Cornell Cooperative Extension

Ontario County
seedlings in a flat
Image by Sandy Repp

Let us help you get started with vegetable gardening!

Master Gardener volunteer conducts a pH soil test on a soil sample
Image by Sandy Repp

A soil pH test is a great first step to successful gardening.

Produce at a farm stand
Image by Sandy Repp

Find recommended varieties of vegetables that grow well in our area!

Striped cucumber beetle Acalymma vittatum (Fabricius, 1775) from Bugwood.org
Image by David Cappaert, MSU, Bugwood.org

What's eating your plants? We can help you find out, and suggest ways to control it!

Master Gardener logo, green on white

Learn skills and share what you know, as a volunteer in the CCE Master Gardener program.

Gardening

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County is your resource for information on soils, site improvement, plant selection, proper plant care, eco-friendly practices, integrated pest management, composting and so much more! Our gardening services include soil testing; plant and insect ID; and plant disease and diagnostics.  Call us or come by today!

Master Gardener logo, green on white

Become A Master Gardener!

The Master Gardener Program is a national program of trained volunteers who work in partnership with their county Cooperative Extension office to extend information throughout their communities.

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Get the Gardening Newsletter: Inside Dirt!

Sign up now for our newsletter to receive timely horticultural tips, cultural practices, pest management and the latest research information!

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fresh compost

Make Compost!

Find resources here on how to start and maintain a home compost bin! Learn how to turn food and yard waste into "black gold" for your garden!

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Exotic Bush Honeysuckles

Invasive Plants

Many plants that are now considered invasive started out as popular garden ornamentals. Learn more about what plants to avoid in your garden.

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Contact

Russell Welser
Senior Resource Educator
rw43@cornell.edu
(585) 394-3977 x 436

Last updated April 6, 2024

Gardening

Gardening 2024

Cornell Annual Flower Trial Results

Videos
How to build a raised bed 

Vegetable gardening the basics part 1

Vegetable gardening the basics part 2

Make your lawn an attractive environment asset

Nuisance Wildlife

Tree for every site principles for good selection:

Unusual fruits and nuts basic:

Fact Sheets

Gypsy Moth Caterpillars

Pruning the Apple Tree

Pruning the Cherry Tree

Pruning Blueberries

Pruning Brambles

Pruning the Peach Tree

Training and Pruning The Grape

Guide for Limited Spray Program-Tree Fruits

Find Your Zone!

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The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map helps gardeners and growers determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. For the first time, the map is available as an interactive GIS-based map, for which a broadband Internet connection is recommended. Users may also simply type in a ZIP Code and find the hardiness zone for that area.

The USDA Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. Use their online tool to see soil type data over an aerial map of Ontario County.

Visit Cornell Garden Based Learning website

Events

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2023 Buy Local Guide

2023 Ontario County Buy Local Guide

2023 buy local guide cover 2

Insect Diagnostic Lab

For more information about an insect, or how to deal with an insect problem in or around your home or garden, contact the Insect Diagnostic Lab, a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension in the Department of Entomology. For a $25 fee, an insect or related arthropod can be shipped to the lab, or a detailed photo can be emailed, for expert identification. Diagnostician Jason Dombroskie, Ph.D. has many years o fexperience identifying insects and other arthropods. More information about this service, including fact sheets on common outdoor and indoor insects, can be found at http://idl.entomology.cornell.edu/