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- What is a Master Gardener?
- How do Master Gardeners help?
- Why they can help.
- What they can do for you.
- New - Montgomery County Master Gardener Volunteers’ College Scholarship Application - 2007 (PDF)
- Some volunteer activities
- Would you like to become a Master Gardener?
The Master Gardening program was created by the state universities, across the U.S. to meet a huge increase in requests from organizations and home gardeners for gardening and horticulture information. Fifty years ago the extension agents dealt with farm owners and their families and their questions, and now the farms have been sub divided into suburbs and many more families and questions. The agent cannot possibly be in that many places at once, so in comes the group of volunteers called Master Gardeners who donate time and expertise to help the extension agent with the new families. Many counties have new families who are unfamiliar with the trees, plants and shrubs in the area so the Master Gardener can help with their questions. Master Gardeners have many hats working with senior citizen homes, gardening clubs, civic organizations, individuals, and any one who needs help with their gardening information. The Master Gardeners have at their disposal a whole university and staff to find answers.
Master Gardeners are community volunteers trained by county extension agricultural agents. Once they complete their training, Master Gardeners begin their volunteer service. They cooperate with service agencies and community groups with a wide range of gardening projects. They often provide hands on training through demonstrations for home gardeners, clubs and organizations. Their talents and energy are directed toward providing a link between their community and Penn State Cooperative Extension.
Master Gardeners have a strong interest in gardening, a willingness to learn, and, most important, the desire to help others to find solutions to their problems. Certified Master Gardeners have had training in plant science, integrated pest management, pesticide safety, plant propagation, soil science, plant diseases and insect pests. Many Master Gardeners focus on a particular subject area, such as vegetable gardening or landscape design.
Master Gardeners are willing and able to educate individuals and groups in:
- Plant selection
- Weed, insect and disease identification
- Composting
- Landscape design
- Pest control
- Park improvement
- Vegetable gardening
- Tree pruning care
- Community gardening
- And much much more....
- Master Gardeners fulfill their commitment to
- Work with groups on community beautification
- Create demonstration gardens
- Teach plant science to school age children
- Teach horticulture to adults
- Answer gardening questions
- Teach environmentally sound gardening to community groups
- Write articles for the news media
- Establish gardening programs for special needs audiences
Would you like to become a Master Gardener?
Do you have what it takes?
Take a few minutes and take this quiz and see if you have it.
| Yes | No | |
| Can you talk about manure and not giggle? | ||
| Do you hug tree without a reason? | ||
| Do you wake up in your garden without knowing how you got there? | ||
| Do you want to grow your own vegetables even though they cost less at the grocery store? | ||
| Do you buy plants and seeds even though you have no place to plant them? | ||
| Does it keep you awake at night if you use pesticides on your plant? | ||
| Do you use the word turf in your normal daily conversations? | ||
| Do you like dealing with bugs on a daily basis? | ||
| Can you serve beer to a snail with a straight face? | ||
| Do you frolic or flitter as you weed your garden? |
If you answered yes to two or more of these questions above then you may be a Master Gardener material. Call the extension center immediately with your results and sign up for the next class.
If you live in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and are interested in becoming a Master Gardener, please contact Penn State Cooperative Extension Center Monday through Friday at 610-489-4315 or stop by at 1015 Bridge Road Suite H in Collegeville, Pa. 19426-1179.
This page last updated Friday, July 3, 2009
Copyright Information
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Penn State is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity University.
This site is a product of Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.
Please e-mail us with your questions, comments or suggestions at MontgomeryExt@psu.edu.