Have you found yourself in the garden looking at a plant and wondering what is going on with those leaves? You think your plant is getting enough, but not too much, water but it just doesn't look right. Or have you been out checking your veggies and seen strange bugs and wondered what they are and if they and are they harmful to your plants? Do you have an old tree in the yard that is just not looking its best and wonder what to do?
Well, we have the resource for you!! Our Helpline is here for you! Our helpline is a free resource for the community where we answer questions on a wide variety of topics. Some examples include: what vegetables to plant this time of year; what is eating your plants; why are your plant's leaves twisting; what type of tree would be good for your area; why are your tomatoes not producing; how should I use compost or mulch in my garden; how do I fertilize my plants; what is the best way to manage ants and other pests in my yard; what type of tree is this in my new back yard……and much more…but you get the idea! We get questions about anything and everything gardening related and we love to help!
Kelly, one of our Master Gardener helpline volunteers says:
“We at San Bernardino Master Gardener Helpline learn from our clients every time we pick up the phone or read email inquiry. It's a mutual sort of learning like a cross pollination of information that occurs when fielding the broad range of questions from our residents in surrounding communities (& Sunset Growing Zones). Whether it's about identifying a strange crop from client photos or how to deal with pests in productive ways, researching these subjects to provide practical real-time answers is always interesting and fun, because gardens and gardening are ultimately about sharing food, flowers, information, and experiences. The MG helpline is a strong hub of researched information and resource gathering which helps us to grow our program, because we communicate with so many clients from all the surrounding regions and Sunset Growing Zones consistently, Monday through Friday of every week. I really enjoy being a part of the MG Helpline Team and serving as a San Bernardino Master Gardener since 2017. I think my fellow Master Gardeners would agree that working the MG Helpline has made us strong, more informed representatives for the Master Gardener Program in the field at events and working on community projects, and I look forward to learning more.”
Master Gardener Helpline volunteer Loleta adds: “The Helpline is one of the world's best-kept secrets. It's a place where people can get answers they can trust. Our answers are based in science and research, and they're specific to our western climate zones.” So, if you know about the helpline or have been using it be sure to pass the information on to friends and family so that everyone knows we are a free gardening hotline here to help you out every step of the way!! ….and don't forget that the only silly question is the one that you don't ask, so don't be shy…send us an email or give us a call today! We are looking forward to hearing from you and taking the mysteries out of gardening!
So how do you use this resource? It's free and available to you 24/7! Just send us an email or give us a call (contact information at end of blog) and leave a message and we will get back to you within a day or two and get to solving your challenges! It's great when you can send us photos of your troubled plants as well, and that is a big help in having us figure out what's going on in the garden.
Typically, a phone call to the helpline will go like this: you will call and leave a message with your question and contact information and then we will research the topic and get back to you. We often will get back to you with some follow up questions to help focus in on specific details so we can give you the best answer possible and follow up with an email if possible. Email questions are great since you can send photos! We respond to your emails in a timely way that often includes follow-up questions to clarify your issue/problem. Besides finding an immediate solution, our goal is to provide resources for you to use in the future that help you find solutions as problems occur, and mostly, to prevent the problems from occurring in the first place! As another one of our Helpline volunteers, Cindy, (who is also the Helpline committee lead, helping to organize Master Gardener volunteers and manage the Helpline infrastructure) says “I can tell that many of the people who use the Helpline have really come to depend on it in a personal way and that (we) are dedicated to helping them no matter how hard or mysterious the questions are. It's like being the detectives of the gardening world.” So let us help you with your garden mysteries!!
Many members of the public use this resource regularly and we are so happy to see that they know we are here for them to help with their gardening journey's and adventures, but still there are people out there who don't know about it!
Helpline Contact information for all areas of San Bernardino County:
Phone number: 909-387-2182
Email: mgsanbern@ucanr.edu