BURLINGTON — Gardening season always involves a myriad of questions and frustrations. Luckily, University of Vermont Extension Master Gardeners are available to help answer home gardening questions from Vermont and northern New Hampshire gardeners.
The volunteers who staff the helpline have all completed a comprehensive 13-week horticultural course and 40-hour internship to become certified Master Gardeners. They can answer questions on a wide range of home horticultural topics including garden preparation and planting; vegetable, fruit and flower gardening; trees and shrubs; mulching; landscaping; composting; plant diseases; and insect pests. Call the helpline’s toll-free number at 800-639-2230 or 802-656-5421 between 9 a.m. and noon, Monday through Thursday.
Gardeners with questions can also stop by the helpline office at 201 Jeffords Hall on the UVM campus during regular helpline hours or submit questions at go.uvm.edu/ask-a-master-gardener for an answer in five to seven business days. The on-line form includes an option for providing photos.
Extension Master Gardeners can also help identify both insects and diseased plants. Go to uvm.edu/extension/mastergardener and click on “Master Gardener Helpline” for instructions on how to submit samples.
Commercial growers with questions involving a pest or disease issue should contact the UVM Plant Diagnostic Clinic at 802-656-0493 or e-mail Ann Hazelrigg, the clinic coordinator, at [email protected].