Chautauqua County Master Gardeners Gardening Tips and Techniques

Master Gardener’s Mission The Mission of the Chautauqua County Master Gardener Program is to educate and serve the community, utilizing university and research-based horticultural information.

Who We Are Volunteers from the community With desire to provide Horticultural education and resources Successfully completed 60 hours of Cornell approved training Required to volunteer 50 hours per year

Training Master Gardeners gain valuable knowledge and experience through education. –Garden Botany –Woody Plant –Soils and fertilizers –Composting –Perennials –Annuals –Herbs –Vegetable Gardening –Gardening for Water Quality –Nuisance Wildlife –Integrated Pest Management

Serving The participants are involved in a variety of projects throughout the county Horticultural Help Line Troubleshooting pH testing, soil samples Presentations Workshops Community Gardens Horticultural publications Youth and Special Needs projects

Master Gardeners Helpline Helpline ext

So you are thinking about starting a garden! Where do you begin –Garden books –Horticultural magazines –Seed catalogs

Seed Catalogs SupplierWebsitePhone Burgess Seed & Plantwww.eburgess.com Burpee Gardeningwww.burpee.com Dutch Gardenswww.dutchgardens.com Fungi Perfectwww.fungi.com Gardeners Supplywww.gardeners.com Gurneyswww.gurneys.com Johnny’s Selected Seedwww.johnnyseeds.com Jung Seeds & Plantswww.jungseed.com Pinetree Garden Seedswww.superseeds.com The Pumpkin Proswww.harrisseeds.com John Scheeperswww.kitchengardensee ds.com Select Seedswww.selectseeds.com Stark Broswww.starkbros.com Stokeswww.stokeseeds.com Thompson & Morganwww.tmseeds.com

Now What? Identify the type of garden you would like to start –Annuals –Perennials –Vegetables –Herb

So you have an idea. Identify the location –Sunny or Shady –Dry or Wet –New garden or refurbished

Determine the Plants Start Seedlings Purchase plants Plant seeds

Make your own Pots Use newspaper Seed starting mix Self watering

Step One Once the soil is warm enough to start to work –Remove any large rocks, or other debris –Rototill the soil

Step Two This might be the most important Take a soil sample –Determine the pH –Identify any needed amendments –Confirm the potential crop success

Step Three Prepare the rows Direct plant any seeds Transplant seedlings

Companion Planting Carrots Love Tomatoes – Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening ByLouise Riotte

Step Four Water Feed Weed Enjoy

Documentation Create a Garden Journal –Plan your garden –Record your activities –Measure your success –Plan for future

Questions