Margaret Pickoff is County Horticulturist for Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County, where she delivers educational programming on home horticulture and coordinates the Rutgers Master Gardener and Rutgers Environmental Stewards programs. She holds a Master of Science degree in Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maine, specializing in organic crop production and soil fertility. She developed her interest in plants and land stewardship while working on small farms and in community gardens in New Jersey, Maine, and Washington State. She loves growing vegetables, flowers, and herbs in her community garden plot.