{"id":1573,"date":"2026-09-15T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/?p=1573"},"modified":"2026-09-10T14:40:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T21:40:42","slug":"meet-the-coordinator-brooke-edmunds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/2026\/09\/15\/meet-the-coordinator-brooke-edmunds\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Coordinator\u2014Brooke Edmunds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

OSU Extension Community Horticulturist in Marion and Polk Counties; Associate Professor (Practice), OSU Department of Horticulture<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteer program, we\u2019re featuring stories about coordinators and volunteers. Let\u2019s get to know Brooke Edmunds and hear about her path to Extension, what makes gardening in Marion and Polk counties unique and the volunteers who continue to inspire her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brooke first encountered Master Gardeners as an undergraduate at Iowa State University, where an Extension faculty mentor introduced her to the program through the university\u2019s Master Gardener mini college. She helped teach a class and quickly became interested in the volunteers she met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not students, they\u2019re not trying to get jobs, they\u2019re just doing this because they\u2019re really curious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That curiosity has remained a common thread throughout Brooke\u2019s career in Extension. After working as a nursery and greenhouse specialist at Colorado State University and in other roles, she joined OSU in a community horticulture position working with Master Gardeners full-time. She says she has enjoyed working with volunteers who are \u201cincredibly curious and love what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Quick Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Position: OSU Extension Community Horticulturist in Marion and Polk Counties; Associate Professor (Practice), OSU Department of Horticulture<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Region: Marion and Polk counties<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education: Bachelor\u2019s degree in interdisciplinary plant health and protection from Iowa State University; master\u2019s degree in plant pathology from Iowa State University; PhD in plant pathology with a minor in food safety from North Carolina State University<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favorite <\/strong>arthropods: <\/strong>Jumping spiders, along with bumblebees and sweat bees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beginner <\/strong>gardening <\/strong>advice: <\/strong>Start small, try something you love, and don\u2019t hesitate to reach out to Master Gardeners for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brooke\u2019s interest in plant health developed during her undergraduate studies at Iowa State University, where she completed an interdisciplinary plant health and protection major covering horticulture, soil science, entomology and plant pathology. She stayed at Iowa State for her master\u2019s degree, studying plant diseases of hostas. She jokes that she \u201ckilled a lot of hosta plants\u201d while figuring out how to prevent them from dying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brooke later moved to North Carolina State University for her PhD in plant pathology, with a minor in food safety. Her research focused on post-harvest diseases of sweet potatoes, looking at the intersection between farmers growing the crop and what happens before it reaches the grocery store. Her career also included work as a nursery and greenhouse specialist at Colorado State University and a position with the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Ultimately, she returned to Extension through her current role with OSU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gardening in Marion and Polk Counties<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brooke describes the Willamette Valley as a relatively easy place to garden, with temperate weather and a diversity of growing conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The summer is dry, so gardeners need to account for watering or choose plants that need less water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marion and Polk counties include both valley areas and higher-elevation areas so this creates diversity in what gardeners can grow and plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great spot to be. You know, we get the pretty temperate weather. It\u2019s easy to grow here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favorite Garden Lesson<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brooke\u2019s garden fails often come down to one thing: being busy. She describes forgetting to water newly planted plants, waiting too long to repot something, or not giving young plants enough water to get established. Her takeaway is not to blame the plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all on me, that\u2019s not the poor plant\u2019s fault.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when something does go wrong, her advice is simple: \u201cThere\u2019s always next year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting Volunteers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brooke appreciates the individual interests that Master Gardeners bring to the program. While everyone completes the same curriculum and requirements, she enjoys watching volunteers find the areas where their own interests and skills fit. She describes the moment when a volunteer discovers that connection as especially rewarding:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, I can do that?\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cYou can do that, you should do that, because you know way more than I know about that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brooke also values the connections volunteers bring with them. She enjoys watching volunteers introduce other volunteers to new interests, build connections and take ownership of projects in their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just an amazing group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community Partnerships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of Brooke\u2019s major local partners is the City of Independence<\/a>, which hosts the Master Gardener demonstration garden in one of its public parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seven-acre garden transformed an abandoned log yard into a public park. The city partnered with the Master Gardener program to create a fully accessible path through the park and helps with utilities and basic park maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Independence Library<\/a> is another important partner. During the summer, the library brings children from the community to the garden through its summer reading program for outreach activities. The library has also installed a StoryWalk winding through the garden, including bilingual, garden-related stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brooke says the support from the City of Independence has been essential to the garden\u2019s presence in the community:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe would not be able to have that resource of the garden there without them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quick Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Favorite arthropod?
Jumping spiders. Brooke enjoys watching them hunt and turn to watch people moving around the garden. She also enjoys identifying the different bumblebees and sweat bees that visit the pollinator plants in her garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should beginner gardeners plant?
Brooke doesn\u2019t recommend one specific plant. Instead, she encourages beginners to start small, choose a few things they really love, and try them. Herbs are one option because they can be grown in containers and don\u2019t require a large yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her biggest piece of advice: don\u2019t try to do too much in one year\u2026 and don\u2019t hesitate to reach out to Master Gardeners when something goes sideways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More work from Brooke Edmunds can be found here: [click here<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is part of a series of stories we are featuring about the people of the OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteer program in celebration of our 50th anniversary. With +1,800 amazing volunteers and 30 faculty and staff we hope you are as inspired as we are by their dedication joy and impact that they make across the state.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like to share your Master Gardener story, we\u2019d love to hear from you! Submit your volunteer story here: https:\/\/beav.es\/mgstory<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OSU Extension Community Horticulturist in Marion and Polk Counties; Associate Professor (Practice), OSU Department of Horticulture In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteer program, we\u2019re featuring stories about coordinators and volunteers. Let\u2019s get to know Brooke Edmunds and hear about her path to Extension, what makes gardening in Marion … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Meet the Coordinator\u2014Brooke Edmunds”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1238875],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-50th-anniversary"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1573"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1575,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1573\/revisions\/1575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgcoordinators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}