Training Information
WSU Master Gardener Program
There is a perception that to become a WSU Master Gardener you must know everything about gardening. This is unrealistic and untrue. To be a WSU Thurston County Master Gardener you must have gardening experience, but more importantly you must have the commitment to be a life-long learner.
This program offers gardeners opportunities to gain personal gardening knowledge, but our primary focus is to develop community educators. Once trained, WSU Master Gardener volunteers help deliver messages related to:
- water-wise gardening
- growing your own food
- diagnosing plant diseases
- identifying insects/pests etc.
- low-impact landscaping
We provide a number of different venues, including demonstration gardens and clinics, through which volunteers deliver these messages. The WSU Master Gardener training will also teach you how to access even more resources for those subjects you may not know too much about. You will become one of 200+ Thurston County WSU Master Gardeners who have very diverse backgrounds of gardening expertise and interests. As a result of this diversity, you will have fun learning from one another while making lifelong friendships.
It is important that applicants understand two guiding principles of the Master Gardener program.
- The program is based on research findings related to the horticultural topics. When providing information to the public volunteers we use only research vetted material.
- While pesticides are discussed throughout our entire training program, it is important to note that these are only considered as a last approach for the control of pests when using the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) process. Through IPM we will take a look at biological and cultural controls as the primary option for pest and disease control. You must agree with the IPM process to be a WSU Master Gardener. The IPM process will be explained at pre-orientation sessions.
WSU Master Gardener Training
The 2012 training class is full and closed for this year.
Applications for the 2013 training class will be available here on our website to download after October 1, 2012.
2013 training runs alternating Fridays from February through mid-June from 9am to 4pm.
If you would like to have your name added to the interest list or if you have further questions please contact Cori Carlton at 360-867-2162 or carltoc@co.thurston.wa.us
Additional Resources
Washington State University regularly distributes bulletins to assist gardeners with problems in the garden and to assist with better garden management. These are available at https://pubs.wsu.edu. Some are available to download for free; others are available for purchase.
If you are interested in receiving a once-monthly update from the Master Gardener listserv, send your name and email to Cori at carltoc@co.thurston.wa.us or call 360-867-2162.
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