   Gardening on the Internet - March 28, 2001 Jeff Schalau, County Director, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County In the past year or so, I have sensed an increase in people that have home computers with access to the Internet by the number of questions I get via e-Mail. More people own computers because prices have stabilized and are reasonable. I have noticed an increase in the reliable information on the Internet. I also realize that some people are opposed to computers and the web because of questionable (or objectionable) material. Regardless of your personal view, there is a wealth of information available if you can figure out how to separate the wheat from the chaff. I hope to provide some guidelines and ideas for all. First, allow me to brag about my new web site featuring an archive (back issues) of this column: Backyard Gardener. It is located at http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/. I know that's a long web address and it's not catchy sounding, but what do you expect from a County Agent? It features a search engine (a place to enter a keyword such as "aphid" or "codling moth") to help you locate topics, a chronological archive with each column listed and accessible by date, and a form for comments and feedback. Please let me know what you think and feel free to send ideas for columns. I can't make any promises, but I will consider all input. Another new gardening web site from the University of Arizona is "Arid-Southwest Gardening Information" (http://ag.arizona.edu/gardening/). This site is considered a "portal". This means that you can access a large number of different web sites from it. Major subject areas are: home gardening, Master and expert gardening, community and school gardening, commercial ornamental horticulture, other relevant web sites, and national gardening web sites. The information available on this site has been reviewed by University of Arizona faculty for quality of content. The above two web sites can also be reached from the Yavapai County Cooperative Extension Horticulture Page (http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/). In addition, the Horticulture Page has links to several other useful web sites. The University of Arizona Plant Pathology site contains photos and diagnostic information for the most common plant diseases found in the state. The University of California Integrated Past Management web site is also very useful for weeds, insects, and plant diseases. The Internet is also a great place to shop for garden supplies and seed. The Garden Web (http://www.gardenweb.com/) is a sort of clearinghouse for many gardening product lines and plant materials. If native plants and wildflowers are your interest, visit Plants of the Southwest (http://www.plantsofthesouthwest.com/). This site is a wealth of information and has excellent pictures. By the way, these are not endorsements. Another valuable service the Internet provides is pesticide information. All major chemical companies have pesticide labels and MSDSs (Material Safety Data Sheets) available on-line. Simply enter the company name followed by the product name in the search engine window, and you will be given web links to the desired information. The product label will tell you how to apply the material and the MSDS will explain the safety precautions in case an accident occurs. So, have I lost those without a connection to the Internet? You may learn more about it by visiting your local public library, community college, or even your neighbor. I encourage those of you without access to see what it's all about. It's not difficult and can provide you with quality information in a timely manner. You need to learn how to use it so you can give me suggestions and feedback. The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has publications and information on horticulture and natural resources. If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener line in the Cottonwood office at 646-9113 or E-mail us at mgardener@kachina.net and be sure to include your address and phone number. The Yavapai County Cooperative Extension web site is http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/. |