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Old 27-08-2003, 08:22 AM
dstvns
 
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Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

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

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Old 27-08-2003, 03:02 PM
Beecrofter
 
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Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?


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.



The focus of the program is not job training.
Although it seems that a good portion of Master Gardeners get hired in
by garden centers around here.
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Old 27-08-2003, 03:02 PM
Cereoid-UR12-
 
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Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

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



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Old 27-08-2003, 03:02 PM
David J Bockman
 
Posts: n/a
Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

The general concensus amongst working professionals in my area (some of whom
are certified MG's , some of whom are currently working towards
certification as an MG, some of whom started the program and then left it,
etc. IS, that it very much depends upon *where* you receive your training.
Here in the metropolitan DC area, the Virginia MG program apparently is not
highly regarded.

Dave

"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



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Old 27-08-2003, 03:12 PM
animaux
 
Posts: n/a
Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

Master Gardener is a fancy title the Extension Service hands out to people who
volunteer their time in the community, promoting gardening. Many times, these
people will do different tasks the Agent is supposed to do, but he/she dishes it
out to the Master Gardeners.

In no way will they allow you to go through the program if you mention it's to
help you with your career. Any people in the industry know it's a limited
amount of knowledge in return for many hours of volunteer work. In order to be
current and certified, you'd have to do a set amount of volunteer hours,
annually.

I say go take a course in one of the horticulture sciences. Much better way to
promote your ability and not a sham.


On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 06:20:52 GMT, (dstvns) opined:

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




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Old 27-08-2003, 03:42 PM
Jim W
 
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Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

dstvns wrote:

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.



I don't know a LOT about the master gardener program but the RHS here in
the UK are trialling a similar system over a samll area in conjunction
with the BBC..

As a pro qualified Horticulturalist I have mixed feelings about these
low level schemes.. I think if you wish to learn more about food
production you might be better off joining a an Allotments or
Horticultural Society (or US equivalent) and learning from other
members, and maybe doing part time study at a higher level..

Not sure what the equivalents are but over here its fairly easy to start
with a City and Guilds or NVQ in something Horticultural than via a
volunteer scheme..


Just my 2p's worth!
//
Jim
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Old 27-08-2003, 04:42 PM
Pam
 
Posts: n/a
Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?



dstvns wrote:


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.


From the point of view of a professional horticulturist in the state where
the MG program was first developed, it is of NO benefit to establishing a
professional career. The program was not intended for this purpose and to
be blatantly honest, very few "graduates" have anything more than the most
cursory horticultural knowledge. The program was intended to relieve the
local extension agents of the huge amounts of gardening-related questions
that pop up daily by offering free 'plant clinics' at local garden centers
and nursery departments of larger discount and box stores. It has expanded
in some areas to include other volunteer activities like reclaiming
greenbelts of exotic invasives, demonstration gardens, planting of small
pocket parks and traffic circles, etc.

If you wish to expand your own knowledge to a limited degree ( you can
achieve as much or more with self-study) and like to volunteer and have
the time to do so, then this is a good program to participate in. If you
wish to enter the horticultural field in any professional capacity, then
take the time to get proper training through a technical or community
college or other accreditied institution. I know of few professionals in
this biz that regard MG's with any kind of respect.

pam - gardengal

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Old 27-08-2003, 05:12 PM
Marley1372
 
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Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

The value depends on what you are planning on doing with it. If you are a home
gardener and just want to learn a little to make your place look nicer, then do
it. The program will not get you anywhere professionally, though the general
gardening public may worship you for your title. To horticulturists, master
gardener means very little, to the average retail nursery customer, they are
almost equated with god for some reason. Take a class at a community college,
you will probably learn more with less investments of time and money.

Toad
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Old 27-08-2003, 06:12 PM
paghat
 
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Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

In article , wrote:

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


The blank stair you got in lieu of an answer is typical of Master
Gardeners. As you noted, even the hours you can participate sometimes
assume only retirees with nothing better to do are interested. If you can
find your way into the presence of ten master gardeners at once, at least
a couple of them will be pretty damned smart about stuff -- but definitely
not because they took that program, the main reward for which is social
rather than educative.

