If you enjoy expanding your own gardening knowledge and sharing it with others, you're a great Master Gardener candidate. The Smith County Master Gardener Association, formed in 1994, is sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension, itself an arm of the Texas A&M University System. Smith County Master Gardeners (which includes people from Smith and surrounding counties) receive 72 hours of classroom instruction from Smith County Horticulturist Keith Hansen and numerous other experts, including well-known gardening authors. The training covers every aspect of horticulture from the basics of soil science and botany to specific plant, tree, and grass pests and diseases.
Following training, Master Gardener interns give a minimum of 74 hours of volunteer service over the next year. Volunteer service includes manning Extension Office phones to answer gardening questions from the public, and participating in projects like The IDEA Garden and Heritage Garden at the Tyler Rose Center; plant variety trials at A&M's Overton Research Station; spring and fall Gardening seminars for the public; publication of the Northeast Texas Gardening Guide; numerous children's group and school projects; writing tips such as the one you are reading; and a speakers bureau for gardening and other community groups.
Applications to become a Master Gardener are taken every October through December and are available at the Texas Cooperative Extension office and on the web site at http://easttexasgardening.tamu.edu/index.html. The actual training takes place early January through mid March. Training sessions are twice a week, 4 hours each session through the training period. Call the Smith County Extension Office at 903-590-2980 for information and an application.
Judy Heinrich, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas Cooperative Extension
Miscellaneous Index
Gardening Tips For NorthEast Texas Index
East Texas Piney Woods Gardening Home Page