Upstate NY
Upstate NY Table of Contents
I am one of those happy to be called an upstater and I love living in the rolling hills of the Southern Tier. The links in this section will be of use primarily to fellow upstaters and to those traveling in the area. If anyone else is helped by them that’s great, but I’d be the first to concede this section has a narrow focus. I define upstate New York as all the counties north of the New York-Pennsylvania border (roughly 42 degrees latitude). Since there is no official designation, no one can argue with me about this, but if you are interested in a more thorough treatment of the subject, check out the wikipedia article on the subject.
I am all for playing rough with things [i.e., plants] that play rough with us, and for making them behave as our servants, not our masters.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
We always laugh at people who call anything south of the Adirondacks “Upstate New York.” I live well north of the Adirondacks in the St. Lawrence Valley. The Village that I grew up in (Waddington) is actual on the river, so you can actually see Canada. Growing up, it was not uncommon to have temperatures dip into the 30 to 40 below zero range a few times each winter. On the USDA map, we are a Zone 3b.
It was great to find your site.
I live in Connecticut now, but grew up in what I used to think of as midstate NY (Schenectady) – the Adirondacks are “upstate” to me. I learned later that a large portion of New Yorkers consider anything north of “the city” as upstate.
Winters in CT are so mild compared to NY! We do have an occasional 2-foot snowfall, but far more often 1-3 inches, or freezing rain. I think my location, in a little protected valley, is Zone 6 or 6b, because it really doesn’t get all that cold here. I like the variety of weather; every day is a surprise.
Hi Pam,What do you plan on growing? South of Hartford they do grow tobacco and the soil is very red. Need some tios just em me. Fred
I live in “upper Upstate New York”, often the coldspot of the nation, in the Adirondack Mountains. Am next door to, literally, a sand pit. Does anyone know of a winter-hardy/sand tolerant rose bush that spreads and/or any other flowering ground cover?
I live in a high altitude where it is windy and alway very cold in upstate ny..I like a ground cover called dead nettle..it doesn’t have a pretty name however it has very pretty pink flowers and pretty foliage..I actually bought one from the grocery store..
I am familiar with that plant. For some people it can become too enthusiastic and vigorous and smothers their other plants, so keep your eye on it.
Dan,Whatever new plants you put in toward fall you might want to spray them with a dissolved mix of blood meal as this tends to repel deer. I’ve used it in my garden during the growing season. The tomato blight can be a bummer,not enough drainage and over watering can cause this along with splashing on the lower leaves of the plant. I always use a 4″ rock base at the bottom of the hole before filling with a sand,peat,soil mix. Indoor Aloe Vera also likes this mix. Hope that I was a help to you. Have a good day, Fed
LOOKING FOR INFO ON WHAT TO PLANT IN FRONT OF ARBS TO HIDE THE MISSING FOLIAGE THAT THE DEER HAVE REMOVED,AND ANYTHING TO STOP TOMATO BLIGHT…
Upstate N.Y.,sounds like western Mass. Making a trip to Howe Caverns soon. For the past 20 years I’v ebeen gardenng in the “Icebox of the USA”,norhtern MN,50 miles fro m Int’l Falls. Quite the experience. I also have a umbrella tree (6′) inmy living room here in Duluth,plus 2 palm trees. In my kitchen I have a sun tracker,2 ivies and a philodendron,all doing very well. I came across this site while looking up Plumeria(Frangipani) as I’m thinking of growing some. I make cosmetics ( as gifts) using Frangapani oil. Well,I’ll have to get on a forum and see if anyone has any seeds or cuttings for sale or trade, Have a nice gardening day, Fred
Hi, Scott–
This page you posted a comment to doesn’t get viewed too often. It’s not part of the blog. It just introduces a section of my website.
The type of proposal you are making should probably be done at a discussion forum such as Garden Web. There are a lot of regional forums there and you will probably find someone who lives pretty local to you.
Hi all new to this blog thing and not really sure how it works. I am curious if anyone would want to swap garden time in kingston ny. I need to do some work but either have not enought ime or energy to do on my own. SO one day in my yard one day in yours.
I’ve always known I live in upstate NY and have often wondered just exactly what that was supposed to mean, just never bothered to find out.
PS. I love the rolling hills of the southern tier too, but live near Lake Ontario.