Gemstone Rivers wrote in
:

I'm not sure if this is nationwide or just in the Indiana area
(sponsored by Perdue University) but has anyone ever taken the Master
Gardener course? What was it like? Was it worth it? Opinions
welcome.

Twelve years ago I bought my first house, which came with perennial beds
and a vegetable garden. Being that I didn't know the first thing about
gardening, I subscribed to Organic Gardening magazine and took the Master
Gardeners course given locally. The MG course cost $75 and was given at
the Extension office in my county once a week for four months or so. For
that time and money, I received a basic grounding (no pun intended) in
several subjects, including plant structure, identification, growing
techniques, propagation, etc, etc. Upon graduation I was required to
complete 40 hours of volunteer work to "give back" to the Extension.

I think the MG program is somewhat misnamed, as the title of Master leads
one to expect some depth of knowledge and training. But what I got out of
the course was not so much the actual knowledge that was imparted to me as
it was the opportunity to explore a new subject without enrolling in
college again. As it turned out, the experience piqued my interest enough
to inspire me to take a few horticulture classes at a local community
college. Of course the college courses were much more in-depth, but they
were also more expensive and time-consuming. I would never have enrolled
in those college courses if I did not have the MG training first as my
background. Another aspect of the MG course was that I got to meet and
network with a number of other similarly interested gardeners as well as
experts local to my area.

To continue being a MG I believe you must keep up with yearly requirements
for volunteer hours and continuing education, which I have not done. I'm
sure there are many other ways of obtaining the same knowledge and
experience. For me it was an inexpensive way to discover an interest in
gardening that I will keep the rest of my life :-)

Dee