August 9, 2006

Feature Article - for release the week of August 13, 2006

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent

M  IS  FOR MASTER GARDENER

Master Gardeners are Extension-trained volunteers who can answer many questions about your home and garden.  They are our office’s “life-lines”, and allow agents to answer harder horticultural questions, present other programs and help solve many other issues.

Our trained volunteers are well equipped to handle most of the requests that come to our office.  They have received initial training in more than 55 hours of classroom instruction in horticulture.  Each year they take additional training to keep them current.  Sometimes they bring a lifetime of their own gardening knowledge and experiences to their job.  As volunteers, they can spend as much time as is necessary to give homeowners information to solve their problem. 

And we desperately need a few more in the next year. 

Got a Gardening Question?

People contacting our office can interact with Master Gardeners. We currently offer free assistance at our county Extension office.  These special volunteers work in our office on Tuesday afternoons during a 2-3 hour period.  Master Gardeners handle the calls by telephone, or sometimes by e-mail, and  meet office visitors that arrive with soil samples or pest-infested samples from their homes.  After questioning, a diagnosis is made, and management suggestions are offered.            

Extension is a source of research-based fact sheets and bulletins that backup the Master Gardener advice.  Thousands of different bulletins are available free from our office.  Since our space for storing these documents is limited; volunteers often consult our Extension website, http://SolutionsForYourLife.com .  They print a copy for the visitor or mail it out to the caller.  

Master Gardeners may suggest that a soil pH test would help solve the visitor’s problem.  They are trained on how to operate a soil pH meter and decide if the results contribute to the problem. And with a camera, a photo can be sent on our Digital Diagnostic Information System (DDIS) to University specialists for rapid response.  Thanks to our County Commission, these services are currently offered free of charge to county residents.

If more extensive diagnosis is needed, we can refer the problem to several UF/IFAS laboratories that can identify the actual pests. Submission forms, bags and boxes to send soil or water samples for more in-depth analysis are available free at our office. However, the lab services require a fee, which is sent with the sample to the UF labs. 

As the community grows, the number of questions will rise.  Extension’s ability to reach more of these needs will depend on increasing the number of hours our volunteers are in the office.  To expand these clinic hours, we need more volunteers to step up and help. 

Friendly Landscapes, Fair Exhibits and Fun for Kids

Master Gardeners can also help present seminars on Florida Friendly landscaping.  As part of the Florida Yards & Neighborhood program, volunteers carry the designation of Florida Yard Advisor.  Some of our volunteers are ready to help evaluate yards that practice these best management techniques.  They can designate your yard as Florida-friendly. Other volunteers may appear at community events to answer gardening questions and let the public know about other Extension services. 

This winter and spring our office has been asked to assist the Board of Directors of the Okeechobee County Fair.  It is our hope to see a large number of home gardeners bring in samples of their own home-grown vegetables at the county’s first ever County Fair.  Master Gardeners will be needed to answer lots of public questions before the Fair.  They will also be on-hand to help organize and set up several hundred plates of produce that will be judged and displayed to the general public. The Fair is tentatively scheduled for March 9-18, 2007.

Master Gardeners are also needed to start Junior Master Gardener groups. This is the name for 4-H Clubs that help our youth learn how to grow vegetables, fruits or ornamentals. A core of adult Master Gardeners will work with kids that will become 4-H’ers.  They will learn about the joys of plants and gardening. We’d like to show youth how to make the best better by building beautiful landscapes and learning about plants.  

An important part of the JMG program is encouraging young people to share their knowledge with the community.  With a little help, expect to grow some new helpers and put some unique projects on display at places like nursing homes, science fairs and community festivals. 

WANTED: GREEN THUMBS!

Through this Extension training program, current Master Gardeners have begun to share their love of horticulture with others.  Our program is relatively new, but our current corps of 7 volunteers have provided over 1,000 hours of assistance to our county.  This year we looked back and noticed that one county Master Gardener has even been at it for 10 years! 

If any of the above activities sound interesting to you, consider becoming a Florida Master Gardener yourself.  A person’s desire to learn and share is more important among potential Master Gardeners than current knowledge and experience.  Give it some thought - or maybe you can nominate someone else if you aren’t able to volunteer. 

Our next class for new Master Gardeners will start soon.  The first meeting will be on Thursday September 7th.  Our county’s trainees will spend six hours (from 9 AM to 4 PM) each Thursday through November 16.  Other volunteers from Highlands and Glades counties may join our daytime classes, to be held at our office in Okeechobee.  Classes will be taught by Extension agents, specialists, and local horticulture professionals.

To learn more about becoming a Master Gardener, interested persons can call, write, go online or stop by our office. Request a “Sprouting Kit,” which contains an application form. Applications are due before Friday, September 1st, and applicants will be interviewed before selections are made.

I’ve placed more information on our Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.  If you need additional information on Master Gardeners, please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 3 PM on Tuesday afternoons.