A master gardener is a trained volunteer who donates their time to their local extension. They do this because they are experienced, gardening enthusiasts and love all aspects of growing plants, flowers and vegetables. They are also knowledgeable about what plants do well in their zone as well as what pests and diseases are prevalent there.
Master gardeners are not only experienced gardeners but go through training. The training is occasionally provided free of charge by local extensions. In some areas, the potential master gardener must pay for the course. There are nearly 100,000 master gardeners that volunteer to help residents at their local extension. Master gardeners donate about five million hours of their time to help others grow healthy gardens that will thrive in the area.
What It Takes to Be a Master Gardener
If you want to become a volunteer for the master gardener program, you must first contact your local Cooperative Extension. They will have you fill out some paperwork which is quite simple and almost like filling out a job application. Some extensions do have you take a test so they can decide if you have the basic knowledge to even be considered for the program. Provided that you do well on the test, you will then be offered to take the coursework to become one of the extension’s master gardeners.
Most master gardener courses run for at least eleven weeks and consist of forty hours of coursework. The classes are usually taught by horticultural specialists from the local university or known experts in the field. Each student will need the local extension’s manual because the course material is inside of the manual.
Basic horticultural science is stressed in the first few classes. Later classes get into proper plant selection, water conservation, soil maintenance, pest identification and control as well as disease prevention and control. Each extension has a different manual because of climate zones so classes will not be the same in all areas.
Keep in mind that this is not a simple thing to do. There are quizzes and a final exam to complete the course and attain your certificate. Potential master gardeners must also complete a certain number of volunteer hours pertaining to horticulture for completion.
A master gardener’s certification must be updated each year. Master gardeners must continue to volunteer for the extension. The amount of required volunteer hours will vary depending on the local extension. They must also continue their education. The hours of necessary education to maintain the certification depends upon the local’s requirements.
Community Work for Master Gardeners
Master gardeners are required to do some kind of horticultural, community volunteer work. The hours vary as do the requirements for the type of service. Most extensions require forty hours of volunteer services before the applicant can gain the certificate as master gardener. It is the norm that half of those hours are spent on extension projects or working the phones. The second half is usually required to be some sort of community based improvement project involving gardening. These projects can be anything from neighborhood clean up and beautification to pulling weeds at the local botanical gardens. The options are available from the local extension.
What Can You Do As A Master Gardener?
Master gardeners volunteer to assist local citizens with plant or pest problems by phone. They do much more than that because as experts, they will speak at garden club meetings or be a guest teacher at classes offered by local nurseries. Many master gardeners write gardening columns for their area newspapers.
Becoming a master gardener is time consuming yet rewarding. The avid gardener who also feels volunteering is essential for a strong community will do well in the master gardener program. Contact your local extension agency for more information about the program.
Want to learn more about becoming a Master Gardener?
These links also have information about the Master Gardener Program:
Master Gardener Program Information
Colorado Master Gardener Services
I am retired became interested in beautifying our property mainly because my wife wanted me out of her hair. Started learning what was possible with many varieties or genus if you will coming from a chemical factory and studying chemistry for some 50 + years helped . Long and short of it I started out 1 year ago with 3 variety now have 91 have learned wit the help of Scotts Co . to beautify the grass which is now a lawn
In most states, extension provides very little guidance or support for the Master Gardener program. The goal of our extension coordinator is to get “three years of work out of them” before they get tired and move on. To learn more, join a society based on your interest, such as the herb society, water garden society etc. these national groups teach, grow and know. Don’t waste your money or time—this article is ideal but not factual. Wouldn’t it be nice though, if it were true?
As a certified WSU Master Gardener, I can assure you that this is not correct for Washington State where the Master Gardener program was born. In my county, and across the state, most Master Gardeners are in it for the long haul. Our group of about 120 MGs has members dating to the early 1990’s. We are proud of what we do in service to our community. see – https://extension.wsu.edu/chelan-douglas/gardening/ for more information.
“The Master Gardener Program assists WSU Extension to promote environmentally responsible gardening practices and addresses environmental and social priorities such as water conservation, the protection of water quality, reducing the impact of invasive species, and healthy living through gardening.
Master Gardeners are community volunteers trained by Washington State University in topics such as botany, weed identification, soils, lawn care, pruning, pesticides and insect management, plant pathology and plant problem diagnosis, and sustainable gardening practices.”