University of Idaho Extension Educator in Bonneville County Ron Patterson is in charge of the Master Gardener Program booth at the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot this year.
“We have some of our master gardeners there all during the fair to help answer gardening questions,” Patterson said. “Anyone who comes to our booth can ask questions.”
The Master Gardener Program is a volunteer endeavor, with many participants who are just starting to garden. This is an educational program to help the community.
“These master gardeners are an extension of myself,” Patterson said. “I can’t reach everyone who might want help and these folks can help. They have experience and have learned a lot of the things we’ve taught them in our Master Gardener classes, so they can share their knowledge and experience with other gardeners—and help people become better gardeners and have more fun gardening.”
Today, nearly 80 percent of U.S. households do some form of gardening. From small window boxes and balcony gardens to large community gardens, many folks today grow some of their own food, or beautify their yard with flowers or creative landscaping. Many people learn how to garden from information gleaned off the internet, but even though there is useful information about gardening, it can be difficult to sort between good information and bad information.
The University of Idaho Extension’s Idaho Master Gardener Program can help people find the right answers and guide them in their learning path for producing a great and healthy garden. Certified Idaho master gardeners are available in their own local communities to answer gardening questions, and solve gardening problems by providing reliable, relevant and research-based information.
The Idaho Master Gardener Program began in 1976 in Ada and Canyon counties, and is now available in all counties in Idaho. The program motto is “Helping People Grow,” and master gardeners help their communities by teaching classes for schools, garden clubs, church groups and civic organizations. They also operate plant diagnostics clinics to help people solve gardening problems, creating projects to beautify public places, parks, and buildings, helping people become more self-sufficient in food production and growing healthy plants while becoming better stewards of the environment.
Master gardeners are dedicated to volunteering in their communities, acting as official representatives of their county extension offices. With years of experience and possessing a Master Gardener Certificate, these folks have a deep understanding about the issues that influence horticulture in their specific geographic area. They know how to raise fruit-bearing trees and bushes, vegetables and flowers; how to compost and improve the soil; how to deal with bugs and pests in an environmentally friendly way and give advice on what will grow best in their area.
The Idaho Master Gardener Program is an intensive 14-week course that prepares a person to be able to help other gardeners and is a valuable resource in helping educate people about the art and science of growing and caring for plants and landscapes in a scientifically sustainable way.
Students taking these courses not only learn important gardening skills, they also develop a deeper understanding of important life skills such as conflict resolution, conscientious utilization of resources, communication, leadership, goal setting, critical thinking and problem-solving, marketing, healthy lifestyle choices, stress and disease management and lifelong learning skills.
In 2017, the Idaho-only and joint Idaho-Utah programs graduated 499 certified Idaho master gardeners and delivered enhanced training and service opportunities to 209 advanced Idaho master gardeners. Together, the Idaho master gardener apprentices and advanced Idaho master gardeners donated over 17,200 hours of their time in 2017, and the program has grown tremendously since then.
University of Idaho Extension’s Idaho Master Gardener Program is open to anyone interested in becoming a certified Idaho master gardener to share gardening knowledge with the public through community outreach and education. They bring a diverse background of knowledge and experience and enrich the program in their community by mentoring youth in community and school gardens, writing for newspapers, teaching community gardening classes and workshops, maintaining websites, blogs and sharing information through social media outlets. They answer horticulture questions by telephone and in person at the UI Extension office.
They provide demonstrations and mentoring at community gardens, lead 4-H clubs, after school programs and junior master gardener classes, write books and brochures for the public, and some of them have their own radio or television shows or have launched successful careers in the horticulture industry as a result of becoming a University of Idaho Extension’s Idaho Master Gardener.
Master gardeners make a difference in their communities by teaching environmentally sustainable horticulture practices, detecting landscape pests, helping gardeners reduce fertilizer and pesticide use, teaching conservation and water wise landscape concepts, and reducing landfill waste by teaching composting.
Junior master gardeners (elementary school age kids) can start a school garden or choose from dozens of fun hands-on projects that promote a love of gardening, develop an appreciation for the environment and cultivate the mind through the University of Idaho Extension 4-H Youth Development program.
The Idaho Master Gardener Program requires 36 hours classroom time (online) from mid-January to mid-April. Participants are given several open book quizzes and reading assignments. They also must have 40 hours of hands-on training, arranged with an Extension educator. Much of this time is spent helping in the master gardener room — answering gardeners’ questions through the summer months, with assistance from an advanced Idaho master gardener.
Upon completion of the course, master gardeners are certified, and considered paraprofessionals in home horticulture. University of Idaho credit is available for participants who are interested. To advance to a higher level, those completing this course can enter the Advanced Master Gardener Program —a series of in-depth horticulture classes that strengthen gardening skills and knowledge. Participants must be first certified as Idaho master gardeners and be invited to attend.
Local News
Comments / 0