Grow this vegetable and get hooked on gardening
Tyler Gough, director of Indy Urban Acres, says you’ll get hooked on gardening once you start growing your own tomatoes.
- Residents can receive help identifying plant diseases and insects, conducting soil tests, and more.
- The Master Gardener Hotline is a free service for residents of the county.
The Penn State Extension Master Gardener Hotline is a free service to assist county residents with questions and concerns about flowers, vegetables, trees, shrubs, lawns, household insects, animal pests and more. We are happy to help with your gardening questions by phone, email or in-person.
During the fall and winter months, Master Gardener volunteers have been monitoring phone calls and emails to the hotline and answering questions remotely from home.
With spring and summer months approaching, we look forward to being physically present in the hotline office. Volunteers will be available for scheduled days and hours beginning in mid-May. Where are we located? You can find us at our new location on the Penn State Beaver Campus, 100 University Drive, Monaca, PA. 15061. We are in the Ross Administration Building on the ground floor. You can reach us by phone at 724-371-2062 to make sure someone will be in the office.
Once we are available in the office, you can bring in samples of those diseased leaves or unknown insects, and we will try to help on the spot.
For plant questions, select fresh plant samples with intact parts, including flowers, if present, showing both healthy and unhealthy growth.
For insect identification and advice, enclose live insect specimens (and infested plants) in an airtight container or zip-top bag. If you cannot keep the insect alive, either place it in a jar with a small amount of rubbing alcohol or freeze it (no alcohol) for several days to preserve the specimen. If we can’t identify that disease or insect, we will send your sample to the Penn State Plant Disease Clinic or Department of Entomology Lab on the main campus. If you can’t stop in, you can always email us at [email protected] with photos of your plants or insects. Please be sure to take clear digital photos.
Soil test kits are also available in the office. You will be able to submit your own soil sample for analysis at the Agricultural Analytical Services Lab at Penn State University Park campus. Once you get your results back, we can help you with interpreting them and the recommendations to improve your soil for vegetable, shrub or flower gardening.
At the Garden Hotline, we can assist with all your gardening questions by doing necessary research and providing you with science-based information.
Popular areas of interest have included attracting pollinators, clearing invasive plants, incorporating native plants, living with wildlife, creating a privacy border, managing insect pests, pruning overgrown shrubs, vegetable gardening, and Spotted Lantern Fly. Don’t hesitate if you have a question or concern about these or any other garden topic.
Think Spring!
Laura Murphy is a Penn State Master Gardener in Beaver County.
