2020 Master Gardener Annual Report

Statewide Highlights

• 3,090 active Penn State Extension Master Gardener volunteers
• 433 newly trained Master Gardeners
• 114,368 volunteer hours reported for a value of $3,110,809
• 87,970 direct adult contacts
• 17,071 direct youth contacts

Master Gardeners Speak

• 570 single session online or face-to-face presentations
• 230 radio, TV, or Internet spots

Master Gardeners Write

• 562 articles published in newspapers, magazines or blogs
• 21,287 subscribers to Home and Garden News, the statewide newsletter produced by the Master Gardener Program

Master Gardeners Teach

• 45 online or face-to-face conferences or seminars with multiple presenters
• Horticultural therapy in 28 special needs communities in 194 schools
• The Poison Prevention Program to 7,373 first grade students
• 108 educational displays at county and regional events

Master Gardeners Partner

• 433 community, non-profit, and county organizations

Donations

Penn State Extension Master Gardeners Step Up During COVID-19!

In early spring, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many Penn State Extension Master Gardener programs across Pennsylvania to cancel their annual plant sale fundraisers, along with several other gardening events. Numerous county programs turned this disappointment and hardship into a way to serve their communities. Donations of thousands of vegetable, herb, and ornamental plants, many propagated by the Master Gardeners themselves, became the new normal. Local communities became the beneficiaries of the unsold plants. Various nonprofit groups, school programs, churches, food banks, senior centers, and other organizations welcomed the generosity of the Master Gardeners. In total, 19,243 vegetables, herbs, perennials, and annual plants were donated in the spring along with 1,000 pounds of seed potatoes and 5,489 seed packets!

Photo by Jason Plotkin

Life was made a little brighter for frontline health care workers as well. A statewide campaign was launched to raise funds to provide plants to staff who were helping to fight COVID-19 at three Penn State Health facilities: Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Lime Spring Outpatient Center in Lancaster, and St. Joseph Medical Center in Reading. The generous donations helped purchase 917 hanging baskets.

Erin Harding, the director of radiation and hematology oncology operations at Hershey Medical Center helped coordinate the distribution. Harding commented, "There were so many different, beautiful varieties that it made it difficult for everyone to choose. It was a pure joy to see the happiness these flowers brought to our employees. I was grateful to be a part of the experience."

Not only did these purchases show our appreciation to our health care workers, but it simultaneously, supported green-industry businesses that have been impacted economically by the pandemic. Several county programs raised additional funds to support their local frontline heroes, well.

Master Gardeners did not stop there! Over the summer, volunteers repurposed demonstration gardens and home gardens by planting vegetables instead of flowers to help their communities. In some counties, community members partnered with Master Gardeners in supporting those hit hard by the pandemic. 17,388 pounds of produce were donated to underserved communities and to those experiencing high levels of food insecurity.

Photo by Judy Coleman

Statewide Master Gardener Programs

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Victory Garden Reinvented

Victory Gardens originated during World War I when farmers were recruited into military service causing a severe food shortage. Americans were asked to contribute to the war effort by planting gardens in order to grow not only their own fruits and vegetables but to export the excess to allies abroad. Victory Gardens reemerged during World War II for the same reasons. Not only did people grow their own food, but it was a way to express their patriotism. It has been estimated that in 1943, 40% of all of the fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the US was grown in these home gardens.

Photo by Nancy Knauss

In March, during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home order in Pennsylvania, Penn State Extension Master Gardeners realized there would be an increased demand for information about home gardens, in particular, vegetable gardens. The Victory Garden Reinvented webinar series was developed to meet this demand and provided a new twist to the traditional Victory Garden. The 10-session webinar covered the basic concepts of home vegetable gardening, as well as newer growing methods including no-till gardening, integrated pest management, the use of cover crops and row covers, and container gardening. In addition to popularly grown vegetables, fruit crops and some specialty vegetables were also discussed. We wanted to make sure that beginner gardeners, along with more experienced gardeners, would be exposed to quality, research-based information that they could then use in their own home gardens.

The presenters included consumer horticulture educators, Master Gardener coordinators, and experienced Master Gardeners who have strong backgrounds raising specific crops.

Photo by Christa Bupp

The impact of the Victory Garden Reinvented webinar series was significant, not only for Pennsylvania residents, but for participants across the country and in parts of Canada. Registrants represented 44 states and seven Canadian provinces. There were 10,704 people in attendance over the 10-week series with 7,556 who viewed the recorded sessions. To reach an even broader audience, the series was translated into Spanish.

