You might be surprised to know that master gardeners in Root County are available 24 hours a day and can help you with any gardening need.
On-site consultation hours are available every Thursday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at the CSU Companion Office (located in the Root County Building on Sixth Street) through the end of the summer. And to make it even more accessible, you can ask questions anytime (but usually Thursdays) by email or phone.
"Historically, the most common types of questions we've been asked are identifying weeds and plants and — depending on the type of plant — how to propagate or kill them," said Todd Hagenbuch, county and agriculture officer.
"We also see cyclical issues like the growing season. For example, we are now getting a lot of questions about how to get rid of watercress," Hagenbuch added.
To get the right answers to your questions, it is important to get as much information as possible about the plant (photos and videos are great) and other things like where it was planted, the amount of sun and water, the age of the plant, etc. . amongst other things.
"Identifying plants and identifying problems can be very difficult, and the more information we have, the better we can do our job," says Barb Sanders, who is responsible for organizing the volunteer hours. "We can't promise that we'll always know the answer, but we're always doing research and sharing investigative tools and materials to help gardeners with their own research. The main goal of the Master Gardener program is learning and teaching in the community. "
A common misconception is that a master gardener's job is to do crafts in the garden or to design and advise on landscaping. "We cannot help residents who ask us to fix their yard or do landscaping," Sanders explained. But we can explain how to prevent or control weeds in the landscape and give advice on how to choose the best plants for specific areas.
The Routt County Master Gardeners have had an ongoing program for nearly 25 years to answer residents' questions. Sometimes it was a farmer's market stall. Today, in addition to operating hours, Master Gardeners strives to offer special courses, projects and other learning opportunities for local gardeners. If you have questions about this type of education, please contact the Horticulture Office. Depending on the nature of the problem, a limited site visit can also be arranged.
And if you are thinking how to get rid of the white bat, you must now cut the plant just above the ground (do not try to dig, because it is impossible to reach all the roots, which will only encourage more growth); collect and destroy plant material (you can tie it tightly in a garbage bag); Then at the beginning of the following year, before the plant grows, mark the spot so that you can spray a suitable herbicide and kill it properly.
For more information on Whitetop, see sanmiguel.extension.colosate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2019/06/White-Top-hoary-cress-Management.pdf.
