Clemson Extension's Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) is a huge success with consumers.

HGIC received over 10,000 telephone calls and over 275,000 web site user sessions last year. These inquiries ranged from people with questions about their gardens to those who wanted information about food safety, according to Clemson Extension
specialist James Blake, who is director of the center.

In response to consumers' needs, HGIC is making some changes to improve the system. Callers now have the option of talking with an information specialist at the beginning of the menu, right after entering their zip code. They are no longer required
to listen to a recorded message first.

More than 400 printed HGIC fact sheets have been added to the on-line ordering system (OLOS) for anyone to order. There is a limit of one of each. Digital versions of the fact sheets will be added to the PSA Publications web site where other digital versions of Clemson Extension publications are found. The web site address is: www.clemson.edu/psapublishing/ .

You can reach more than 600 recorded messages with a toll-free phone call using a computerized interactive voice response system. Topics include landscaping, gardening, plant health, household pests, and food safety and preservation.

Callers enter four-digit codes to retrieve the message they wish to hear. These codes have been published in a user's guide and distributed throughout the state.

Callers who do not have a copy of the user's guide can access some of the messages through a recorded menu system. The guide is available through the toll-free number and at your county's Clemson Extension office.

Information specialists are available for calls from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, to answer questions not covered by the recorded messages.  The toll-free telephone number is 1-888-656-9988. The web site address is hgic.clemson.edu