Plant, pest clinic open for the growing season

By DAVID SPRAGUE

OSU Ext. master gardener volunteer

CANFIELD

Winter is mostly behind us after the weekend cold snap. Hopefully, it was just Mother Nature’s April Fool’s joke. We hope she is done joking because our thoughts are turning to the coming spring and summer.

Gardeners are thinking about this years’ flowers and vegetables, and homeowners are thinking about spending time in their yards. While no one wants to think about something going wrong with their summer gardening plans, disease, pests and other problems can happen.

So, where can you get help if a problem comes up? Well, the Ohio State University Mahoning County Extension Office’s Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic can help.

The 2019 clinic started April 1. The clinic’s OSU master gardener volunteers, under the guidance of the extension staff, can help you on a wide range of questions.

We answer questions on flowers, vegetables, lawn care, trees and shrubs. We identify and recommend controls for garden and household pests using the Integrated Pest Management method. We identify plants and plant diseases and make recommendations on fertilizers and soil amendments. There is no cost for these services.

The clinic also offers laboratory soil tests for your garden, flower beds and lawns. Laboratory soil tests are more accurate and provide more information than off-the-shelf, soil-test kits.

Lawns, flower beds and garden soil should be tested every two to three years before applying fertilizer or other amendments. The cost for a soil test is $20 per soil sample. We dry it, package it, mail it, and both of us get a copy of the results. For information on how to take a soil sample, go to http://go.osu.edu/soiltesting.

The clinic is a service of the extension office, and the answers we provide are the results of university or government tests and evaluations. Also, as part of the extension system, the clinic has full access to OSU’s experts and resources to find answers for you.

If you want a plant identified, provide as many parts of the plant as possible including stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit/berries (if available). The fresher the sample, the better. Individual leaves do not make a good sample.

For plant diseases, provide a fresh sample showing both diseased and healthy tissue – stems, leaves, flowers and fruit. For pest identification, collect one or more whole sample or samples in a plastic bag or jar. Write your name on the bag or jar.

A good lawn sample includes 4 to 6 inches from the lawn that contains both good and bad areas of grass. Include the grass roots and soil to a depth of 2 inches.