News
Spring will soon be upon us, and many people are already planning this season's garden.
Do you know you have local help for your gardening questions? The OSU Extension Master Gardeners Plant Clinic is gearing up to answer all of your gardening questions.
The clinic has an extensive research library and online resources for diagnosis of plant diseases and identification of insects. The group offers information on soils, composting, deer-resistant plants, butterfly gardens and much more. The Master Gardeners Insect Committee and Soil Committee are here to help with more complex questions.
Working in the plant clinic is always an adventure. When I feel I have seen it all, someone brings in something completely new and interesting. A gentleman came in last year with a sample of an insect that was invading his offices. We were able to identify it as a red mite that was in its migration time. It feeds primarily on weeds. He was able to alleviate the problem by clearing all the weeds from around the building.
Another gardener, new to our area, was performing daily inspection rounds in her garden and found an unfamiliar insect on her plants. Often she found it on a plant that showed some insect damage. She would remove the insect and kill it.
Before eliminating any more, she decided to seek help to identify the insect. Master Gardeners identified it as a beneficial predator. It had probably just finished making lunch out of the real culprit before it was removed. She returned it to her garden with profound apologies.
There are several beneficial insects in our gardens that do a lot of work for us. If we identify these insects, we can encourage them by planting nectar and covering plants so they can live and breed.
Clients bring in plant samples of what they believe to be diseased plants. Frequently they treat the plant without knowing what is wrong. Often it is a cultural problem and not disease. The plant is in the wrong location, is getting too much or little light or water, or has poor soil conditions. We need to look at all factors in determining the problem. If the plant is diseased, we identify the cause and can suggest a treatment plan for the home gardener.
We encourage sustainable gardening, which means that we use methods that have a minimum input of labor and money for maximum results. We are here to share these practices with you. It happens that as an added benefit, these methods are better for the environment.
From April through September, the plant clinic will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The clinic is in the County Annex building next to the Douglas County Courthouse at 1134 S.E. Douglas Ave., Roseburg. You can also call 541-672-4461.
We look forward to seeing you at the clinic. Happy gardening!
Judy Mercer is the Master Gardener Plant Clinic manager for OSU Extension Service of Douglas County. She can be reached by phone at 541-672-4461 or by e-mail at douglasmg@oregonstate.edu.
Do you know you have local help for your gardening questions? The OSU Extension Master Gardeners Plant Clinic is gearing up to answer all of your gardening questions.
The clinic has an extensive research library and online resources for diagnosis of plant diseases and identification of insects. The group offers information on soils, composting, deer-resistant plants, butterfly gardens and much more. The Master Gardeners Insect Committee and Soil Committee are here to help with more complex questions.
Working in the plant clinic is always an adventure. When I feel I have seen it all, someone brings in something completely new and interesting. A gentleman came in last year with a sample of an insect that was invading his offices. We were able to identify it as a red mite that was in its migration time. It feeds primarily on weeds. He was able to alleviate the problem by clearing all the weeds from around the building.
Another gardener, new to our area, was performing daily inspection rounds in her garden and found an unfamiliar insect on her plants. Often she found it on a plant that showed some insect damage. She would remove the insect and kill it.
Before eliminating any more, she decided to seek help to identify the insect. Master Gardeners identified it as a beneficial predator. It had probably just finished making lunch out of the real culprit before it was removed. She returned it to her garden with profound apologies.
There are several beneficial insects in our gardens that do a lot of work for us. If we identify these insects, we can encourage them by planting nectar and covering plants so they can live and breed.
Clients bring in plant samples of what they believe to be diseased plants. Frequently they treat the plant without knowing what is wrong. Often it is a cultural problem and not disease. The plant is in the wrong location, is getting too much or little light or water, or has poor soil conditions. We need to look at all factors in determining the problem. If the plant is diseased, we identify the cause and can suggest a treatment plan for the home gardener.
We encourage sustainable gardening, which means that we use methods that have a minimum input of labor and money for maximum results. We are here to share these practices with you. It happens that as an added benefit, these methods are better for the environment.
From April through September, the plant clinic will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The clinic is in the County Annex building next to the Douglas County Courthouse at 1134 S.E. Douglas Ave., Roseburg. You can also call 541-672-4461.
We look forward to seeing you at the clinic. Happy gardening!
Judy Mercer is the Master Gardener Plant Clinic manager for OSU Extension Service of Douglas County. She can be reached by phone at 541-672-4461 or by e-mail at douglasmg@oregonstate.edu.
