Episode Details

If you've listened to this show for any length of time, you've heard me point to University Extension again and again as my go-to source. But I've never actually explained why.

In this episode, we're pulling back the curtain on the Cooperative Extension System: where it came from, starting with farmers comparing notes in the early 1800s, through the Morrill Act's creation of land-grant universities in 1862, the Hatch Act's 1887 research mandate, and the 1914 Smith-Lever Act that built the nationwide Extension system we know today.

We'll also trace the Master Gardener program from its 1972 origins in Washington State and we'll get honest about reliability: how peer review works (and where it doesn't), how to evaluate a publication for yourself, and why regional, research-based information matters more than ever in an age of viral gardening myths.

This one's less about your garden bed and more about why you can trust what I tell you to put in it. Let’s dig in!

Episode References

• https://LarrysCoffee.com/JustGrow – Free Gift with order from this link only!
• Battling Blossom End Rot the Right Way - Ep. 309
• Raised Bed Gardening with Gardener Scott - Ep. 268
• Just Grow Something: https://justgrowsomething.com
• Gardening Courses: https://justgrowsomething.com/courses
• Just Grow Something Merch and Downloads: https://justgrowsomething.com/shop
• Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18YgHveF5P/
• Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JustGrowSomething
• Feed my coffee habit: https://buymeacoffee.com/justgrowsomething
• Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/justgrowsomething

Resources

• Rutgers Cooperative Extension — The 1914 Smith-Lever Act: https://extension.rutgers.edu/history/smith-lever
• OSU Extension — A Brief History of Extension: https://extension.osu.edu/about/mission-vision-values/osu-extension-brief-history
• USDA NIFA — History: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/who-we-are/history
• USDA NIFA — Cooperative Extension History: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/what-we-do/extension/cooperative-extension-history
• USDA NIFA — What We Do: Extension: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/what-we-do/extension
• gov CRS — The Agricultural Cooperative Extension System: An Overview: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48071
• gov CRS — The U.S. Land-Grant University System: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45897
• APLU — Land-Grant University FAQ: https://www.aplu.org/about-us/histo