When I first bought this house & had lots & lots of very basic gardening
questions, I'd go to the saturday market where there'd be two or three
master gardeners sitting amidst the vegetable stands, & I might have
brought some bug, or a spotty leaf I was worried about, & I virtually
never got a reply that was of any use. A typical reply would be, "It's too
bad Jo'es not here today, I bet he'd know that!" By now, when I see master
gardeners who've been permitted to set up camp at some nursery or at the
market, I barely even wave hi from a distance. I think the only reason
nurseries let them set up at all is because it is a nice thing to do for
the sake of the master gardener community, who do at least buy plants from
time to time.

One thing I've found local Master Gardeners good for is their eagerness to
share starts of thigns from own gardens, usually common stuff that spreads
rapidly, but a few heirloom things not really available otherwise. They're
very generous in some regards.

The nursery workers 'round here never did the master gardener program,
many have no special training of any sort, a few of the workers really are
mentally ill & are rather like the retarded adults hired by restaurant
owners to shiny up the tables & do the dishes. So getting general nursery
work seems to be more who you get to know as a devoted gardener -- having
taken a Master Gardener course would neither add to nor subtract from
opportunities in retail . . . which, when you think of it, is scarsely
horticultural work at all, unless the retailer is simultaneously a grower.
I've been offered nursery work without wanting any, on the basis of being
able to answer simple questions at random, being a bit of a nursery-nurd,
& by having friends who manage nurseries who would rather hire someone
they know. I always turn these down, but it's kind of good to know that I,
no less than some pleasant but retarded adult, could in a financial crisis
probably at least score a job shuffling potted perennials, sticking
bareroot briars in sawdust, & keeping everything moist.

But once you get beyond the category of retail nursery laborer, what will
be required for serious horticultural work is having gotten the requisit
degrees through university courses, NOT attending spare-time social events
for little-old-ladies-in-tennis-shoes. By the time you're doing an
authentic internship at an experimental gardening station, you'll honestly
know your stuff. But expecting to get a good job as a horticulturalist
from an insta-course would be like expecting to get a job as a newspaper
journalist because you once signed up for a writing workshop on how to
keep a diary. Some things just have to be done for pleasure without higher
expectation, & master gardener program is one of those things.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl:
http://www.paghat.com/
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Old 27-08-2003, 11:12 PM
B & J
 
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Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

"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

This question about becoming a Master Gardener has been asked before and as
usual is being stomped on by this group. First, the name Master Gardener is
a misnomer. There isn't enough training involved to learn much about
anything. Hobby Gardeners or Friends of Gardening would be far more accurate
titles.

Second, it will not prepare you for a job in horticulture although you would
be a better candidate for a job in a horticulture center than a body hired
off the street by management. At least you showed enough interest in plants
to get some training, minimal as it is.

Third, your question about vegetable gardening to a trainer raises another
interesting question. How many people do you know who actually have a
vegetable garden beyond a couple of tomatoes and a pepper plant or two? I
regularly complain whenever I watch "Victory Garden" on PBS about the
totally impractical/cutesy stuff they air. Most people now think of
gardening as raising flowers, shrubs, grasses, and ornamental trees. (Heaven
help this country if people ever had to return to a society where they had
to raise their own food.)

Fourth, contributing to your area through volunteer work is a plus or minus,
depending upon your viewpoint. If you have the time and inclination to work
in your local park or other public areas and enjoy getting dirty and sweaty
occasionally, it can be a relaxing and rewarding experience. If you think
you are taking away jobs from Joe Public, don't. Our local park has a native
wildflower area, a 19th century herb/vegetable garden, and a beautiful
planting of native, flowering shrubs done by local Master Gardeners. (Most
of these are projects that would never have been completed or maintained
without free labor.)

