For answers to your gardening questions, try HGIC, more properly known as the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center.
The Cooperative Extension Service was born from the land grant college system, as a way for universities to get information on nutrition, gardening and home economics to small town and rural families and the latest scientific agricultural information to teachers, farmers and nursery owners. Over the years, Extension has been invaluable as a source of information through brochures and classes, and most recently, through the internet.
The Home and Garden Information Center was developed to offer an efficient way of answering questions from an increasingly urban population. HGIC staff, all of whom are Certified Professional Horticulturists, answer questions from gardeners via telephone and email. The website is excellent, with many free online publications, others that may be ordered, ( including the newly updated Master Gardener Handbook), and self-led discovery of plant/pest problems under ‘plant diagnostics’.
If you have questions on deer repellants, how to grow tomatoes, or the best grass seed varieties for our area, this is the place to look for information. And the key is—for our area. This is locally produced information with local relevance.
The toll-free phone number for Maryland residents is at 1-800-342-2507 and the web address is www.hgic.umd.edu You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
To view a video of what HGIC offers, go to http://www.hgic.umd.edu/content/VideoIntroducingHGIC.cfm
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