Growing Gardeners

The Penn State Extension Master Gardener Program values agricultural education and is committed to delivering horticulture knowledge to all youth in our Pennsylvania communities. With the onset of the pandemic this spring, more youth and adults found themselves working and learning at home. Backyards, community gardens, and outdoor parks became the ideal environment to relieve stress, exercise, and discover more about plants.

Photo by Dennis Roesch

Master Gardeners from across the state collaborated, volunteering their time and talents, to create webinars and short learning videos to teach youth about horticulture while having fun! Topics included:

• Seeds & Germination: Powerful Seeds and Mighty Germination
• Planting, Planning & Transplanting: Plants Move In!
• Composting & Vermicomposting: Let's Rot and Wiggle!
• Plant Parts: Tops, Bottoms and Middles!
• Pollinators & Honeybees: What's All the Buzz About?
• Exciting Entomology: Bug Parts!

Additional resources including lesson plans, books, activities, and photos were compiled to assist parents, teachers, and caregivers to teach youth and develop an awareness and appreciation for the natural world.

Combined, the webinars and short videos were played 410 times with 636 impressions. Yes, Master Gardeners are Growing Gardeners!

Garden Hotline

Total of 10,600 questions answered:

• 9,479 gardening questions
• 1,121 eXtension questions
• 407 Garden Hotline volunteers
• 10,896 volunteer hours contributed

Data does not include 1,121 questions answered online through eXtension

Of the individuals completing the survey, 50 percent responded that they had changed or adopted a new gardening or landscaping practice as a result of the advice they received.

Results from the follow-up survey that was shared with Garden Hotline users:

• 93 percent found the information provided very useful.
• 96 percent rated the service very good to excellent.

Garden Hotline LIVE!

Expanding Our Services to Help Pennsylvanians

Garden Hotline LIVE! is a free public webinar series that showcases the high-quality Garden Hotline services offered by Master Gardeners in county Extension offices. Originally started in April to promote remote Garden Hotline services, the series continues to attract over 300 live and 200 recorded views each month.

How does it work? Questions are collected from the public in advance of the webinar and assigned to a rotating team of panelists, made up of Master Gardener Coordinators and Master Gardeners, to research. Panelists then present their responses, illustrated with a photo-filled PowerPoint and poll questions, during the live webinar so viewers can learn from the questions (and sometimes mistakes) of their fellow Pennsylvania gardeners.

Left answer: The damage is not caused by a disease, but is due to drought/heat stress and mites. Right answer: C

Garden Hotline LIVE! By the Numbers:

• 99 percent of participants rate the series as Good or Excellent.
• 85 percent specifically rate the webinar's content as Good or Excellent.
• 92 percent indicated they would be 'Very Likely' to sign up for another Penn State Master Gardener webinar.
• 57 percent indicated they would change or adopt a new gardening practice based on advice in the webinars.

Spotted Lanternfly

Photo by Lawrence Barringer, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, bugwood.org

Spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive sap-sucking planthopper from southeast Asia, first discovered in the United States in Berks County in 2014. In the years since its discovery in Pennsylvania, it has established populations in 26 Pennsylvania counties, eight states and has increased its numbers dramatically within the earlier infestation range. SLF feeds on at least 75 plant hosts, including landscape trees, grapevines, fruit trees, timber, and hops and has the potential for huge economic impact on Pennsylvania's agriculture.

Penn State has become a national leader in research and education on the spotted lanternfly, working closely with the Department of Agriculture (PDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). While researchers are at work on multiple fronts to develop safe and effective management strategies, Penn State Extension Master Gardeners have been charged with dissemination of reliable and current information to the general public.

Master Gardeners have a two-fold role in addressing the SLF infestation: to promote non-chemical management practices and to advise residents on chemical intervention if, and when, that is an appropriate strategy.

One non-toxic and effective technique available to residents is to place a single band of sticky flypaper tape around the trunk of infested trees about four feet from the ground. Since it is the habit of SLF to repeatedly drop to the ground and then crawl up nearby vertical structures, the insects will be caught as they attempt to ascend the tree trunk. Residents are cautioned that every sticky band must be surrounded by a wire screening or fabric cage to prevent contact by other insects, songbirds, or small mammals.

Penn State has introduced a new trapping method for SLF, the use of circle traps, which are mounted on target trees. These traps also exploit the insect's habit of climbing tree trunks, but instead of using sticky substances, they simply funnel climbing insects between layers of netting to guide them into a capture bag or jar.

Photo by Beth Finlay

Master Gardeners across the state created demonstration sites illustrating how both sticky bands and circle traps can be used by PA residents. Accompanying signage explains the traps and how to employ them. To date 38 displays have been created in public places and many more are planned.