Cornell Cooperative Extension

Chenango County
Flowers in Minns Garden, Cornell Campus. Echinacea. Cornell University Photography.
Image by Lindsay France

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

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.

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, red and black

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

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Gardening & Horticulture

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango 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! We offer free or low-cost gardening classes and tours all year long, and opportunities to share your love of gardening as a volunteer! Call us or come by today! 

Kitchen garden in Gers, France with marigolds, tomatoes and trellises

Food Gardening

Interested in having your own vegetable garden, at home or in your neighborhood? Find links and resources here that will help get you started.

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Black-tailed deer grazing by the roadside in Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington [public domain].

Deer Resistant Plants

Is there anything they won't eat? Although no plant is completely "deer proof", we've compiled a chart of deer-resistant varieties that may avoid their browsing.

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Japanese maple, Acer palmatum Thunb.

Lawns & Ornamentals

Our resources on annuals, perennials, lawns, trees and shrubs can help you have a more beautiful home landscape.

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Houseplant

Houseplants

Growing plants indoors can be difficult, but here are some links that may be helpful in making you successful at growing plants indoors:

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Striped cucumber beetle Acalymma vittatum (Fabricius, 1775) from Bugwood.org

Pests & IPM

IPM is a system for managing pest problems using a range of safe, least-toxic methods. Find IPM resources here!

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close-up photo of soil after tilling

Soils & Climate

Your garden soil and our local climate have a big impact on every aspect of growing plants. Find resources here on soil texture, organic matter, soil testing and more.

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Contact

Whitney Kmetz
Community Health and Wellness Supervisor
wdg43@cornell.edu
(607) 334-5841 ext. 1132

Last updated March 27, 2024

Gardening & Horticulture


Find Your Zone!

2012 USDA Hardiness Zone Map

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.

Insect Diagnostic Lab

U.S. postage stamps of spiders and insects, used on the Cornell Insect Diagnostic Lab website; 200px wide to use as an image for a sidebar link to their site at: http://entomology.cornell.edu/IDL

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 ofexperience 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/

Remake of Cornell Garden Based Learning image, 850x425, to link to their website at: http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/

Events

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Home Gardening Resources

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In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the “JUST PLANT IT, NY!” campaign is making free and available to the public resources from the CCE Master Gardener Volunteer program and Cornell Garden-Based Learning program for new vegetable gardeners, with time and access to seeds, soil and a few low-budget tools!

Do you have a college student home from school that needs something to do, or a school aged child going stir crazy? Put their energy and yours into starting a garden for physical, mental and environmental health with the following resources, and know we are growing through this together!