Master Gardener plant clinic gives home gardeners a little inside knowledge

MOSES LAKE — The WSU Grant-Adams County Master Gardeners have been at the Grant County Fair this week, answering questions from the public and offering tips for more eco-friendly gardening. They weren’t quite as busy this year as last, said Mary Love, who was staffing the booth with Bobbie Bodenman, because the weather wasn’t as hot. “Last year, people came in and they went ‘whew!’ and they were looking for excuses to stay,” Love said. “They would come over here and they’d think of something to ask us so they could stay (in the air conditioning) longer.” The master gardeners were ready to answer questions of all kinds and had displays about worm composting, sheet composting and something called Hugelkultur, a method of growing a garden without irrigation or fertilization that’s popular in Germany and Eastern Europe. They also had lots of information about bees and how to encourage bee-friendly plants.