Cornell Cooperative Extension

Steuben County
close-up photo of soil after tilling

Knowing the pH and nutrient content of your soil is important to successful growing.

Soils and Climate

Soils

Soil Texture. This factsheet discusses the four soil texture classifications of sands, silts, loams and clays; how they combine to make textural classifications; how soil texture is determined; and the 5 soil management groups in New York State.

Soil Organic Matter. This factsheet describes types of organic matter in soil; their physical, chemical & biological benefits; farm practices that help maintain or increase soil organic matter levels; and the importance of continued monitoring of soil organic matter content.

The Cornell Soil Health website offers a variety of resources on soil testing and improvement.

Soil Testing. Visit our page on "How to take a soil sample" for testing and see what Soil Testing Services are offered by or through Cooperative Extension.

Climate

Growing Degree Days (GDD) are a measure of heat accumulation used by horticulturalists to predict the date that a flower will bloom or a crop reach maturity. Statistics for the Northeast are provided on this Cornell Atmospheric Sciences & Turf Team website.

Cornell Gardening page with information on average dates for last spring frost and first fall frost, US hardiness zone map, and microclimates.

Last updated September 12, 2024

Soils and Climate

Find Your Zone!

2012 USDA Hardiness Zone Map

The 2012 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. 

Useful Links

image to use in sidebar when linking to Northeast Regional Climate Center at http://www.nrcc.cornell.edu/

Visit the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.

NY State Freeze Dates

Visit the NOAA website for a chart of freeze dates in our area.


National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

image to use when linking to the USDA Web Soil Survey at: http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/HomePage.htm 200px wide for use in SIDEBAR

The USDA Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. Use their online tool to see soil type data over an aerial map of Tompkins County. 

Events

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