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1999 MG Projects Master Gardener Program Impact Public Report Educational Objectives and Corresponding Reports Consumers and Master Gardeners will incorporate three improved soil management practices (soil testing, fertilization, organic matter incorporation) into their yearly gardening schedule to improve the production of woody landscape, turf, vegetable/fruit and flower plants. 1. Over 60 Master Gardeners attended two soil sessions held during the statewide Master Gardener In-service. The first session was "Interpreting Soil Test Results". As a result of attending the class, 86% of the participants said that they could recognize the current levels of nutrients as listed on a soil test report, 93% could find the pH level listed on the report, and 90% could find the fertilizer and lime recommendation listed on a report. 68% of the Master Gardeners were confident that they could compute the type and amount of fertilizer needed for a given area while another 25% felt they might be able to do the computation as a result of attending the in-service. 82% stated that they had the ability to help other gardeners interpret their soil test reports as a result of the in-service. The second session was "Amending Difficult Soils". 90% of the Master Gardeners reported three or more soil management practices (have the soil tested, incorporate fertilizer, add topsoil, change the level or grade of a garden, or incorporate organic matter) that they planned to use as a result of the in-service. 2. Luzerne County Master Gardeners developed an educational exhibit for the Northeast Pennsylvania Flower Show. The exhibit taught flower show visitors the fundamentals of soil including soil types, soil testing, soil amendments, composting, and suitable plantings for soil types. Over forty-five hundred people attended the event. Consumers and Master Gardeners will follow integrated pest management procedures to control garden pests i.e., they will correctly identify common pests, select the least toxic solution, use a pest control at the most effective time, and reduce use of pesticides. 1. The Lehigh and Northampton County Master Gardeners developed an exhibit, "Creating Healthy Landscapes Through IPM" for the Lehigh Valley Horticulture Expo. The exhibit included displays on good plant care, beneficial versus pest insects, and the tools of IPM. Master Gardeners surveyed 90 of the approximately 3000 visitors to the display. Everyone surveyed reported learning something from the display; 70 stated that they would do something different as a result of viewing the display. 2. Master Gardeners in Dauphin County manned an exhibit at the Annual Hershey Gardenfest attended by nearly 3000 people. The theme of the exhibit was Beneficial Insects. Many of the people who observed the exhibit commented that they previously recognized only the adult stage of beneficial insects. After seeing the larval stage of insects displayed within the exhibit, they planned to watch for them in their home gardens and refrain from harming the insects. 3. Lebanon County Master Gardeners manned a Garden Hotline in order to correctly identify insects and diseases of plant material and to educate clientele as to when and how to control plant problems. The Master Gardeners answered 926 questions during the past year. Volunteers carried out a telephone survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the hotline. They found that 98% of the survey participants received accurate information and 99% used the information provided. 4. Franklin County Master Gardeners held an Herb Clinic to teach home gardeners how to identify and attract beneficial insects to the garden and to incorporate herbs that are considered companion plants. Twenty-two participants attended the session; 18 of them said that they learned a great deal about which insects are pests and which are beneficial. Consumers and Master Gardeners will identify site limitations of their property and will choose suitable plant varieties and cultivars for the site conditions provided in the landscape, garden, orchard, and lawn. They will choose disease resistant varieties of plants and will use correct procedures in planting, fertilizing, pruning, and mowing. 1. Twenty-seven Gardeners Select Trial Gardens were established across the state by Master Gardeners and Extension Agents in order to introduce new flower and vegetable cultivars to Master Gardeners and the general public as well as to evaluate plant performance. The county staff and volunteers labeled the plants and held tours or an Æopen houseī at the garden site. Thousands of home gardeners were introduced to the new plant cultivars and learned how they performed in a garden setting. In York County, Master Gardeners provided educational workshops as well as tours, developed a Trial Garden brochure, wrote articles for newsletters, and created plant labels with plant descriptions and cultural requirements. The York County volunteers also answered individualīs questions as they worked in the