Tulsa Master Gardeners Recruiting New Class for 2016

Master Gardeners to hold training program

Brian Jervis: Ask a Master Gardener

Saturday, August 6, 2016

If you enjoy gardening, learning about gardening and have an enthusiasm for sharing your knowledge with others — the OSU Tulsa County Master Gardener program may be for you.

The Tulsa Master Gardener program is part of the Tulsa OSU Extension Service and is involved in horticultural education activities for Tulsa-area homeowners. OSU Extension Offices are located in each county in the state and most counties have a Master Gardener program.

The training program for new Master Gardeners is offered once yearly beginning in September. For those interested in the program, two orientation sessions will be held at the Tulsa County OSU Extension Center, 4116 E. 15th St. The first is at 10 a.m. Wednesday and the second session is at 1 p.m. Aug. 17. The orientations last approximately an hour and provide an overview of Master Gardener programs and requirements for participation. No reservation is needed.

Following orientation, those interested can schedule a follow-up interview. Once you are accepted into the program, classes begin the first Wednesday in September and continue every Wednesday through mid-December.

More than 70 hours of instruction are offered by OSU faculty and extension horticulturists. A wide range of basic information is covered on topics such as lawns, ornamental trees and shrubs, annual and perennial flowers, insect and disease management, soils and plant nutrition, vegetable gardening, organic gardening and much more. These classes will give you a good background in horticulture and prepare you to confidently deal with most gardening problems.

Education continues via monthly meetings and periodic OSU-sponsored seminars.

In addition to learning many new and interesting things about gardening, you will be introduced to a network of more than 350 current Tulsa County Master Gardeners and many more statewide. This always is a source of many new and interesting friends.

What Master Gardeners do:

·       Telephone helpline: Every weekday, Master Gardeners answer a telephone helpline with additional service for walk-ins. They assist homeowners with diagnosing plant problems and recommending solutions. This involves several thousand contacts per year.

·       Elementary school programs: Master Gardeners visit hundreds of elementary classrooms each year to teach more than 11,000 students, in grades K-5 about gardening.

·       Demonstration garden: Located at the OSU Extension Center, the garden contains hundreds of interesting varieties of labeled plants.

·       Senior citizens: More than 25 retirement homes are visited several times per year, interacting with more than 1,000 senior citizens.

·       Community events: Master Gardeners participate in many community events yearly, such as the Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa’s Home and Garden show in the spring.

·       Habitat for Humanity: All new homes in the Tulsa area are landscaped by Master Gardeners, and owners are taught about plant care.

·       Bedding Plant Sale and Garden Tours: Both these events are important events for the program. They allow us to be financially self-sufficient and funds all of our community educational activities.

·       Website and newsletter: The educational website and an online monthly newsletter have extensive useful information for homeowners.

No previous horticultural training or education is required to be accepted into the Master Gardener program — training starts with the basics. Come to the orientation and learn about the program. It may be the perfect fit for your volunteer activity. For additional information, go to our website at tulsamastergardeners.org.