{"id":2394,"date":"2023-01-11T12:14:13","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T17:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/?p=2394"},"modified":"2023-01-11T12:14:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T17:14:32","slug":"gardening-helpline-five-year-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/gardening-helpline-five-year-high\/","title":{"rendered":"Gardening Helpline Hits a Five-Year High"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

Since its start in 1991, the UVM Extension Master Gardener<\/a> program has offered a Gardening Helpline, where trained volunteers respond to home and community gardening questions from Vermonters throughout the state.<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, the helpline has pivoted from a telephone call-in service to going completely online during COVID-19, and in 2022, to a blended service. Vermonters can either call in or ask their questions online through Ask Extension (a national initiative created and maintained by the Extension Foundation).<\/p>\n

\"AIt may come as no surprise that the blended service helpline responded to a record number of gardening questions in 2022: it served 1,069 Vermonters, a five-year high for the program!<\/p>\n

The types of questions volunteers receive range the gamut of home and community-based landscape and gardening topics. During 2022, the top questions helpline volunteers addressed were about:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Trees – 17 percent.<\/li>\n
  2. Insect, weed and disease pests – 17 percent.<\/li>\n
  3. Vegetables and berries – 15 percent.<\/li>\n
  4. Ornamental plants – 15 percent.<\/li>\n
  5. Soils and soil test report guidance – 12 percent.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Volunteers also responded to queries on insect and plant identification, lawn care and pollinators, and many other topics.<\/p>\n

    Using a replacement calculation approach, if the helpline services were terminated, it would cost the university $42,461 in faculty and staff time to respond to these questions. What an amazing contribution by Extension Master Gardener volunteers!<\/p>\n

    The plan is to continue the blended Gardening Helpline services in 2023. In fact, volunteers have already responded to four gardening questions during the first week of the new year.<\/p>\n

    \"Two
    UVM Extension Master Gardener volunteers Susan Stanne (l) and Gina Scafa (r) staff the Gardening Helpline phone-in service in Jeffords Hall during the 2022 gardening season. Photo credit: Lisa Chouinard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Vermonters can ask their gardening questions and post photos of pests or diseases by visiting the helpline website<\/a>. The call-in service will reopen on Thursday mornings starting April 6, and will accept online questions 24\/7\/365.<\/p>\n

    Appreciation goes to Drs. Ann Hazelrigg and Margaret Skinner for providing technical information to the helpline volunteers, as well as a very special thanks to Lisa Chouinard who supports the helpline and makes sure the volunteers have everything they need. The helpline is supported in part with funds from the USDA NIFA Crop Protection and Pest Management Program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Since its start in 1991, the UVM Extension Master Gardener program has offered a Gardening Helpline, where trained volunteers respond to home and community gardening questions from Vermonters throughout the state. Over the past few years, the helpline has pivoted from a telephone call-in service to going completely online during COVID-19, and in 2022, to … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “Gardening Helpline Hits a Five-Year High”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7974,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13,53,29],"tags":[32,52,93,21,51],"class_list":["post-2394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cals","category-ext","category-programs","category-staff","tag-master-gardener","tag-pests","tag-pollinators","tag-pss","tag-soils"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2999,"url":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/heleba-chouinard-rowe-community-development-award\/","url_meta":{"origin":2394,"position":0},"title":"Heleba and Chouinard Receive Ellen Rowe Community Development Award","author":"CALS Communications","date":"May 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Debra Heleba and Lisa Chouinard of the UVM Extension Community Horticulture Program recently received the Ellen Rowe Community Development Award. This annual Extension award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in the field of community development and commemorates Ellen's 50 years of service, by recognizing employees whose efforts personify her commitment to excellence\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Awards"","block_context":{"text":"Awards","link":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/category\/awards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lisa Chouinard and Debra Heleba","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/05\/Heleba-Chouinard.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/05\/Heleba-Chouinard.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/05\/Heleba-Chouinard.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/05\/Heleba-Chouinard.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/05\/Heleba-Chouinard.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2873,"url":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/extension-master-gardener-helpline-open\/","url_meta":{"origin":2394,"position":1},"title":"Extension Master Gardener Helpline Now Open for the Season","author":"CALS Communications","date":"April 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The UVM Extension Master Gardener Helpline phones are now open on Thursday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The phone number is 802-656-5421 (leave a voicemail if calling outside of operating hours). The helpline phones are staffed during the gardening season until October 26. For a faster response, questions also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CALS"","block_context":{"text":"CALS","link":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/category\/cals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A person is holding a cellphone with the UVM Master Gardening QR code in front of a laptop screen with the website.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/04\/uvm-master-gardener-hotline.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/04\/uvm-master-gardener-hotline.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/04\/uvm-master-gardener-hotline.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/04\/uvm-master-gardener-hotline.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/04\/uvm-master-gardener-hotline.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2023\/04\/uvm-master-gardener-hotline.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3784,"url":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/2024-extension-master-gardener-course-registration-is-open\/","url_meta":{"origin":2394,"position":2},"title":"2024 Extension Master Gardener Course Registration is Open","author":"CALS Communications","date":"November 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Registration is now open for the 2024 UVM Extension Master Gardener course, a comprehensive gardening course that covers: Basic botany. 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Also in Vermont Public Phys.org Daily Climate Nature World News Trisha Shrum was interviewed by WCAX about Burlington's inadequate nature spaces. She stated this can make properties less affordable,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CALS"","block_context":{"text":"CALS","link":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/category\/cals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Megaphone shouting news about agriculture.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2022\/01\/news4.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2022\/01\/news4.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2022\/01\/news4.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2022\/01\/news4.png?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/files\/2022\/01\/news4.png?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4256,"url":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cals-news\/cals-in-the-news-march-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":2394,"position":4},"title":"CALS in the News-March 2024","author":"CALS Communications","date":"March 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"CDAE Assistant Professor Trisha Shrum was interviewed by WCAX about the way Vermonters spend their money and how it will evolve as extreme weather occurrences increase. 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UVM saffron expert Arash Ghalehgolabbehbahani, along with researchers Bruce L. Parker and Margaret Skinner are mentioned in the article. 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