Being a "master gardener" isn't free labor. You pay THEM for the honor of
getting sweaty and dirty. You need to provide your own clothes, equipment
and transportation too!!!! There are few paying jobs in gardening because
the "master gardeners" are taking them away!!!

The trainer gave you a blank stare because they don't care about giving you
any practical information. They just want your money and unpaid labor.


dstvns wrote in message
...
Hello,

I've been interested in joining a local master gardener program. The
only really bad side are the class hours....classes are on wednesdays
for 6 months in the winter from 10-noon. The only bad thing about
these hours are the location in the week...I would gladly take a 2 or
even 3 hour class after work hours for 6 months.

I was wondering if anyone has found being a master gardener to be a
boost in finding jobs in horticulture, or at least some sort of
respect in the agricultural fields (excuse the pun). Is there any
value to these positions, or are you simply 100 free hours of hired
help the first year, then 25 hours every year thereafter? I don't
mind the volunteer work either, but these classes seem to focus the
vast amount of time on flower gardens, not the herb, fruit and
vegetables which I enjoy so much in gardening. When I asked more
about utilitarian gardening (ie food), the trainer gave a blank stare,
as if noone had ever thought of focusing on these topics.

Thanks for any insight,
Dan