Resources for Garden Retailers

Garden Hotlines

The following information is provided to garden retailers to help answer home gardening questions from customers. These resources are also available to home gardeners in Massachusetts.

eXtension www.extension.org

Excellent resource for anyone needing information all types of gardening and home horticulture. eXtension is an educational partnership of more than 70 land-grant universities helping Americans improve their lives with access to timely, objective, research-based information and educational opportunities. eXtension's interactive web site (below) is customized with links to local Cooperative Extension webs sites.

Master Gardener Garden Hotlines (Staffed by volunteers)

• Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
  (413) 298-5355
  Mondays, 9 am - noon, May1 through Oct. 1. Questions taken via voice mail and email year round.
• University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension
  Gardening and Food Safety Hotline
  (401) 874-2929 (from outside Rhode Island)
  year round, Mon.- Thur. 9am-2pm

Botanic Gardens

• Arnold Arboretum Plant Information Line, Jamaica Plain, MA
  (617) 524-1718 x 127
  Trees & Shrubs only
  year round, Mon. 1pm-3pm
• Tower Hill Botanic Garden Hort Line, Boylston, MA
  Worcester County Horticultural Society
  (508) 869-6111 x10
  year round, Wed. 2pm-4pm
  (Walk-ins are accepted during hot-line hours; however, admission will be charged)

Pesticide Information

• National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) (800) 858-7378
  Sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency & Oregon State Univ; Provides objective, science based information about pesticides and health related concerns.

Poisonings

• Massachusetts and Rhode Island Poison Control System, Boston, MA
  1-800-222-1222 (Emergencies)
  1-800-682-9211 (Toxicologist Consultation)

Conservation and Wildlife

• Mass. Audubon Wildlife Information Line, Lincoln, MA
  (781) 259-2151
  year round, Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm
• Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
  Wildlife" section of the web site includes information about nuisance wildlife and a listing of licensed control agents.
  e-mail: mass.wildlife@state.ma.us

Web sites from Universities in New England that offer home horticulture information.

• University of Massachusetts Extension Agriculture & Landscape Program (Fact Sheets)
• The Univ. of Connecticut Home and Garden Education Center
• The Univ. of Vermont Extension Master Gardener Web site
• The Univ. of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension Education Center
• Univ. of New Hampshire Family, Home & Garden Education Center

Other useful home horticulture web sites

• Mass. Dept. of Agricultural Resources
  (For listings of farmers markets, pick your own farms and other agricultural marketing information.)
• Massachusetts Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Information available from this agency ranges from preventing soil erosion, to keeping water clean and plentiful, to safe handling and disposal of household products.
• The Ohio State Univ. Fact Sheet Database & Univ. Search Engine
  (over 20,000 pages of Extension fact sheets of plant related information)
• Univ. of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center
  
• Univ. of Minnesota Yard & Garden Line
• The Education Center of the American Phytopathological Society
  (For illustrated lessons and information on plant diseases.)
• United State Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)

____________
Tina M. Smith
Extension Educator
UMass Extension, Amherst, MA
updated 7-08