Cornell Cooperative Extension

Tompkins County
Thriving crops in raised beds. Vegetable garden, Malleny - near to Balerno, Edinburgh, Great Britain
Image by Barbara Carr

Learn about food and ornamental gardening in our upcoming gardening classes

spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) adult(s)
Image by PA Dept of Agriculture , Bugwood.org

Invasive Spotted Lanternfly is in Tompkins County - bad for trees and crops

Gardening

We provide resources and information on plant selection and care, soils and site improvement, integrated pest management, composting, and more. We offer gardening classes, volunteer opportunities, and tours to support our community.

Master Composter Gunnar Glover'16 explains the benefits of composting food scraps to 2017 Grassroots Festival-goers. Cornell Widen Collection UP_2017_0895_049_select

Become a Master Composter

Master Composters provide in-depth instruction about how to compost for a variety of age groups and in a range of settings. Sign up for our 2024 training by January 29!

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Master Gardener logo with Tompkins

Join the Master Gardener Volunteers

Master Gardener Volunteers (MGVs) are gardeners who are trained to bring research-based gardening information to other community members.

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Leaf lesions on tomato due to late blight

Ask the Growline

Hotline to answer your gardening questions. Email photos and your best descriptions to growline@cornell.edu and our Master Gardeners will respond M-F.

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The flower van

Community Beautification

You've seen our colorful flower-painted van around town, learn more about what our program does to make Tompkins County a more beautiful and welcoming place!

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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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sweat bee on a bright pink dahlia

Pollinator Support

Learn about wild and managed pollinators, why they are important and how you can help them, in these links, videos and resources from Cornell.

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Contact

Ask the Grow Line

growline@cornell.edu

Last updated October 16, 2024

Gardening

2024 Advisory Committee

Agriculture & Horticulture Programs
* = representative to the board

Jonathan Bates
Ken Jaffe
Todd McLane
Tracy McLellan
Christa Nuñez
Bradford Smith*
Nancy Taber
Ariana Taylor-Stanley
Bob Tuori

THE GARDEN POST

graphic for Garden Post enewsletter publication

Our Horticulture Program offers a free monthly e-newsletter, The Garden Post, devoted exclusively to gardening classes and tips. To receive The Garden Post, either visit our subscription form here or email tompkins@cornell.edu and we will add you.

Find Your Zone!

2012 USDA Hardiness Zone Map

The 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.

Visit Cornell Garden Based Learning website

Events

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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 of experience 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/