FREEHOLD, NJ –The Rutgers Master Gardeners have announced the dates for their annual spring garden sale at 4000 Kozloski Rd., Freehold from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday May 17 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday May 18.

“The annual spring garden sale is a great event for our residents who not only want the tools to start their garden, but also the guidance to do it well,” said Freeholder Lillian G. Burry. “The Master Gardeners are knowledgeable and eager to help create healthy and flourishing gardens in our communities.”

The spring garden sale will take place, rain or shine.

Items for sale will include perennials including deer resistant, drought tolerant, native plants and unusual flowering shrubs, flowering annuals, hanging baskets and containers, heirloom tomatoes, peppers, vegetables and herbs. There will also be gardening items for sale including birdhouses, tools, books and décor. All sales are by cash or check.

The Master Gardeners will be present to answer your gardening questions and provide environmental displays, tours and free garden talks each day.

Tours are available on site to see:

• The Master Gardener’s Plant a Row for the Hungry garden which gives hands-on experience in vegetable gardening

• The Junior Master Garden where young teens grow their own garden under the direct tutelage of master gardeners.

• The new herb garden and the rain garden, which demonstrates ecologically safe ways to minimize erosion and waterway pollution caused by runoff from hard-scapes such as driveways

• The Compost center showing how easily any household can recycle everyday organic waste into rich organic mulch

Rutgers’ Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Helpline will be live at the Spring Garden Sale to answer everyone’s gardening questions and help trouble shoot home garden, lawn, and tree and shrub problems. Bringing a sample of the plant to demonstrate its condition is extremely helpful in pinning down the problem and providing accurate timely advice.

Soil samples are tested free on site for pH (acidity). Rutgers fact sheets are available on how best to cope with pests as diverse as stink bugs, azalea lacebugs, deer, and ever-problematic damage from the weather caused by wind, rain, snow, and drought. A helpline is also available year-round weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 732-303-7414, or by visiting the office on Kozloski Rd.

During the Spring Garden Sale, a series of free discussions by Master Gardeners will provide expert advice on such topics as lawn care, herb gardening, beekeeping, composting, and attracting birds and butterflies to the garden. This year, for example, there are many problems around the county caused by hurricane Sandy and the resulting damage from salt spray which can be evident even many miles inland.

“The County continues to seek opportunities to assist our residents with their recovery process from Superstorm Sandy,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Serena DiMaso, who serves on the County’s Long Term Recovery Group. “For some, restoring a garden may be an essential task on that road to recovery and the Master Gardeners are here to help in this unique and rewarding way.”

In conjunction with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, the Monmouth County Master Gardener program seeks to educate everyone in matters horticultural, help answer questions regarding gardening problems around the home, support community gardens for towns and schools, and provide a speaker’s bureau to bring Master Gardener led discussions to local gardening clubs and other interested community groups around the county.

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