Inside Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area, California 01/28/2007
Community gardener joins Master Gardeners to talk dirt Talk dirt? New advice line a chat-line for horticulture By Rebekah Gordon, STAFF WRITER HALF MOON BAY ? A plot holder in San Mateo's community garden for 11 years, Carol O'Donnell wanted to talk about dirt. She hoped to rally her fellow plot-holders to engage in casual pow-wows about eradicating weeds and what to plant at what time of year, but no one seemed willing to chat. An avid fan of growing vegetables ? asparagus, tomatoes and Italian white butter beans are favorites ? O'Donnell, 65, had no one to talk with about the science of gardening. Then she found the Master Garden-ers. "One of the most thrilling things about it is to get into a group of like-minded gardeners," she said. "Who gives a rat's you-know-what about soil? The Master Gardeners do." Beginning Thursday, O'Donnell and other Master Gardeners hope other county residents who give a rat's you-know-what about soil and other gardening quandaries will give them a call to chat and get answers. As a newly graduated class of trained volunteers for the University of California's Cooperative Extension for San Mateo and San Francisco counties, the Master Gardeners will advise anyone for free ? from a school to a private citizen ? on anything horticulture related. They will do so primarily through the extension's new Gardening Information Help Line operating out of the Half Moon Bay office. "I think people are going to call and say, 'Why is my tree dying?' and 'You know what, I didn't put my tulips in and now is it too late?'" O'Donnell conjectured. "They might not want us to solve the problem, but, rather, help them find information." Forty eight applicants fought for 30 spots in the county's first training class last fall; 23 made it through the 11-week course and passed a final exam. Training, conducted by UC Davis professors, extension staff and even a gardener from the Filoli Estate, covered topics such as lawns and pests. Master Gardeners are expected to volunteer at least 75 hours a year, one third of them on the hot line. The other 50 hours will be devoted to community projects, such as advising schools looking to establish a garden or manning displays at county events. About 36 of the state's 58 counties have Master Gardener programs through the University of California's Cooperative Extension, making San Mateo County one of the last to join. Marilyn Johns, county director for the San Mateo-San Francisco extension office, said it was just a matter of time to get the dollars and the manpower to make the program happen. "This is definitely an area where we have a lot of interest and information and are only limited by our resources to extend the information," she said. With the realities of tight budgets ? the extension receives funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the University of California and the county ? the Master Gardeners are even more critical to help disseminate the extension's wealth of information, Johns said. Another training for the next class of Master Gardeners is already set to begin Sept. 5. One staffer fields at least 1,700 calls a year on gardening and horticultural questions, Johns said. Master Gardener programs through cooperative extension began in Washington state in 1972. Cooperative extension is a part of every state's land-grant university to share practical applications of the school's research. That means the information the Master Gardeners can provide residents is a level beyond a gardening magazine, Johns said. "What is invaluable about us and, sort of, unique to us, is we are not biased in any way," she said. "We give factual, research-based information and we refer them to fact-based resources that help them do what they want to do." Burlingame resident Bobbi Benson, also a newly anointed Master Gardener for San Mateo County, was surprised when she moved here in 1992 to find the program didn't exist. A gardener for decades, Benson has been a Master Gardener in her home state of Texas since 1989. She and nine others managed to squeeze their way into training in 2005 for Santa Clara County's Master Gardeners, a program largely considered a model. Meanwhile, Benson, 66, waited for San Mateo County to follow suit. Now, she can barely contain her excitement to get started. "It's a wonderful resource for the home gardener and I hate to tell you how much fun it is," she said. "You can keep your pulse on what's going on horticulturally in the community." Although a fan of tending to annuals and perennials, Benson lives in a condominium and has no garden of her own. Through helping others as a Master Gardener, she said, she can get her green-thumb fix. She's especially keen on advising schools looking to start up a garden or even getting Burlingame on the community garden wagon. "Now, San Mateo County is my garden," Benson said. "If I can improve the looks or improve what's growing and help other people grow what I can't, that is rewarding to me." Beginning Thursday, the Gardening Information Help Line will answer phones from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays. Call (650) 726-9059, ext. 107. Drop-ins are also welcome during the same hours at the Half Moon Bay office at 80 Stone Pine Road, Suite 100. For more information, visit http://www.cesanmateo.ucdavis.edu. Staff writer Rebekah Gordon can be reached at (650) 306-2428 or rgordon at sanmateocountytimes.com. http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_5105795?source=rss ? 2000-2006 ANG Newspapers
