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<p>The Luzerne Country Master Gardeners are concerned with more than growing tasty tomatoes. Their mission is to educate and aid the community in which they live and operate, and the organization will attempt to do that with their presence at the 2016 NEPA Home &amp; Garden Show.</p><p>According to Vinnie Cotrone, an urban forester with the Penn State Cooperative Extension, who trains people in the Master Gardeners Program, this year&#8217;s presentation will focus on growing vegetables but will also have information about soil testing, rotating crops and gypsy moth control.</p><p>&#8220;This year&#8217;s focus is primarily on starting your vegetable garden, planning ahead,&#8221; Cotrone said. &#8220;We have flats of some starter plants. We&#8217;ve got tomato plants and some squash just to explain to people that you can start really cheaply, but how soon do you start it? What do you plant?&#8221;</p><p>Cotrone said master gardeners will be on hand to answer some of those questions.</p><p>In Luzerne Country, the training to become a master gardener is obtained through Penn State Wilkes-Barre. After completing 40 hours of training and learning about cultivating plants, tending soil, managing pests and diseases and being conscious of the animals and insects that are needed for pollination, among other subjects, the educated volunteers give 50 hours of service back to Luzerne County in the first year and 20 hours each additional year to maintain certification.</p><p>Jean Kolojejchick has been a master gardener for 10 years and has seen the organization help the county.</p><p>&#8220;We do good things for the community, and we do not charge for the hours that we give,&#8221; Kolojejchick said.</p><p>Kolojejchick was one of four master gardeners who came to Luzerne County&#8217;s aid in September when it received too many applications for the Gypsy Moth Suppression Program for government employees to process. Together with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the master gardeners surveyed around 1,800 properties counting gypsy moth egg masses within a certain acreage of land to gauge whether a property qualified for treatment, Kolojejchick said.</p><p>Beyond community projects, the master gardeners also staff a call service based in West Pittston to answer inquiries.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of people aren&#8217;t aware that it&#8217;s a free service,&#8221; Kolojejchick said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a service that&#8217;s invaluable.&#8221;</p><p>Cotrone said education and service are at the heart of the Master Gardeners Program, but he&#8217;s also hoping the organization&#8217;s participation in community events gets people into their yards.</p><p>&#8220;We want people to garden. More and more people are interested in gardening, and over the years, we&#8217;ve seen our Master Gardening Program grow.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">From left: master gardener Dave Orbin, DCNR forester Brad Regester, master gardener Jean Kolojejchik and master gardener Rosanne Nardone count gypsy moth egg masses in Mountain Top. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_MasterGardeners.jpg</photo0><caption0>From left: master gardener Dave Orbin, DCNR forester Brad Regester, master gardener Jean Kolojejchik and master gardener Rosanne Nardone count gypsy moth egg masses in Mountain Top. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Education, service are goals of Luzerne County Master Gardeners</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or <a href="mailto:Twitter@TLArts">Twitter@TLArts</a></p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne Country Master Gardeners to educate people at NEPA Home & Garden Show