Marc Fuchs, Associate Professor in Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Department at Cornell University differentiates the truth from the myths on mosaic viruses on cucurbits. 

1) Q: Is it true too much rain can splash the pathogens around? 

A: NOT CORRECT - Rainfalls do not carry viruses; they can carry other pathogens (water molds, bacteria, fungi) but not viruses. 

2) Q: If caught early enough, can only affected tissues be removed? 

A: NOT CORRECT - There is no cure for a virus in an infected plant; once a plant is infected, it will be so for its life time. 

3) Q: Is it true that there are, at the present time, no CMV resistant strains of melons or squashes? 

A: NOT CORRECT - Some CMV-resistant cultivars of yellow summer squash, zucchini squash, and melon are commercially available. 

4) Q: Is it true that, over the long term, it really is not feasible to grow cucurbits in the same box as Solanaceae? 

A: NOT CORRECT - This practice is not recommended but it is doable if proper precautions are taken to avoid diseases being carried over. 

5) Q: What do growers do when hit with mosaics in mid-season? It is possible to rip the plants out and try growing an "early" variety? 

A: The timing of infection with mosaic virus with regard to the flowering time is critical in the decision making process. The commercial growers will decide to keep an infected field if the virus infection took place after the flowers and fruits have set. If the virus infection took place before or at flowering and fruit setting, growers usually abandon their fields because they will likely not harvest a crop.  

A few quick tips on having an eco-friendly holiday season…

•  Buy a Christmas tree from Tyler’s Trees and use code NYRP33 – and they’ll donate $30 to help NYRP plant a tree in NYC. You can also add a gift to NYRP at checkout.

• Give a gift that keeps on growing: buy a tree in someone’s honor and we’ll send the person a tree certificate signed by NYRP Founder Bette Midler and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

• Shop smart – checkout ClimateCounts.org for a list of brands that are pro-actively trying to minimize their carbon footprint and improve the environment. Also check out MadeinNYC.org and shop at local businesses that suffered losses during Hurricane Sandy.

• Mulchfest 2013: Don’t just throw your tree in the trash - drop it off at Swindler Cove in Sherman Creek Park the week of January 7-11 (Monday-Friday) between 8am-4pm so that we recycle it for mulch. NYRP will be mulching for Mulchfest on Jan 12 and 13 between 12-2pm.

Did you know… real Christmas trees are actually more eco-friendly than artificial ones?
By Mike Mitchell, Community Initiatives Manager

We know it sounds kind of crazy but, well, using real Christmas trees are actually better than using fake ones for a number of reasons. When you add up the pollution created by: 1) the plastic used for artificial trees and 2) shipping them from China to the US, the amount of energy used to produce an artificial tree just isn’t worth it. Not to mention, they take up a lot of room in landfills at the end of their lives.

One of the reasons why real trees are better is because even once they’re cut down and taken into someone’s home, they’re still evapo-transpiring, meaning that they are exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen that we (and our pets) breathe. The trees can also be recycled for mulch once the holiday season is over.

Mulch is a great layer of tree protection against the cold winters and the salt we use to melt ice or snow; during the hot summers it helps to retain moisture so the tree does not need to be watered as often. Additionally, as the mulch breaks down it is naturally returning important nutrients in the form of carbon (from the woody branches) and nitrogen (from the green leaves) into the soil to be used again by the trees or plants in your garden.

Trees that are brought to the Mulchfest sites around New York City are ground into mulch for our parks and gardens; they can also be picked up for free to be used in your yard or garden just by calling your borough forestry office.

On November 17, 2012, The Anne Fontaine Foundation will hold their Second Annual Forest Day in all the Anne Fontaine stores worldwide. During this event, 50% of the sales will be donated to the Anne Fontaine Foundation to fund reforestation projects. In light of recent events, the foundation will donate 20% of the total amount raised during Forest Day to NYRP for hurricane relief. The funds will help us replant trees in New York City.

Please join on November 17, 2012!  Help us raise money and awareness to protect our forests. We can work toward preventing natural disasters by supporting the Foundation’s reforestation projects. Don’t miss Forest Day!

See all stores.
New York City stores:
- 93 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012 / 1 (212)-343-3154
- 677 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10065 / 1 (212)-421-0947
- 610 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10020 / 1 (212)-489-1554

On Saturday, October 27, 2012 Community Engagement gathered NYRP community gardeners from across the city to celebrate another harvest season and discuss interests for next spring. The agenda included show & tell, garden potluck, NYRP overview and brainstorming session about the ideal community garden.

