Penn State Extension will host master-gardener open house in Hempfield
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On the “Pittsburgh Gardeners, Homesteaders and Farmers” Facebook page, people are regularly soliciting advice for issues ranging from blossom end rot on their tomatoes, to moles and voles digging holes in their strawberry patches.
Natalie Sciulli, 24, of Plum, is thinking about planting garlic next fall.
“I grow tomatoes, peppers, kale, bok choi and some annual flowers like sunflowers and zinnias,” said Sciulli.
Amanda Cserr, 39, of New Bethlehem, needs some pest advice.
“Slugs, rabbits and moles,” she said. “The issue becomes how to deter them without stuff that will also damage the soil, like pesticides.”
Gardeners throughout the region offered tips and tricks on the page. On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., master gardeners from the Penn State Extension in Hempfield will host an open house to offer some state-certified advice on a variety of topics.
“We have several garden areas, from vegetables to perennials, with master gardeners who tend to each and can talk about what species grow really well in our area,” said Mandy Smith, master gardener coordinator at the Penn State Extension.
Smith said gardeners may take some interest in the extension’s deer-resistant garden, which started in 2019 and has been testing various types of plants on the local deer population.
“We had a really harsh winter, and even at my house, some of our deer-resistant plants were eaten,” Smith said. “But our deer-resistant garden is thriving.”
Plants such as beautyberry, calycanthus, black lace elderberry and tor spirea have remained very much intact over the past few years, Smith said.
“We’ll also have information for people about spotted lantern-flies and other invasive species, as well as information about good things you can use to bring pollinators to your garden,” she said.
National concern about the loss of pollinators — honey bees in particular — in the mid-to-late-2000s has largely subsided, owing to a better understanding of bee colonies affected by the invasive varroa mite, and of the pesticides used on crops frequented by honey bees, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Association.
But a lack of pollinators is hardly the only challenge home gardeners encounter, and the Penn State Extension’s Master Gardeners are happy to help.
“A few of our volunteers who work at our garden hotline will also be answering specific questions,” Smith said.
Sciulli, who is a horticulturist at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, said her biggest issue this season — both at work and at home — is the lack of rainfall.
“I water a lot during the day, and then I come home from work and do more work,” she said with a laugh.
The open house will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Penn State Extension, 214 Donohoe Road in Hempfield.
The event is free, and there is no registration required, although the extension does accept donations.