Seventy-eight percent of Todd County’s land is in farms, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture.   Despite being a rural county, the Todd County Extension office also receives some home garden and landscape questions.  One way Extension serves the need for this interest is through inclusion of home horticulture information in newsletters and social media posts.  This also serves to gauge interest in future programs.

In September 2024, the Todd County Agriculture Extension Agent partnered with a local Master Gardener volunteer to offer ‘Indoor Herb Gardening’ for Todd County residents.   The class was offered at a local café that gets quite a bit of traffic.  The café allowed a promotional flyer to be posted at its entrance, helping get the word out about the class.

Twenty-one people participated in the ‘Indoor Herb Gardening’ program.  The Todd County Agriculture Extension agent shared information about services provided by extension, including soil testing, diagnostics, and gardening guides.  The local Master Gardener volunteer demonstrated how to successfully grow herbs indoors and harvest for use in cooking.  At the end of the program, all participants verbally indicated they learned something new about growing herbs indoors.  Participants were offered the opportunity to sign up to receive email news and event information from Todd County Extension, and nine participants requested this service.  Based on the success of this program, Todd County Extension plans to hold gardening classes at this same location during the 2025 growing season.