| Finding Horticultural Information on the Wide, Wide, Wide Web Kris LaMar, OSU Master Gardener since 2013
Master Gardeners are volunteers trained in home horticulture in a program begun in King County, WA, in 1973. As unpaid employees of the universities they represent, Master Gardeners are limited to home horticulture subjects, restricted to the giving of advice to areas addressed in homes and home landscapes, and not commercial or farming activities. Master Gardeners are prohibited from making home visits, recommending commercial entities, or participating in any for-profit activities.
My volunteer work as a Master Gardener, and especially as a member of the Extension’s Ask an Expert, aka "Ask Extension" panel has opened horizons I never knew existed. When insect and disease issues arise in the landscape or the home, many gardeners don’t know where to turn. Especially in the post-pandemic age, our traditional methods--of visiting an Extension office to consult with staff and Master Gardeners there—may be gone or limited.
Thankfully, there is a wealth of information available on the Internet but, like commercial needs, the trustworthiness of that information should be understood. Each state has at least one agricultural university (often land grant institutions), and every county in the nation has an Extension agent. These are extensions of the university’s research and teaching efforts, demanded by farmers and ranchers in the early 20th century. Research is conducted under strict scientific rules, and articles, books, publications, and advice is found in the “site:edu” domain of the Internet. Since these universities are taxpayer supported, no advice may be provided about commercial entities, “grandma’s remedies,” nor unresearched methodologies.
The most common domain on the Internet are organizations with “site:com” domains. Their interest is to sell something, and, while advice they dispense may be reliable, one must consider the source. The other primary domain group is “site:org”, and the organization they represent may or may not have the gardeners’ interests as a priority.
So, that’s a start. But how do you find reliable information within the vast Extension network? The simpler, the better, is a good start with Internet research. Suppose you wanted to know about black spot on roses. You want it to be pertinent to the Pacific Northwest, and you want to avoid harmful chemicals and “quack cures.” Type into the search engine “black spot roses pacific northwest “site:edu”. Nine websites pop up, three of them from either OSU or WSU sources. OSU and WSU work closely together in research in the regions west of the Cascades, and the University of Idaho is added to the knowledge and research base for areas east of the Cascades. One source not listed is the PNW Plant Disease Management Handbook, searchable by plant name. There are other resources there for insects, weeds, and pesticide safety. While the weed portion is primarily for crops, becoming familiar with it is a start to identification and management. Pesticide information and safety is most easily researched at the National Pesticide Information Center (also located in Corvallis) as “npic.orst.edu”. This resource is a user-friendly site, with contact information for its staff.
If you need information on plant care an excellent list of 7500 plants, their needs and photos, can be found at http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/plantfindersearch.aspx
Many of us who have both plants and pets are concerned about whether some plants are toxic to animals or not. The ASPCA has a searchable database for most every plant you’d want, and whether they are toxic to cats, dogs and horses. This website is at https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants.
Many other states have valuable websites for other topics. The best for IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is University of California: https://ipm.ucanr.edu/.
The University of Minnesota has many valuable pages on many topics, including house plants: https://extension.umn.edu/find-plants/houseplants.
In addition to articles, OSU also has a Plant Clinic to which samples of plants with problems can be sent for diagnostic work: https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/plant-clinic/submit-sample/how-submit-plant-materials.
OSU lists several options for plant/weed identification: https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/plant-clinic/services-and-fees/plantweed-identification.
As knowledge keeps growing, members of Garden Clubs need to keep ahead of developments in many areas in addition to those listed above. Over the next months, we’ll explore topics relevant to the season to provide access to resources when an expert isn’t nearby. Let’s tackle the Web together.
I invite you to submit questions and topics about which you are interested, flummoxed or just curious. You can send emails with question and comments to: Kris LaMar
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