Imani Community Gardener Salome Perry shares her experience:

I met and networked with a large variety of people, with whom I exchanged ideas and advice on accomplishing their garden goals. I created a photo album from recent events, to encourage gardeners to hold similar events with other gardeners to attract community members to their including our annual lobster fundraiser, vegetables grown in Imani Garden and of our solar panel powered pond with fish and the plants. There was also information on organizations that provide free seeds, including Green Guerilla, Seeds of Change amongst others. NYRP's website has excellent tips on garden maintinence, information on plants, and planting. We're looking forward to a new season ahead. 

View more photos on Facebook. 

By Claire Turner, Community Initiatives AmeriCorps

Last week, after hurricane sandy swept through NYC, Mike and I made the difficult decision to cancel our three remaining tree giveaways for the fall season. The total damage the storm caused is still being assessed, but we know for certain that thousands of trees were uprooted, split in half, or otherwise fatally damaged due to the storms heavy winds and flooding.  As our climate changes and we begin to face more intense storms more often, it is important that New Yorkers realize the benefits trees provide to our city, including storm water management. Now, more than ever, NYRP is committed to giving away trees to New Yorkers. This fall we gave away over 1,000 trees in all five boroughs of NYC and next spring we will be giving away several thousands more.

Over the past year I’ve worked at over 15 different giveaways and in the planning process I’ve met with nearly 40 community partners. Whether at a giveaway event or a partner meeting, I like to make the point that we could not reach the goal of planting a million trees in NYC without help of individuals and private partners. Over 26% of New York City is privately owned residential land, which is a huge amount of space that has been otherwise difficult to plant. At NYRP we know that when we plant trees in these spaces, the places in-between, we can make a meaningful ecological impact in our city.

Tree giveaways give us the opportunity to have meaningful conversations with individuals about ecological issues facing our city, benefits of trees, and proper planting and care techniques. These conversations have been some of the best moments of my AmeriCorps term.  It makes me smile every time I see people lining up for trees. As I hand off trees to parents and their children, new residents of NYC, homeowners, gardeners and grandmothers alike, I am handing out more than a tree.  Individuals leave our events with an understanding of the significance of trees in the urban landscape. The outpouring of support for these events is inspiring because it shows that New Yorkers get it—trees make our city green, in more ways than one. 

View photos of spring and fall 2012 tree giveaways on Facebook. 

By John Douglas, NYRP's Brooklyn Community Initiatives Coordinator  

Earlier this year, I enrolled in the Master Composter course at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden branch of the New York City Compost Project, a program supported by Department of Sanitation.  I learned about the best practices for managing compost in a community garden setting, and how our gardens can help divert organic waste from landfills, and turn it into a valuable resource for gardening in the city. 

PlanNYC estimates that New York City currently spends more than $1 billion a year to manage solid waste, including $300 million to export 3.3 million tons of City-collected waste. This month NYRP will be organizing the composting systems in our gardens to increase the efficiency, utilize the capacity, and expand the outreach of our composting footprint.  All interested community members are welcome to attend!

Saturday, September 29th, was the first stop on my city-wide tour of NYRP composting where we were worked with the gardeners at Clinton Avenue Community Garden to become more active in composting organic waste in their Bronx community. Everyone pitched in to harvest four wheelbarrows worth of finished compost, and spread it on different garden beds.  The gardeners also taught me about the history of their garden, and the wonderful people who have been stewards of the space over the years. Special thanks to Charlie Reynoso, NYRP Community Initiatives Coordinator for the Bronx.  Charlie bridged a significant language gap, and lopped the most sunflower stalks one person could ever be asked to lop in one day. Check out our pictures on Facebook! More numbers to report in the future, but look forward to serendipitous moments and unexpected occurrences while composting in NYC.

View photos of Compost Workshops on Facebook. 

By Jason Sheets, NYRP Brooklyn Regional Director 

You can still enjoy gardening with your windowsill planter box. Here are some basic tips for caring for plants in a windowsill planter box.

1) Drainage
Before even placing soil into a windowsill planter box it is crucial to check for drainage holes so water can escape the container. If there are no drainage holes, create some with a drill and a 1 inch drill bit. Water must drain out or you are looking at immediate failure and that’s not nice.

