Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County

Are you enjoying u-pick berry season?

One easy way to enjoy berries months later is to freeze them. Simply wash, dry, and spread berries in a single layer on a baking sheet and carefully place in the freezer. Once the berries have become frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container and label them with the date. This keeps them from clumping together, and you can grab just what you need. Frozen berries are best used within 8–12 months for the best quality.

For more food preservation information, visit our website here: https://monroe.cce.cornell.edu/nutrition/food-preservation

Are you seeing what we are seeing? Many of the maple trees in the area are developing unsightly black leaf spots, and the foliage is turning brown and dropping rapidly.

This aesthetic damage is caused by a combination of the fungal pathogens ‘tar spot’ and ‘anthracnose’. Tar spots, raised black spots on the upper surfaces of maple leaves, appear on maples in early summer as light green or pale-yellow spots. As the season progresses, the yellow color intensifies to black tar-like spots. Tar spot alone is rarely serious enough to be detrimental to the overall health of infected trees. But as the infection progresses, trees become unsightly. If infected maple leaves begin to crinkle and turn brown, anthracnose, another common disease of maple, may also be present.

You can reduce the number of overwintering fungi by raking and destroying infected leaves in the fall. The application of fungicides is not practical because complete coverage of all infected leaf surfaces is necessary, and that can be extremely difficult and costly.

Did wildfire smoke from Canada reach Rochester? Yes. Climate has no borders. What happens far away can affect us here. Smoke from wildfires can travel hundreds of miles and affect the air quality we breathe here. Climate change is increasing the conditions that can contribute to more intense wildfires.
😷 Check air quality levels and wear an N95 mask when needed
🏠 Limit outdoor activities when air quality is unhealthy
🌳 Plant and care for trees to build more resilient communities
🌱 Protect our green spaces
💚 Stay informed. Protect your health. Protect our trees.

This week we cleared our cabbage out of the field, the last of our Spring brassicas! Growing cruciferous veggies is a challenge on South Lawn Farm! We employed several IPM practices to help ensure a successful harvest of healthy crops. From day one, we've been covering the brassica block with row cover, which primarily serves as a physical barrier against 4 legged farm pests. We would uncover all the beds in the morning so we could harvest, w**d, and do any needed tending, and cover them back up as the heat of the day approached. Then we noticed we had high slug pressure (probably because of that nice, cool, covered environment!) so we began applying food grade diatomaceous earth after each rain. When crawling creatures come in contact with it, they dehydrate. We also applied straw on the garden bed, hoping it would help prevent splash back and suppress w**ds - leading to better air flow and prevent any type of rot that cabbage is susceptible to.

In the end, all of our efforts were worth it! The outer leaves of the napa cabbage were affected, but once a few layers were pulled back we had beautiful football sized heads, free of damage!

Now our beds that contained radishes, collards, mini broccoli, cabbage and Napa cabbage have been worked in and are ready for something else! Some beds will be receiving VIP treatment and get a cover crop to help replenish soil nutrients.

Also pictured: The GROWS crew is getting really efficient at the wash and pack station.

Last picture: Last Thursday the group pulled all the garlic bulbs and layed them out to cure! 592 bulbs!

Ever wonder what our Nutrition Educators are up to? Here's a recent program!

Our County Nutrition Educator, Alyssa, joined the Veteran's Outreach Center Base Camp for an outdoor cooking class, preparing Spiced Chickpea Stew over the fire alongside a fresh Strawberry Pepper Salsa.

Thank you to Jeff and the Veterans for having us! It was a wonderful opportunity to highlight the benefits of cooking with seasonal ingredients and using herbs and spices to add delicious flavor to meals.

The earliest writings about composting, from 2300 BC, were captured by members of highly organized farming communities. Since then, we have been using and improving this process to replenish nutrients in our soil.
Join our 'Composting at Home' workshop with Jarmila Haseler, Agricultural Educator, CCE of Monroe County, and Kate Fleury, Master Gardener, CCE of Genesee County to learn the basics of hot, cold, and tumbler composting techniques at home, held at Parma Public Library, 7 West Ave, Hilton, on Monday, July 20th. More information and to register at https://monroe.cce.cornell.edu/events/2026/07/20/composting-at-home-with-color-westside-green

Interested in growing as a leader or serving our Monroe County community? Consider applying to serve on the CCE Monroe Board of Directors. Applications are being accepted now for the 2027 term. Apply no later than August 15th. Learn more about CCE Monroe here: https://monroe.cce.cornell.edu/about-us. Interested in applying? Email [email protected] for an application.

GROWS in the community! Every Tuesday morning the GROWS team supports the community gardens at - Thank you to and for the compost delivery, and to for the opportunity to partner! The goal: introduce gardening as a form of wellness and self care to local residents and get these 10 beautiful garden beds to produce food that can provide for the community!
Shout out to Volunteer Jim for your help, and to the friendly neighbor who brought us water bottles! Want to join us? We'll be there Tuesdays, 9:30am to 11:30am!

Are you familiar with Smoke trees? They are popular deciduous trees prized for feathery, cloud-like summer plumes and vibrant foliage. They are known to be tough plants that require minimal maintenance. Until now..!

Our Diagnostic Clinic received two first cases of Smoke Tree Rust, a fungal disease in our area. The disease appears to have been moving slowly up North from Arkansas and Georgia, to Indiana, and has reached New York and Monroe County! Our Cornell IPM Specialists, Brian Eshenaur, conducted an on-site assessment to confirm the findings. If you have a Smoke tree on your property, check it for necrotic brown spots on the tops of leaves and reddish-brown pustules on the undersides, and let us know if you find any!

If you are a small-scale grower, you don't want to miss our hands-on field day to explore integrated pest management (IPM) strategies to keep the insects and other pests away from your harvest.
Join the Pest Management Field Day to learn about biocontrols, row covers, trapping, and other exclusion methods. See demonstration trial using insect exclusion netting and entomopathogenic nematodes to manage Swede midge, an invasive fly that causes damage to the brassica (kale) family members. This event will also be a great opportunity to meet other growers and learn how they manage pests on their farms and gardens using the IPM approach!

Pest Management Field Day Join us for a hands-on field day and explore integrated pest management tools for small-scale growing spaces! We will focus on biocontrols, row covers, trapping, and other pest exclusion methods. The event will feature a demonstration trial using insect exclusion netting and entomopathogenic...