The start of the spring semester may not be ideal for planting, but it is ideal for planning what to plant.
This year's Nebraska Master Gardener training is just around the corner. "Anyone can be a ‘Master Gardener,' they just have to have interest in gardening and helping people," said Mary Jane Frogge, UNL extension associate for the Lancaster County office. The Master Gardener program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is a volunteer-based program in which participants "provide education about sustainable horticulture practices," according to the UNL Master Gardener website.
People become Master Gardeners to give back to the community — and it looks great on a résumé, said Terri James, UNL Extension Horticulture assistant. "It's a great program, a great way to give back to your community," she said. The training begins in February, and the deadline for registration is Jan. 27. There is also a materials fee of $150. Master Gardening training classes are in the winter, she said, and the volunteer opportunities are in the summer.
The volunteer activity required at the Lancaster County program is for Master Gardeners to answer phone calls from the public about horticulture for 12 out of the 40 volunteer hours. Master Gardeners can complete the rest of the hours volunteering at a variety of places, such as the county and state fairs, school gardens and Community CROPS, a non-profit organization in Lincoln. The class will be offered at two locations — at the Lancaster County Extension Office and another on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's East Campus.
The training is dictated by state rules, said James, who is in charge of the East Campus training. It will cover topics like different soil types and plant problems ranging from diseases to knowing the difference between good and bad insects and how all of this can be managed by a gardener. Participants take 40 training hours and complete 40 volunteer hours in one year. James said the time commitment is a deterrent for college students."There is definitely a gap in the knowledge of growing food, but I don't know if I would focus on age," said Ingrid Kirst, executive director of Community CROPS.
She said she's noticed younger people asking about Community CROPS' community garden plots lately.
The training doesn't necessarily make someone an expert, Kirst said. But it does start an ongoing learning experience, she said. To keep the title, Master Gardeners are required to complete a minimum of 10 hours of continued education and 20 hours of volunteer work — set by counties.
Continued education, volunteer work and making connections with other gardeners are benefits to the involvement. And Master Gardening is "getting you outside, growing your own food," Kirst said. James said the training programs fill up fast. Last week there was only one slot open in the East Campus program. After that, the wait-list for next year starts. The Lancaster County program takes applications until Jan. 27. The application is then reviewed and interviews are set up to see who gets into the program.
Lincoln offers other opportunities for gardeners, too. There's a "seed swap" coming up at Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso on Jan. 29 that will include some educational components. Frogge said the inability to commit the time to Master Gardener training shouldn't prevent anyone from pursuing their passions. "Keep it in the back of your mind for something to do in the future and always look at different opportunities for gardening," she said.