resources on Campus
Cornell University's Department of Horticulture has a wealth on information on its Gardening website. Follow the link to explore this growing website and book mark it. It is regularly updated. http://www.gardening.cornell.edu

For information about how the Master Gardener Volunteers of Putnam County can help you, follow the link.

• Master Gardeners

To find out how Cornell Cooperative Extension helps the Commercial Horticulture Industry in Putnam, follow the link.

• Commercial Horticulture

If you have found the services provided by Cornell Cooperative Extension useful, consider donating to the program by going to donation request.

Last updated: June 16, 2008