Finally, becoming a Master Gardener does have a lot of personal pluses. It
puts you in contact with people with a similar hobby/interest and that
includes vegetable gardening. Many Master Gardener groups have enough people
with diverse gardening interests that there is something for everyone. As
much as there are sneers about common items that spread rapidly being
swapped or given away by Master Gardeners, such items as winter jasmine,
salvia leucantha, salvia guaranitica (blue and purple), several viburnum
varieties, little leafed lilacs, double altheas, hydrangeas, thornless
blackberries, etc. now are part of my yard because of these swaps. In turn I
share tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, okra, and beans as well as started
cuttings from a snowball bushes, pussy willow, kerria, honeycomb buddleia,
crape myrtlettes, and beauty berry bush, and small redbuds that appear in my
flower beds. If anything invasive arrives for swap, the swap table "police
person" gives a warning to everyone. As an added bonus, we regularly pay
guest speaker experts to give presentations at regular or special interest
meetings.

I find that the Master Gardener group is a plus for me. Most but not all
Master Gardeners are great people, but there are some one avoids because
they're obnoxious. The same can be said for this ng!

I'm sure I'll get sneering, stomping remarks make about my analysis from
certain individuals, but I enjoy the contacts in the MG group.

John




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Old 28-08-2003, 01:22 AM
Tom Jaszewski
 
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Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 16:12:39 -0500, "B & J"
wrote:

I'm sure I'll get sneering, stomping remarks make about my analysis from
certain individuals, but I enjoy the contacts in the MG group.

John

Not from here John. It so happens that the training here is quite
good. Yes in some cases it produces some know it alls who know little
about gardening, but generally the program has provided some really
nice folks who do some great community service projects in
horticulture. (BTW they cringe at the idea of me joining, I wonder
why? LOL

I look forward to my yearly lecture to the group.
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Old 28-08-2003, 03:42 AM
GrampysGurl
 
Posts: n/a
Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

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.





That's a terrible thing to say.... Part of being a Master Gardener is the want,
or need to volunteer their knowledge ... it isn't a way to make money, it's a
way of gaining and sharing a knowledge of gardening.
Colleen Ann Cross
Zone 5
Connecticut
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Old 28-08-2003, 03:42 AM
GrampysGurl
 
Posts: n/a
Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

In no way will they allow you to go through the program if you mention it's
to
help you with your career. Any people in the industry know it's a limited
amount of knowledge in return for many hours of volunteer work. In order to
be


Depends on the program, there is a lot of knowledge shared here.

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Old 28-08-2003, 06:22 AM
Cereoid-UR12-
 
Posts: n/a
Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?

Oh Colleen,

You need to get out of your sanitized plastic bubble, get out in the real
world and smell the garbage rotting. Not everyone is looking out for your
best interest. You are amazing in your naiveté. The practical info you get
from the so called master gardener program is practically nil. I have
quizzed a number of so called master gardeners and they knew very little of
even the very basics of gardening or botany. They barely knew how to pot up
a plant properly or why it was done a certain way. As far as I'm concerned,
the program is a scam.


GrampysGurl wrote in message
...
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.





That's a terrible thing to say.... Part of being a Master Gardener is the

want,
or need to volunteer their knowledge ... it isn't a way to make money,

it's a
way of gaining and sharing a knowledge of gardening.
Colleen Ann Cross
Zone 5
Connecticut



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Old 28-08-2003, 07:12 AM
Philip
 
Posts: n/a
Default Any value in becoming a master gardener?


"B & J" wrote in message
...
"dstvns" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I find that the Master Gardener group is a plus for me. Most but not all
Master Gardeners are great people, but there are some one avoids because
they're obnoxious. The same can be said for this ng!

I'm sure I'll get sneering, stomping remarks make about my analysis from
certain individuals, but I enjoy the contacts in the MG group.


Quite a nice and balanced reply. The original poster was asking about it
improving chances to get employement, and in my county it would, since we're
far from the big cities. I know of two nurseries here that look for MGs as
staffers.

Philip


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