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Community Education

Master Gardener Program
Erika Johnson, Program Coordinator
erika.d.johnson@wsu.edu
(564) 397-5738


MGanswer collage 6 photos of volunteers in clinic, volunteers at home show booth, the front of Heritage Farm building, stink bug, carrots, blue hydrangea flowers.

The Master Gardener Program offers a variety of ways to get answers to your questions about residential gardening and landscaping:

Workshops & Events
Answer Clinic
Videos
Gardening in WA State
MGs In The News
Speakers Bureau
Newsletter
School Garden Coordinator Resources
Heritage Trees


Answer Clinic

MG volunteers at desk in front of computer in answer clinic office.
WSU Master Gardeners researching plant identification at the Extension office answer clinic.

Need answers to your gardening questions? Whether it’s an insect pest infestation or an unknown pathogen destroying your beloved plants, certified Master Gardeners are available to answer your questions or provide advice.

Gardeners may bring plant or insect samples to the clinic.

How to get in touch with us:

Email us your question at mganswerclinic@clark.wa.gov.

Call (564) 397-5711.

Visit us at:
Heritage Farm/WSU Extension Plant Clinic Office
1919 NE 78th Street, Vancouver, Washington.

Hours for walk-in clients: We are back in-person but you may wish to call and confirm that we are staffed – 564-377-5711.

Tuesday and Wednesday  •  10 A.M. to 2 P.M.
Thursday and Friday  •  11:30 A.M. to 3 P.M.

Specimen Delivery

Japanese KnotweedMaster Gardeners can only make an accurate assessment of the client’s issue with a fresh specimen. For plant problem diagnosis we require a representative sample that clearly shows the demarcation between un-thrifty and healthy tissue. Pick a fresh plant specimen, put the cut end of the stem in a moist paper towel, and then come to the Answer Clinic. If cut plants are left in sunny or hot location they will wilt excessively thus making diagnosis very difficult. For plant identification we need a representative sample that includes the vegetative portion of the plant (leaves, branches, stems), a portion of the fruiting or flowering structure, and a representative portion of the stem or bark. For insect identification we need an intact specimen brought into us in a small container soon after capture.

FOR NOXIOUS WEED IDENTIFICATION please submit samples to the Clark County Weed Management located at the Clark County 78th Street Operations Center, 4700 NE 78th St., Vancouver. For further information contact Vegetation Management – website / email; phone – 360/ 397-6140.

Soil Testing

If you are having trouble in your garden and pest, disease or cultural causes don’t seem to be the reason, you may wish to get a soil test. Free soil test kits are available at the answer clinic. Download a Soil Test Kit here. Kits include instructions on how to collect samples, where to send them, and information on how to interpret your results. Testing costs vary depending on which analyses you choose.

Concerned about lead in your soil? Lead may be a concern if your garden is near an older painted structure. Lead in residential building paint was common up until the mid-1970’s, when it was phased out. To learn more about lead in soil, take a look at OSU Extension’s Evaluating and Reducing Lead Hazard in Gardens and Landscapes publication.

Additional Resources

Gardening in Washington State — This is a wonderful resource set up by the good folks at Puyallup Research and Extension Center with a wide range of gardening topics and also a blog. Visit Gardening in Washington State.

WSU Hortsense — is a compilation of fact sheets about managing common landscape and garden plant problems. It is intended to provide gardeners with information on how to manage plant problems and weeds using integrated pest management or IPM. Visit WSU Hortsense.

WSU Pestsense — is a compilation of fact sheets for managing common indoor pest problems. It is intended to provide information on how to manage common indoor pest problems using integrated pest management or IPM. Visit WSU Pestsense.


Videos

Visit our YouTube channel. to view online webinars about such topics as:


Speakers Bureau

Jayne presenting to garden club
Master Gardener presenting on cut flowers for Western Washington

Would you like to have a Master Gardener present at your garden club, service club or community group? Engaging, informed Master Gardeners present on topics such as vegetable gardening, fruit tree care, ornamental gardening, lawn reduction, cut flower gardening and much more.

Talks are typically about 60 minutes in length and include time for Q & A.

Contact erika.d.johnson@wsu.edu or 564-397-5738 for a list of topics.


Our pages provide links to external sites for the convenience of users. WSU Extension does not manage these external sites, nor does Extension review, control, or take responsibility for the content of these sites. These external sites do not implicitly or explicitly represent official positions and policies of WSU Extension.


WSU Clark County Master Gardener Program
1919 NE 78th Street • Vancouver, WA 98665
(564) 397-5738

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