garden and as they manned the Garden Hotline at the Extension Office. An electronic mail survey was used in York County to measure the impact of the Trial Garden and associated activities on Master Gardeners. Some of the comments made by Master Gardeners included: I learned to plan and design a garden based on the objectives I have established for its use, it built up my confidence in plant identification, I instituted several water conservation methods in the garden during the drought, I added organic matter to large containers to help retain moisture, I can now identify several beneficial insects found in the garden and the pests associated with several annual and perennial flowers, and the Trail Garden provided the opportunity to compare the performance of cultivars in my garden with those in the trial garden to note the different environmental factors which have an impact on performance. 2. The Lehigh and Northampton County Master Gardeners wrote articles for the local newspaperīs Lawn and Garden supplement. The newspaper, The Morning Call, has a circulation of 125,000. The volunteers included a survey from in the supplement; forty people responded. Of the 40, 38 people said that they learned something new and 34 said they would change some of their gardening practices as a result of reading the supplement. Some examples of the changes they would make include: getting soil tested and following recommendations, deep watering, better plant selections, establishing healthier shade gardens, and fertilizing at appropriate times. 3. Fayette County Master Gardeners taught a session on Shade Gardening at their local county fair. Participants learned how to identify partial, light, full, dense and open shade and how to choose the proper plants when creating a shade garden. 4. Centre County Master Gardeners worked with Dr. Rob Berghage to improve educational tools at the Penn State Trial Gardens. A mulch product evaluation station was set up for the public to review mulches and indicate their preference. 5. Master Gardeners in Centre County took an active role in the Community Academy of Lifelong Learning Lecture Series. They taught 6 classes each season and led 8 garden tours for an average of 15-25 people per session. Participants learned different aspects of gardening including water gardening, planning a butterfly garden, winter landscaping, and attracting wildlife to the garden. 6. Warren County Master Gardeners held a Seed Starting Workshop for gardeners. They included instruction and hands-on activity to inform gardeners about proper lighting, growing mediums, proper watering, transplanting, sterilizing containers, spacing, pre-germination, fertilizing, and hardening off plants. An evaluation showed that participants were able to list three skills or ideas that they learned from the workshop and planned to practice in the future. 7. Franklin County Master Gardeners offered a "Principles of Landscape Design Clinic" to educate homeowners as to the importance of proper site analysis and plant selection. The clinic consisted of four evening sessions; 18 out of the 20 enrolled households completed a landscape plan for their property. They learned to consider disease resistance and mature size when choosing a plant. After reviewing their plans with Master Gardeners, 85% of the participants indicated they would use plant material that is appropriate for the planting site. 8. A McKean County Master Gardener reached 10 of her co-workers when she presented information on roses. She taught the gardeners how to plant, fertilize, and prune roses bushes and rose trees. As a result, the co-workers were able to plant new roses and improve established roses; they reported many positive comments regarding the success of their roses throughout the summer. 9. A Potter County Master Gardener joined the efforts to renew the trees and flower beds in Assembly Park. The volunteer served as an advisor to borough employees who removed declining trees, planted new trees, and amended the soil in the flower beds. He taught local Boy Scouts to plant annual flowers. As a result, the borough employees understand tree maintenance and soil amendments. The Scouts learned to plant properly. The 100 year old park is well on its way to the next 100 years. Consumers and Master Gardeners will establish a home-based composting operation to reduce the amount of home and garden waste entering the community refuse system. These gardeners will integrate the home generated compost into their yearly gardening program. They will use recycled materials for mulching gardens and landscape beds. 1. Crawford County Master Gardeners assisted in the distribution of 260 composting bins to the residents of Crawford County. The volunteers also gave lectures and answered questions on composting at each of the five distribution sites. About 300 people attended the lectures. 