Master Gardeners La Porte County Extension

06/11/2026

Shane Hansen hosted our Master Gardeners at Rainfield Farms in New Carlisle, IN earlier this month. He shared his farming methods, which do not include the use of any pesticides or synthetic chemicals, certifying his farm as Naturally Grown. One of the highlights was how he grew cucumbers and tomatoes on strings that could be raised and lowered as the plants grew!

05/28/2026

Friendship Botanic Gardens is excited to announce Gardening with Confidence, a hands-on gardening workshop series designed to inspire gardeners of all experience levels. The series includes educational programs for adults as well as interactive children’s workshops led by La Porte County Master Gardeners.

Adult workshops will be held on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. CDT at the Gardens and will cover a variety of gardening topics.

The first session is on June 6 is about Deer Resistant and Native Plants

Learn common mistakes to avoid and discover how thoughtful plant selection can create a healthier, more resilient landscape using deer-resistant and native species.
Friendship Botanic Gardens

05/22/2026

Our Master Gardeners work to "Help Others Grow" - this time with the students at Paladin Head Start Program in Michigan City. In April, we worked with the students to plant seeds, including marigolds, tomatoes, zinnias and more. In May we returned to help them plant the seedlings.
Thank you to our volunteer Master Gardeners (shown left to right) Theresa Dzoga-Borg, Tom Boesen, Kit Knoll, Janet Davis, Karen Sarver, Vicki Zavnor, Nancy Fournier and Sandy Prusko

05/20/2026

Not all nighttime bugs are mosquitos! Purdue Entomologists are hosting an evening program across the area about nocturnal insects! Should be very interesting!

05/15/2026

Indiana Native Plant Society (INPS)

There is a buzz this morning preparing for the HUGE plant sale at Friendship Botanic Gardens. Plan on attending - there are some amazing plants and gorgeous pots for sale at very reasonable prices. The sales is tomorrow, Saturday from 9-2 central.

05/15/2026

There is a buzz this morning preparing for the HUGE plant sale at Friendship Botanic Gardens. Plan on attending - there are some amazing plants and gorgeous pots for sale at very reasonable prices. The sales is tomorrow, Saturday from 9-2 central.

04/27/2026

Another topic that Dr. Tallamy mentioned in his presentation was the use of native cultivars vs. straight native species. Cultivars are variations of a species that change a characteristic of the species. They can be man-made or occur naturally.

They studied the effect that six trait changes had on native species and discovered that only the red-leaf cultivars had an effect on the ecological impact of the native plant. In other words, cultivars of natives still provide a positive impacts on a local ecology.

If you would like to learn more about native plant research, visit the Mt. Cuba Center website and look for their Trial Gardens work. https://mtcubacenter.org/research/trial-garden/

04/24/2026

Did you know that different birds need different shaped bird houses? Sarah Barnes, Indiana Audubon's Indiana Dunes Project Owlnet Coordinator spoke with our group this month about how we can support birds in our neighborhoods.

Cornell University's extensive ornithology program shares plans for birds that live near you. Simply select your region and they will provide plans and kits to make your own region-specific birdhouses!
https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/

04/22/2026

The Hot Line is a great tool La Porte County Master Gardeners offer to our community. Master Gardeners are trained to do research into your issues and concerns and come up with answers and suggestions. We will do our very best to answer your gardening question or get you going in the right direction.

If you are seeing an issue in your garden that is not normal, if you think you have a pest infestation, or a question in general, please give us a call at 219-324-9407.

If you would like to bring in a sample of something, please be sure the specimen is contained in a plastic bag/container. We will be at the La Porte County Extension office, located at 2857 W SR 2 (next to the animal shelter).