By Dennis Patton

It dawned on me that after all these years of writing columns on gardening information, I never took the time to explain who I work for.

For those who don’t know, I am a horticulture agent with Johnson County Kansas State Research and Extension. I often offer tips and suggestions to help make your lawn greener or your landscape more colorful. What is the purpose of Johnson County Kansas State Research and Extension? What is a horticulture agent?

Extension, or cooperative extension, has existed for more than 130 years. Its founding started in 1862 with the Morrill Act, which funded the land grant system. This act provided land in each state to facilitate teaching agricultural and mechanical sciences to a rapidly expanding country. Kansas State University was the state’s first land grant established under this act.

The next piece of the Extension equation happened in 1887 with the Hatch Act. This act established and funded research centers at the land grant universities to study and develop the newest methods in agriculture areas. This research was and still is valuable in discovering new practices to help provide a safe and secure food system.

With these pieces in place, there was still one component lacking. That piece was how to get the information from the land grant research centers accessible to everyone. That lack of information distribution created the Cooperative Extension system with the passage of the Smith-Lever Act in 1914. The act established a network of educators that could extend invaluable university research to the citizens. The term cooperative is used as it is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the land grant university, and the state and local county government.

Extension programs started their education mission in rural America and have adapted over the years to extend the reach of research-based education to all. The needs changed as society changed, and more people began to live in cities and suburbs, not rural areas. The increased demand for home landscape and gardening information from Extension resources necessitated modifications. Johnson County horticulture programs began in the early 1960s, the first in Kansas.

As the need increased for added services from Extension, volunteer assistance came to the rescue in the form of Extension Master Gardeners. The Johnson County Extension Master Gardener program started in 1980 and was another program first of its type in Kansas. Nationally, the EMG program began in 1973 and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2023.

Now that you know a little of our history, what does that mean? It means Extension is your tax-assisted agency staffed with educated, friendly professionals prepared to offer resources to help you make wise choices for a better way of life. While that sounds lofty and maybe unattainable, it is our mission.

Using Extension is user-friendly since there are many ways to access information across multiple platforms. Telephone, email, or internet all offer options. And, of course, you are always welcome to drop by the office at the Johnson County Sunset Office Building, 11811 S. Sunset Drive, Olathe, and visit with us about your garden and growing concerns. Face-to-face with samples in hand is sometimes the best way to learn.

Contact our gardening hotline by phone (913-715-7050), staffed by Extension Master Gardener volunteers or Extension agents during our growing season to help you.

Email is an alternative to phone calls. The advantage of email is that you can ask detailed and specific questions of the experts while also attaching photos of your plant challenge. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words (garden.help@jocogov.org).

In addition, Extension information is accessible through numerous fact sheets and publications available on the internet. These publications cover a wide range of topics, from plant selection to cultural practices to environmentally friendly pest management. Just add the word “extension” to help refine your web search.

The best thing about Extension information is that it is unbiased and research-based. The solutions offered differ from the most recent trendy home remedies or pass-along recommendations, which are often useless and potentially harmful to the plants or environment.

If you are not an Extension user, consider becoming one. Our purpose is to help make your life better, and best of all, we are not out to sell you a product, treatment or gadget. We aim to help you make the best, most informed decision for your situation, often saving you time, energy and money.

Still have questions? Give us a call at 913-715-7000.

Dennis Patton is horticulture agent at the Johnson County K-State Research and Extension Office.