2. A local garden club gave financial support to Westmoreland County Master Gardeners when they taught a Composting Workshop. Participants at the workshop learned the difference between active and passive composting, how to incorporate brown and green materials into the compost pile, and how to build a compost bin. 3. A Jefferson County Master Gardener taught vermicomposting to members of two area garden clubs. 30 people learned how to use worms to compost their kitchen scraps and make an organic soil amendment. Extension and the Master Gardener Program will expand its audience to include youth and urban gardeners. Youth will identify the parts of a plant, uses of plants, and plant propagation. Urban families and individuals will successfully maintain a vegetable or flower garden as part of a community garden or small space garden. 1. Franklin County Master Gardeners introduced 75 migrant youth to gardening and taught them how to grow vegetables from seed to fruit. Previously, the children only had experience with harvesting fruits and vegetables. The Master Gardeners taught the children how to plant and maintain a garden. As a result, 90% of the youth learned skills such as seeding rows, covering rows, weeding, hoeing, mulching, and harvesting. 2. Master Gardeners in Warren County taught a group of handicapped children how to garden. The students were successful in planting and growing seeds and cuttings in their classroom. The students were delighted in watching and learning about the plants growing in their classroom. 3. Adams County Master Gardeners assisted with a project where 21 migrant farm families were each given two childrenīs wading pools to be used as container vegetable gardens. The families also received soil, soil amendments, plants, seeds and directions in Spanish for preparation of the gardens. Follow-up visits were made in July to the homes of 8 of the families. The families were all successful in raising vegetables. 4. Master Gardeners in Adams county worked with other area agencies to create Community Gardens in order to provide an opportunity for urban families to grow vegetables and flowers. Master Gardeners added an educational objective to the project. A 1/4 acre garden was established at the south Central Community Action Program building in Gettysburg and the volunteers taught participants how to plant, compost, and identify disease and insect pests. Childrenīs wading pools were used as container gardens at the associated daycare facility and children learned how to prepare, plant, and care for the container gardens. 5. Bucks County Master Gardeners reached low income, minority youth living in Venice Ashby by involvinig them in a garden project. More than 60 children participated in two gardening activities. A butterfly garden was established at the Venice Ashby Community Center and a "wedding party" was conducted. 6. Pike County Master Gardeners developed a low maintenance butterfly garden at the Pocono Environmental Education Center. About 100 children use the garden as an outdoor laboratory during summer camps. 7. Master Gardeners in Fayette County wanted to go beyond traditional backyard gardening in order to encourage all people, regardless of age, means, or physical limitations to raise a garden. They taught 35 residents how to grow vegetables and flowers in containers. Residents left with a "yes I can" attitude about gardening despite their life situation. 8. Clearfield Master Gardeners worked with the Retired and Senior Volunteer program on a project called "Grow to Grow". Skilled senior volunteers helped low-income families to work together to grow a vegetable garden. Families were referred to the program by an area child services agency. As a result of the "Grow to Grow" project, the families involved learned to raise vegetables so that they had fresh vegetables to eat and surplus to can. 9. Master Gardeners in Cambria County reached urban gardeners by teaching classes at the Boscovīs Department Store in Johnstown. The volunteers taught from their own personal experience with vegetable gardening and 25 participants were involved. The evaluations that were collected showed that the class participants learned a great deal about vegetable gardening. 10. Master Gardeners in Monroe County taught 10 senior citizens in a local retirement home how to use a greenhouse, grow plants, and enjoy gardening. 11. Clearfield County Master Gardeners reached fourth graders from the Clearfield School District who were attending the local hospitalīs Auxiliary Health Fair. The Master Gardeners taught the children how to plant seeds and to raise a garden. The children wrote follow-up letters to the volunteers to explain how much they had learned and to report that they planned to start a garden or help their parents in the family garden. 12. An Allegheny County Master Gardener joined forces with the Upper St. Clair community forester to plant 2000 trees by the year 2000. They taught area school children, scout troops, and senior citizen groups to plant seedlings funded by local organizations; they encouraged area residents and business owners to plant trees on their property. To date, over 2600 trees have been planted.
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