The purpose of the SDSU Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program is to provide current, research-based, consumer horticulture information and education to the citizens of South Dakota through SDSU Extension Master Gardener projects and services.
SDSU Extension hosts Master Gardener Training annually throughout the state of South Dakota during the summer months. Master Gardener training is an eight-week course and is offered at three locations throughout the state.
Master Gardeners are welcome to join Master Gardener groups across the state of South Dakota. These are volunteer-run clubs. For more information about club meeting dates/times and activities, please contact the club officers listed below.
The South Dakota Master Gardener (SDMG) Association is a 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to provide assistance to SDSU Extension in carrying out their basic mission to disseminate research-based information on ornamental horticulture and gardening to the general public by coordinating the activities of its member Master Gardeners in fulfilling their obligated hours of assistance to SDSU Extension
SDSU Extension Master Gardener Clubs come together to provide services and education to communities across the state. This article features a snapshot of some of the programs that have been offered over the last 8-12 months.
Spring is coming, and the South Dakota Master Gardeners Association Earl Dailey Memorial Endowment Grant Application Forms and criteria are ready for submission! Applications for funding consideration are due on or before March 30, 2018.
Pollinator Gardens are becoming more popular all throughout the United States. Citizens are becoming more concerned with the decline in the pollinator population and the role that pollinators play in our ecosystem. Pollinator Gardens help to attract pollinators of all shapes and sizes, including bees, butterflies and even hummingbirds.
With recent drought conditions persisting, many South Dakotans are reporting patchy areas of dead grass in their lawns. Many lawns consisting of cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass or fine fescues are turning brown and going dormant.
Now is the time when those pesky weeds are really coming up full force in many gardens around the state, particularly if you have had rain in your area lately or have been sprinkler watering your garden. The easiest time to control them is while they are still young plants.
Sunny flower garden locations are often filled splashes of brightly colored perennial flowers that may grow several feet tall. However, ground covers are an important component of any landscape and are more common than you might think.
The spotted wing fruit fly is a new pest problem that originated in Asia and was only first identified here in the United States in California in 2008. It was first seen in South Dakota in 2013. As of 2016 it was known to exist in nine counties in South Dakota, but populations of the insect can be quite scattered.
Getting grass to grow in the shade is a common complaint of gardeners. In many cases some other kind of ground cover might be the solution. Most ground cover plants will spread out over or in the soil, producing new plants as they grow.
We have been trialing ornamental plants at McCrory Gardens for many years. I have been working primarily with the annual trials, including plants from the National Plant Trials Database, and All-American Selections trials programs. This year we had 105 different kinds of plants in the annuals trials but some were grown in different conditions for a total of 122 trials.
McCrory Gardens has been an All-American Selections (AAS) Trial and Display Garden for many years and David Graper has been the judge there for 13 years now. Besides the 14 AAS trial plants and their comparisons, the 2015 trials featured plants from several other major plant breeding and selection companies. Altogether we had 101 trial plants through that program plus some additional plants that we trialed from Ball Seed, Ball FloraPlant™, Ball Ingenuity, Pan American Seed and Proven Winners®.
SDSU Extension staff have created a suite of templates that can be used by currently active and registered SDSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers as they engage in service to their community.
The new volunteer reporting system allows SDSU Extension’s Master Gardeners the ability to add their volunteer hours and training activities through the means of an on-line interface which can be accessed by the state's Master Gardener program administrators.
© 2018 South Dakota Board of Regents. South Dakota State University, South Dakota counties, and USDA cooperating.
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