Join the Master Gardeners of Adams County at our first-ever evening class beginning in March. We are a local volunteer group sharing our diverse talents and interests in many varieties of garden work, community service and fellowship. The educational program is offered by the Adams County office of the Mississippi State University Extension Service. In exchange for educational training we help the county extension offices with horticultural projects that benefit our community.

Recent Master Gardener projects include work at the Forks of the Roads, Belk senior day services, crepe myrtle pruning demonstrations and assisting the Community Alliance in designing green spaces for the bandstand renovations and Bridge of Sighs.

The new Master Gardener class begins March 3 at Co-Lin, with classes taught by local master gardeners and other experts from 6 to 8:30 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays through May 3. Attendees will receive 45 hours of training on ornamentals and lawn care; fruits, nuts and vegetables; botany, plant propagation and soils; plus how to deal with weeds, invasive plants, pests and plant diseases.

A wealth of horticultural information and research is also available to Master Gardeners at the Mississippi State Extension Service website.

Within one year of completing the class, new master gardeners trainees, or interns, commit to 40 hours of horticulture-related community service in order to become certified master gardeners. Ongoing commitments include 20 volunteer hours annually and 12 hours of educational training.

Volunteer hours are fun and easy to complete through projects including our annual plant sale in April, maintaining trails at the Grand Village and Jefferson College, assisting at the Co-Lin greenhouse, or simply helping friends and neighbors with gardening questions.

Educational commitments are even easier: attend monthly meetings with gardening and horticultural presentations (and refreshments), attend garden conferences, take field trips, teach a class, develop a demonstration garden or develop your own project with the approval of the sponsoring county extension.

Call 601-445-8201 to register or go to http:/msucares.com/lawn/master_gardner/index.html. A $90 fee covers classes, refreshments, extensive training materials for future reference, and a one year membership in the state Master Gardener association. Registration deadline is Feb. 28.

 

Marsha Colson is an Adams County Master Gardener volunteer.