UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The stirrings of spring are making green thumbs across the state itchy for warmer weather and a chance to get out in the dirt. But for the gardener looking for something new and inspiring, a Web site run by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences uses the Internet to bring Pennsylvania's best to your desktop.

AgMap is an interactive, online agricultural directory (http://agmap.psu.edu) that provides free listings of more than 2,100 agricultural businesses in every county in the state, from farms and greenhouses to farmers' markets and equipment suppliers. AgMap founder Rick Day, associate professor of soil science and environmental information systems, says the site can save time and effort in searching for things unique or distinctive.

"AgMap helps consumers find the out-of-the-ordinary," he says. "Rather than an unfocused search through dozens of shops and stores, you can ask AgMap to find the closest farm markets within a 25- or 50-mile radius of your home. You can search for a particular crop, a local landscaper or a nonfood agricultural product such as shrubs or flowers, or you can just view horticultural Web sites to see what they're offering."

Launched in 2001, AgMap can be invaluable to the gardener looking for unusual plant varieties, Day says. Consumers can also find help with plants that don't usually thrive in Pennsylvania's temperate mid-Atlantic climate.

"In the garden center at the local big-box store, the plants were selected by someone in North Carolina and grown in Central America," Day says. "Through AgMap, you can buy plants that local growers selected and raised based on the area's climate and pests. Local growers know what works in this climate, and the plants were raised here so they're acclimated."

AgMap can help you find colored mulches, water gardens, tree trimmers, ornamental trees, lawn installation, aeration, landscape light installation, stone and gravel delivery, pavers, or brush removal. Its free online classified ads also list the specialized goods and services that can make your home landscape distinctive, from new grass-seed varieties to fresh sod, roto-tilling service or large-stone removal. The Web site also offers news and educational materials about exotic plants and invasive plant species.

"People buy bamboo, for instance, because they think it looks cool, but it can spread uncontrollably and take over an entire neighborhood," Day says. "Water gardens and ponds are becoming more popular, and plant health care, weed control and pest management goes with that. If you've always wanted a water garden, you can find the experts who can tell you how to manage it so that West Nile disease, for instance, is not a problem.

"Pennsylvania has lots of other small businesses that might provide expertise on how to manage products and plants, from landscape designers to arborists -- we just help you find them," he says. "I've noticed that many businesses are family-owned to the third and fourth generation. So you're getting the services that you need, and supporting the state's economy, too."

Last spring's most popular search item was hay (with 334 businesses listed), followed by strawberries (287 locations statewide) and farmers' markets (587 listed). Other popular searches include nurseries (361) and greenhouses (248).

The AgMap site also provides the latest ag-related headline news from around the state, access to hundreds of educational publications from cooperative extension experts, and a community forum that allows consumers and businesses to post questions, problems or new challenges, and to find expert advice.

The Land Analysis Laboratory in Penn State Cooperative Extension's geospatial technology program maintains the Web-enabled database, which is linked to a geographic information system that lets users easily search information maintained and updated by registered producers and suppliers. Penn State Cooperative Extension, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the National Consortium for Rural Geospatial Innovations in America provide financial support for the marketing and promotion of AgMap.

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EDITORS: Contact Rick Day at (814) 865-2307 or by e-mail at agmap@psu.edu.

Gary Abdullah Writer/editor Phone: 814-863-2708 E-mail: gxa2@psu.edu