K-State Research and Extension - Douglas County provides the following lawn and garden services:

Lawn and Garden Soil Testing  Test your soil's pH and nutrient levels to determine what kind and the right amount of fertilizer to apply. You might be spending money on nutrients that you don't need.

Extension Master Gardeners  In 2011, Douglas County Extension Master Gardeners donated almost 9,000 hours of volunteer time, equivalent to 4.25 full time employees.

Kansas Healthy Yards and Communities  Is your yard healthy? Visit the Healthy Yards website at www.kansasgreenyards.org to take the assessment and learn more about what you can do to make your entire yard a little more environmentally friendly.

Creating Local Food Systems  Are you a buyer or seller of local produce? Are you interested in supporting local farms? Visit www.growinglawrence.org for information about producers and the kinds of farm products available in the Lawrence/Douglas County area. You might also be interested in learning about local agriculture through the Kaw Valley Farm Tour, www.kawvalleyfarmtour.org.

Horticulture Hotline - call 843-7058, e-mail mastergardener@douglas-county.com, or stop by our office at 2110 Harper Street, Lawrence, to get answers to all of your garden questions. Extension Master Gardeners man the hotline from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday, April 1 - October 31. If you call in the off-season, the Horticulture Extension Agent, Jennifer Smith, or the Horticulture Program Assistant, Stan Ring, will help you.

Hot Topics  Check out Jennifer Smith's weekly Garden Calendar news column in the Lawrence Journal-World, twitter.com, or visit the Horticulture Information Center.