What's eating my plants? What can I grow in the shade? Rutgers Master Gardeners can help

Is something eating the prized plants in your New Jersey backyard and you need to identify a culprit? Don’t know what specific spots to plant in? The Rutgers Master Gardeners have you covered.

The Rutgers Master Gardener Program consists of trained volunteers who help homeowners derive more satisfaction from their gardens. There is a helpline in almost every county, and 1,200 volunteers make up the program.

“The Rutgers Master Gardener Program conducts outreach activities to educate the community with proven, research-based horticultural practices,” said Ruth Carll, the program's state leader of consumer horticulture. Rutgers owns thousands of acres of research farms in New Jersey, providing homeowners facts based on research conducted at these farms.

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“The garden is a place for personal escape, enjoying nature, chilling out, and meditative experiences,” said Joel Flagler, coordinator of the Master Gardener Program in Bergen County. “We are here to help people have greater success in their garden, build their confidence and be wise."

The heat, ticks, Joro spiders

Common inquiries homeowners call about include what is eating their plants, the best location for certain perennials, how to shield plants from the heat, how to deal with ticks, and concerns about Joro spiders. Despite callers asking if the Joro is here, Carll says the spiders have not popped up in gardens — yet.

In the 1990s, the hotline would take 3,000 to 5,000 calls each year. Then it gradually fell out of popularity as people loved the challenge of finding information online, said to Flagler, who took over the program in 1987. But interest in the hotline has bloomed again.

“We offer the facts, we don’t sell anything. We share the science, we help people make wise decisions about their lawns, landscapes, etc,” said Flagler. The Rutgers alum says the work that Master Gardeners can do is “all made possible because Rutgers sees the role of plants in our lives in a very holistic way.”

“As a botanist, I want to help people create sustainable and beautiful homes," said Carll. "It can be so easy but only if you have accurate, unbiased information and help when things go wrong. My favorite part is a happy expression on the face of someone who just learned something that made them smile.”

Gardening in urban settings

Carll believes urban settings are prime candidates for gardening.

“Just because there may not be farms or big yards, there is still the need for access to nature and the physical and mental benefits of gardening,” said Carll. “People report higher general happiness when plants are present within their communities…"

"Rutgers efforts to support urban agriculture and horticulture are specifically intended to strengthen the entire community,” Carll said.

The next training opportunity to become a Rutgers Master Gardener starts in January 2025, where training is intense but within everyone’s grasp, according to Carll.

To find the Rutgers Master Gardener Helpline in your county, use this link (https://njaes.rutgers.edu/master-gardeners/helplines.php) to talk to a Master Gardener and take your garden to new heights.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers Master Gardeners can answer your gardening questions