OBSERVER Photo by Sara Holthouse Shannon Rinnow, Master Gardener Coordinator, and Master Gardener Peg Hite sit at the help desk at the JCC Carnahan Center. The desk is manned by Master Gardeners every Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m.

The return of spring and approaching summer seasons means the return of gardening, and the Master Gardener Help Desk has officially reopened for the season to help local gardeners with any questions they may have.

The Master Gardener Help Desk was developed when the Master Gardener Program was restarted in 2009 by Ginny Carlberg, Wendy Sanfilipo and Betsy Burgeson. The desk officially reopened for the current season on April 3. The season for the desk lasts from April through September.

Master Gardeners will be at the desk from noon until 2 p.m. every Wednesday at the Jamestown Community College Carnahan Center, 525 Falconer Street. They are also available by calling (716)664-9502 ext 224 or emailing chautauquamg@cornell.edu.

Master Gardener and chair of the help desk, Peg Hite, said the help desk can be used for many different things.

“We offer free pH soil testing,” Hite said. “We can recommend additions to the soil or how to improve your soil. If that doesn’t work we can recommend Cornell send the soil sample for a complete test.”

Master Gardeners can also recommend native plants, trees, bushes, recognize invasive species of plants, bugs, worms, bees, and more. One thing Hite said they have gotten a lot of calls about before was the murder hornet. They can also help recognize diseases.

“We can help solve any type of garden question you may have and if we don’t know the answer we can find out,” Hite said.

Master Gardener Coordinator Shannon Rinnow said that Master Gardeners do a lot of everything. They have to go through a training course to become a Master Gardener, typically between 12 and 16 weeks, where they learn the fundamentals of gardening, horticulture, botany, and pest management. Once that training is complete they become apprentices for the first year to learn from other Master Gardeners in the program until they have completed 50 hours of volunteer time, which then allows them to be officially certified.

Master Gardeners also offer a range of different educational talks at libraries, the help desk, a demo garden where they have different speakers on the third Wednesday of the month and offer a variety of different flowers and vegetables. The produce from that is also shared with the Soup Kitchen and Job Corps.

For both Hite and Rinnow, the desk means a lot.

“Everytime I come to the desk I learn something new,” Hite said. “It’s a learning experience and it’s great getting to meet new gardeners.”

Rinnow added that Cornell Cooperative Extension also benefits from the research and resources from Cornell University, saying that this information is also used to help people.

“It’s great for building friendships and relationships,” Rinnow said. “It’s a great group to belong to. You never know what is going to walk through the door.”

CCE’s Master Gardener Program also has a few upcoming events. The Garden Symposium is set for May 4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Speakers will be involved in the day and admission is $30, $25 for any Master Gardener and an addition of lunch is $11.

They are also having a plant sale on May 18 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the JCC Science Center, offering perennials, annuals, Native plants, vegetables and herbs. All plants have been inspected for the jumping worm.

CCE’s Master Gardeners partner with local nonprofits including the Audubon, Chautauqua County Watershed, Chautauqua Institution, JCC, local schools and libraries.