The large amount of rain this season has led to an influx of water-related calls to the Kane County Master Gardener Help Line from concerned area gardeners worried about the health of their trees, bushes and flowers.
Gardeners are dealing with fungus and chlorosis with their plants because the ground is so saturated, Nancy Cox, a 23-year volunteer with the Master Gardener program through the University of Illinois Extension program, said.
“Roots can’t get any oxygen and upload nutrients from the soil,” she said.
The soil is being diluted of the nutrients due to too much water, she added.
Beginning in March and through October, Cox and other Kane County Master Gardeners answer gardening-related questions over the phone, via email, or in person.
“People have walked in with tree limbs, branches, and leaves,” she added.
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For her efforts in 2014, Cox, a 28-year resident of St. Charles, earned Outstanding Master Gardener honors at the state level.
One of the many programs offered by the University of Illinois Extension in Kane County, the Master Gardener program is run by a group of volunteers who have participated in extensive training to provide answers to gardeners’ questions.
To be certified as a Master Gardener, Cox participated in 60 hours of training through the University of Illinois, and each year she participates in additional training in the horticultural field to maintain her status.
One of the latest projects the master gardeners are working on is in collaboration with the Durant House to research plants in 1830s gardens.
Manning the help desk for the Kane County Master Gardeners each Monday, Cox stated she donates her time to educate the public about the environment, something she learned from her father who was a gardener and a beekeeper.
“He tuned me to the relationship between food and the environment,” she said.
In addition to gardening at her home in St. Charles, where she has lived for 28 years and where she admits deer are a problem, Cox keeps plots at Primrose Farm where she harvests, “rhubarb, asparagus, and raspberries.”
“Whether it is helping fellow gardeners find the answer to a gardening challenge or learning a new way to protect a natural habitat, Nancy finds the fun in every project,” said Sarah Fellerer, program coordinator for the University of Illinois Extension Program in DuPage, Kane, and Kendall counties.
Cox also has been instrumental in the downtown St. Charles North Gateway Beautification project, Fellerer said. A partnership between the city of St. Charles and the University of Illinois Extension program, the Master Gardeners plant, maintain, and educate the public about plants, Cox said.
Bill Collins, also a University of Illinois Extension volunteer, first became involved with the 4-H program as a youth member. Growing up in Kane County, he participated in the 4-H farming and sheep program for 10 years along with his six siblings.
4-H provides hands-on learning activities in more than 100 different subject areas, Collins said, while also promoting leadership, citizenship, and values.
This year, after more than 40 years of active involvement with 4-H, Collins will be inducted into the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame in August.
Today, he serves as treasurer of the Kane County 4-H Foundation which oversees the Blue Ribbon Sale Committee at the Kane County Fair. He also had been the leader of the Mooseheart 4-H Club for nine years.
In addition, Collins recently served as the co-chair of the Kane County 4-H Foundation Pork Chop Dinner and Fundraiser which has raised more than $120,000 in the six years of its existence.
“Bill’s involvement in 4-H continues to be a great asset and the youth, volunteers, and Extension staff appreciate all that he does to support the 4-H and Extension programs in Kane County,” said Doris Braddock, 4-H Youth Development Program Coordinator.
While members of the 4-H are involved in different areas, Collins said the volunteers are united in the goal to show the kids the right way to do things. His own daughter, Nicole, participated in the 4-H program for eight years showing livestock.
“It is one of the things that I have done my whole life and want to keep doing because I want to see it continue,” Collins said.
For more Information about 4-H programs visit http://web.extension.illinois.edu/dkk/
Master Gardener Help Desk
Hours: April through September – Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March and October – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Contact: 630-584-6166, email [email protected]
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, or visit 535 S Randall Road, St. Charles.