The Monmouth County Master Gardener Program is accepting applications for 2008. The deadline to apply is Jan. 2.
Master gardeners are experts in all things related to home gardening in Monmouth County. After completing classroom and hands-on training, master gardeners share their knowledge with others by conducting garden lectures, demonstrations, school and community gardening projects, telephone diagnostic service for callers and research.
“Master gardener trainees receive indepth, hands-on training in horticulture from the best in the field – Rutgers faculty and Cooperative Extension Service professional staff,” said Diane Zahorsky, horticulturist for the Monmouth County Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service office and program coordinator. “The program includes topics in plant biology, propagation, soil science and disease and pest control.”
Classroom sessions in 2008 will be held from February through May on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. At the conclusion of the classes, master gardener trainees are required to give 60 hours of hands-on volunteer time in horticultural projects and to answer calls on the county’s “horticulture helpline.” Successful graduates of the training become certified master gardeners.
Those interested in the program should file an application no later than Jan. 2. There is a $200 fee to cover material and program costs. Applications can be downloaded from www.visitmonmouth. com/07050coopext and are also available from the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service at 4000 Kozloski Road, Freehold Township, or by calling (732) 431-7260.
“The master gardener program was initiated because agricultural agents were being inundated with calls from homeowners about gardening issues,” Zahorsky said. “State agriculture services traditionally supported commercial farming interests. The agricultural agents in Washington State recognized the shift and started this program in 1973.”
“Master gardeners are fabulous,” said Karen Livingstone, coordinator of volunteers for the Monmouth County Park System. “They are always ready and available to assist with projects in the county parks, especially at Deep Cut Gardens. Master gardeners are a way for the county park staff to extend information and services to residents.”
The master gardener program, conducted throughout the United States and Canada, is a two-part educational effort in which avid gardeners are provided many hours of intense home horticulture training and in return they “pay back” local university extension agents through volunteerism.
In New Jersey, the program is a cooperative effort of Rutgers University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the county freeholders.