Cornell Cooperative Extension

06/02/2026

Dreaming of homegrown strawberries but short on space?

You can grow strawberries in containers, making them a great option for patios, balconies, and small yards. Choose day-neutral or everbearing varieties for berries in the first year.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County shares tips for getting started.

Learn more:

If your space is limited, grow strawberries in containers.

05/29/2026

When grapevines bud too early, a single spring frost can wipe out an entire season’s work.

That’s the challenge Jennifer Russo, viticulturist with CCE’s Lake Erie Regional Grape Program, is working to solve.

After a 2024 frost event damaged roughly 17,000 acres of grapes across the Lake Erie region, resulting in an estimated $25.5 million crop loss, Russo developed a spray application designed to delay bud break beyond the typical frost window.

The treatment, co-developed with Ohio State University researcher Josh Blakeslee, has shown success for two consecutive years, helping vineyards protect young shoots during one of the most vulnerable stages of the growing season. The team is now exploring whether the same approach could help protect other crops, including apples.

05/27/2026

When Camp Owahta’s arts and crafts building burned down last year, Kelly Guy, executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cortland County, saw an opportunity to rethink the camp’s future.

That search for ideas led to a collaboration with Cornell architecture students, who spent the semester getting to know the camp, meeting with staff and former campers, and imagining new possibilities for the site.

Their concepts, included year-round gathering spaces and outdoor learning areas designed around the camp’s natural setting, are helping shape a vision for the camp and how it can serve the community year-round.

Learn more at:

After Camp Owahta’s arts and crafts building burned down last summer, the Cortland County camp’s leadership turned to second-year architecture students for fresh ideas.

05/25/2026

The Watertown Farm & Craft Market returns for its 49th season on May 27, now hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County.

After decades under the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce, the weekly downtown market will continue bringing local vendors and community members together each Wednesday through the fall.

Mike Myers, food systems program manager with CCE Jefferson County, joined 7 After Noon to share what marketgoers can expect this season.

Watch the segment:

The Watertown Farm and Craft Market returns for its 49th season next week under new management.

05/22/2026

CCE Onondaga County recently helped plant six new apple trees at The Great New York State Fair’s Voice of the Farmer Garden. In the meantime, the garden continues producing fresh food for Syracuse-area pantries, with more than 700 pounds donated to date. 👏

05/22/2026

In the 1980s, potato prices crashed. It cost Harbes farm about $4 to grow 100 pounds of potatoes; the market paid just $2.

“We knew then that we had to find an alternative.”

A Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County extension specialist helped the Harbes family to diversify and shift from wholesale production toward retail. Over time, the farm transitioned beyond cabbage and potatoes into pumpkins, sweet corn, apples, stone fruit, while growing into a well-known agritourism destination.

Today, that partnership continues as Harbes Farm, CCE specialists, and Cornell researchers tackle Long Island farming challenges together.

Read more at:

Harbes Farm on Long Island relies on a mutually beneficial collaboration with Cornell researchers, a partnership that has made the family’s three farms key destinations for Long Island agritourism.

05/21/2026

After Camp Owahta’s arts and crafts building burned down last year, Kelly Guy, executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension Cortland County, saw an opportunity to do something different with the camp, but she needed ideas.

Now she’s getting dozens of them – from students in the Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning’s B.Arch Engaged Practices Design Studio course, who spent a semester getting to know the camp, its uses, and its potential.

Read more: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/05/aap-students-lend-their-creativity-new-vision-4-h-camp.

05/19/2026

Finding local Long Island seafood has never been easier.

In April, the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program, in collaboration with NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, launched the North Shore Long Island Seafood Cuisine Trail, expanding an initiative that began with the South Shore Trail in 2025.

The trail app helps people discover seafood markets and restaurants across Long Island while supporting local harvesters and strengthening coastal economies.

Learn more:

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County Marine Program (CCEMP) in collaboration with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets has just launched the Long Island Seafood Cuisine Trail.