2) Soil
Potting mix only people! The right soil mix in the box is so important - no garden soil, topsoil, etc. These types of soils are too heavy and will compact resulting in unfavorable conditions for your precious plants. 

3) Fertilizer
Like you, plants need food and nutrients to survive! Since we are using a sterile potting mix there are no nutrients in it (although some mixes do incorporate fertilizers as well). It’s important to feed your plants with ½ strength mix of liquid fertilizer bi-weekly through the growing season to ensure happy and thriving plants.

4) Water
Caring for plants, especially with windowsill planters, is a commitment. Since the container has a small soil depth, boxes need to be watered frequently so the roots are happy and don’t dry out.  Sun and wind are the main culprits for drying out the soil. Watering your planter everyday will be the norm in the height of summer. If in doubt, try the finger test. Insert your finger into the soil up to your knuckle and if the soil is dry, then it needs water; if it’s still moist or wet, then it does not.

5) Plants
What do you like? Annual flowers? Herbs or vegetables to use in the kitchen? Dramatic foliage? There a plenty of choices to fill your planter with but understanding your exposure to the sun is key to choosing a plant type that will thrive on your windowsill. Once you decide what plant type you’d like and if you have the appropriate exposure, get started planting! But most of all, enjoy and delight in the masterpiece that you create!

The fifth annual Nature University, NYRP's summer camp, has successfully wrapped up another summer in Swindler Cove Park. This year's summer camp provided thirty campers hands-on experience in artistic, educational, environmental and nutritional workshops. Over the course of six weeks, kids learned how to prepare healthy snacks with cooking workshops, strength their agility with rope climbing, identify species at the Liberty Science Center, learn the environmental role lambs and chickens play at the Stone Barnes Farm, and much more. Nature University's graduation ceremony emphasized the vast green career opportunities available in the campers' future, and congratulated them with a diploma for their dedication to respecting and enhancing the environment. 

View more photos of the Nature University Summer Camp experience.

Located in the South Bronx, Willis Avenue Community Garden exudes Puerto Rican culture and traditions. Used for diverse resources, including to grow vegetables, and host cultural celebrations, members meet often for a friendly game of dominoes - a traditional and favorite pass-time in Puerto Rico. NYRP created an annual Domino Tournament with music and a community BBQ, open to anyone interested in playing dominoes with community members. Last weekend the 3rd annual Domino Tournament was held, and everyone enjoyed the day as they chowed down on traditional homemade dishes like rice and black beans. We look forward to many more domino games!

Learn more about Willis Avenue Community Garden, and view photos on Facebook. 

By Sophie Plitt, NYRP Forestry Coordinator

Summer is arguably the hardest time for a New York City tree. While other New Yorkers are seeking refuge from the heat at the Rockaways or the Hamptons, our leafy friends are stuck on the hot street, just begging for a cool drink.

New Yorkers rely on trees a great deal in the summer. They cool our cities by transpiring water into the air and by shading our streets, sidewalks and buildings therefore reducing energy demand. To perform these vital services trees need to be watered by the people rely on them, especially young trees that haven't grown an extensive root system to seek out underground water sources yet. Here are some tips on watering your favorite NYC tree this summer: 

Loosen the soil: Urban soils get stomped on by pedestrians and rumbled by subways, cars and trucks, compacting soil to the point where it's difficult for water to penetrate the soil and reach the roots of a tree. Step one of effectively watering your tree is gently loosening the soil with a hand cultivator so that water is able to soak deep into the tree bed.

Water Deep: Trees need around 15-20 gallons of water once a week. The best way to water a tree is to let this large amount of water slowly seep into the ground as this encourages the roots of the tree to grow deep, making the tree better at finding its own drink in the future. Leaving a hose at the base of a tree with moderate flow for about 10 minutes will get the job done. If you have access to a hose, transporting and slowly watering trees in the city can be a big challenge. Check the MillionTreesNYC website for some suggestions on how to accomplish this.

Spread your influence: One of the best ways to keep trees in your neighborhood healthy is making sure everyone is on board and lending a helping hand. Befriend your local building manager and ask them to water trees on their block while they're hosing off the sidewalk. Meet your corner bodega manager and ask them to dump melted ice from flower or fruit displays into the tree beds at the end of the day. Organize your neighbors and create a watering schedule for your block to ensure trees get watered each week. You'll be surprised how many people will be willing to pitch in!