It’s one thing to be good at gardening, but if you really want to learn about horticulture, make a difference in your community, and take your gardening to the next level, you might want to become a master gardener. This Horticulture Day host Charity Nebbe finds out what it takes to become a Master Gardener with Susan DeBlieck, Iowa State University Extension Master Gardener Program Specialist, Cindy Haynes, Associate Professor of Horticulture at Iowa State and Richard Jauron, ISU Extension Horticulture Specialist. Later in the hour, listeners call in to ask their own gardening questions.
Master gardeners must go through 40 hours of training and after certification they must volunteer for at least ten hours a year. Iowa State University Extension offers classes that teach master-gardeners-in-training about growing vegetables and fruits, ideal times to plant and tend to perennials, among other important gardening topics.
“I would say [ideal master gardener candidates] are people who have an interest in plants but don’t know much about them,” DeBlieck said. “I think a common misconception is that to become a master gardener you have to know everything about plants, but we really like to have people starting at all levels with the plants in their life.”
DeBlieck reports the 2,000 registered master gardeners in Iowa recorded over 115,000 volunteer hours, equivalent to $2.7 million worth of work.
To begin the process of becoming a master gardener, DeBlieck suggests contacting your county extension office to see if they are offering any training sessions. The fee is $195, but many counties offer scholarships.
