WSU Extension > Clark County > Master Gardeners > Community Education

Community Education

Collage of Master Gardener volunteers assisting clients, answering questions by phone, displaying outreach materials, and close-up images of plants, insects, and garden produce.
Master Gardener volunteers provide research-based gardening support through community outreach and the Answer Clinic.

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

Explore gardening resources and services:

Answer Clinic

Master Gardener volunteers working together at a computer to research and answer a gardening question in the Answer Clinic.
Master Gardener volunteers collaborate to research and respond to gardening questions at the 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
AskaMasterGardener@clarkmg.org.
(564) 397-5711

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

Hours for walk-in clients: you may wish to call and confirm that we are staffed before making a visit – 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 Knotweed

Master 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 more information, contact Clark County Vegetation Management:

Website: Vegetation Management program website
Email: weed.management@clark.wa.gov
Phone: 564-397-6140

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 the soil test kit form (PDF) 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 Learn about evaluating and reducing lead hazards 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 the Gardening in Washington State website.

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. Explore WSU Hortsense plant problem and pest management resources.

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. Explore WSU Pestsense indoor pest management resources.

Videos

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

Speaking Bureau

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.

Contact the Master Gardener Answer Clinic
Get help from WSU Extension experts at the Answer Clinic.
Explore Washington State gardening resources and tips
Washington State gardening resources and tips.