Master Gardener Program
Erika Johnson, Program Coordinator
erika.d.johnson@wsu.edu
(564) 397-5738
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
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
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 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:
- Healthy Forests
- Mason Bees
- Grow Your Own Strawberries
- Slugs and Snails: Know Your Enemy
- Vegetables A to Z
- Lessons From My Garden
- Saving Seeds From The Home Garden
- Growing a Greener Green Lawn
- Starting an Herb Garden
- Sustainable Landscaping
- Annuals, Perennials, Grasses: With a Fall Twist
- Answer Clinic Exposed!
- Blueberry Pruning & Basic Care
- Urban Landscape Tree Pruning
- Grape Pruning & Basic Care
- A Seasonal Approach to Color
- Bring Back the Pollinators
- Preparing Your Home and Landscape for Wildfire
- Water Wise Gardening
- Small Fruits in the Home Garden
- Let It All Soak In: A Rain Garden Webinar
- Why Public Gardens? And Why Clematis?
- Iris Blooms Throughout The Season
- Invasive Weeds Training
- Invasive Insects Training
- Lawn Reduction: Planning, Methods, Alternatives & Inspiration
- Sensitive Habitat Restoration in Clark County
- Garden Tools: Steel, Fire, Anvil and Good, Honest Sweat!
- Backyard Fruit Trees
- Meadowscaping in the Home Garden
- The Culinary Breeding Network
- Soil Basics for Beginning Gardeners
- Hardy Citrus in the PNW
- Drip Irrigation in the Home Garden
- Introduction to NatureScaping: Incorporating Native Plants into the Home Landscape
- Our Urban Canopy: How is it doing?
- Soil! – What It Is & How It Works
- Sustainable Living & Gardening
- Successful Landscaping in the Ornamental Garden
- Hops in the Home Garden
Speakers Bureau
Would you like to have a Master Gardener present at your garden club, service club or community group? Master Gardeners present on topics such as vegetable gardening, fruit tree care, ornamental gardening and others.
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 |
