Plant Sale Has Deep Roots in Otsego County

Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Otsego Master Gardener Volunteers’ Annual Plant Sale took root a quarter century ago, in May 2000, when the OMGVs offered a perennial plant sale and free pH soil testing at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market. Since that first sale, the proceeds from the annual plant sale have supported OMGV efforts to provide education and outreach to the community.

Elaine Nahman, who has been an OMGV since 1994, explained that, for many years, most of the plants sold at the plant sale were perennial divisions from the OMGV’s personal gardens.

“The days before the Japanese jumping worm certainly enabled us to offer some darn nice-size divisions and a wide variety of plants,” Elaine noted.

At the time, David Cox was CCESO’s senior resource educator. He worked with the OMGVs on the annual plant sale for more than a decade. Cox explained that the OMGVs stopped selling perennial divisions to avoid spreading the invasive Japanese jumping worm.

He said, “That’s when the OMGV propagation crews began in earnest. It became a very hands-on, teachable experience that the OMGVs would not have gotten by dividing perennials. It also allowed the OMGVs to provide unique varieties at the sale, something to set them apart from others.”

Master Gardener Kim L’Heureux leads the volunteer seed-starting efforts, which have included researching seeds for deer-resistant plants and trying out varieties of plants that are not offered at many nurseries.

Kim often gets new OMGV “seed starters” started by making house calls to set up shelving to hold flats of seedlings, lights, timers and soil. The seed starters get to choose which seeds they grow, and some OMGVs make their decisions based on when specific seeds are started. Kim said, “It’s been wonderful to watch all the new seed starters develop the ability and skills to grow lots of plants. Seed starting is a satisfying process, but it’s a commitment. It’s a labor of love.”

Kim noted, “It’s become a very big team effort—the seed starting and the plant sale. It couldn’t happen without everyone involved working separately and together at the same time. We’ve learned a lot about starting seeds.”

In addition to the seed-starting initiative for the plant sale, as the skills of the OMGVs have grown, their programming has expanded to seasonal seed starting and seed-saving workshops. The OMGV’s annual January Seed Swap has grown to include “saved seeds.”

Kim stressed, “It’s energized a lot of different programs.”

Plant Sale Co-Chair Carol Phelps explained, “The goal of Master Gardener Volunteers is to help our community become successful gardeners. At our plant sale, we sell flower and vegetable plants that we know do well in Otsego County, and the Master Gardeners get to share our expertise and talk about gardening with shoppers. We’re proud our plant sale has developed into an event nurturing beauty and food to the community.”

Cox added, “It was always rewarding to watch volunteers gain confidence while using their outreach skills and then further develop new programming ideas to benefit the residents of Otsego County.”

The OMGV Plant Sale will be held on Saturday, May 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cooperative Extension, 123 Lake Street, Cooperstown. This year’s event will feature 175 varieties of plants. In addition to the Annual Plant Sale, the OMGVs offer programs and outreach activities throughout the year, respond to Helpline questions, and perform pH soil testing. The next Master Gardener training will begin this fall.

Liz Callahan is the executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie and Otsego Counties.