SMP installed 12 watering bags around selected young trees planted by NYC Parks within the past 2 years. These trees will also be receiving wooden tree guards constructed by volunteers to help protect them during their early years, which is crucial to their survival. These efforts are being done with funding SMP received from a grant from the NYC Green Fund operated by the City Parks Foundation. A mature street tree needs about 8-10 gallons of water a week, but a young tree n

A Tree of Heaven (Alianthus) with two rows of insect shield tape. The black dots on the white tape are all Spotted Lanternfly nymphs. Gaudy Spotted Lanternflies go through several life stages (or instars) before becoming the flying pests we know so well. June and July is the perfect time to use special insect shield tape to capture and kill them in their nymph stage, before they can become voracious adults. The first three stages (or instars) of the life cycle of Spotted La

Cheap, easy and all outdoors - Milk Jug Seed Starting works for novice and experienced gardeners alike in Brooklyn. Here are the step by step instructions for growing sturdy, hard to find native seedlings. What you need: Clean gallon milk or water jugs Scissors and/or mat knife Drill OR hammer and nail for making holes Sharpie Duct tape Inexpensive Potting Soil - not Seed Starting Mix Seeds and plant labels Step 1 - Cut open the Milk Jug Mark the start and end poin

On a lovely Saturday in June, Pollinators took a midday break to chit chat about gardening successes and quandaries and geek out on all...