What is the Master Gardener Program?

Washington State Univeristy Whatcom County Extension home horticulture training to people interested in gardening and their community. In return for this training, Master Gardeners volunteer 60 hours during the same year helping other gardeners with their plant problems.

The training sessions, led by local and state experts, cover introductory horticulture and botany, soils, garden management, weed control, plant pathology, insects, pesticide safety, landscape ornamentals, pruning, and vegetable and fruit crops.

The Master Gardener Program was established in Whatcom County in 1975. It is a volunteer program that enables participants to serve their community through horticultural education. More than 200 of the 3,000 Master Gardeners in Washington State are active right here in Whatcom County.

The Master Gardener Program provides a rewarding and enriching experience not only for the volunteer, but also for the members of the community who receive help. This program works!

The training sessions take place every spring. All ages and levels of experience are welcome. Time and the desire to volunteer are the things that count.

For more information or an application, contact the WSU/Whatcom County Extension office at 360/676-6736 or apply online. Applications for the 2008 Spring training are being accepted now!

Getting Help and Advice

Many of us are available regularly during the gardening season to answer your questions. We enjoy the challenge of figuring out what's wrong with your plants and helping you solve your horticultural puzzles. Whether you want to know what's chewing on your rhododendrons, or the straight scoop on composting, or how much fertilizer to put on your lawn and when to apply it, the Master Gardeners of Whatcom County can help! We are trained to offer research-based suggestions about what to do to prevent problems before they start. It's often possible to minimize the need for drastic corrective measures that are potentially more damaging to the environment, and to the home gardener, than a more benign preventative treatment. As Master Gardeners, we are committed to stewardship gardening through the practice of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). A healthy landscape requires much more than simply spraying pests. It demands knowledge of your plants' cultural needs and the proper diagnosis of problems. We can help you make your home garden the best it can be, all at no cost to you.

Master Gardeners are available weekdays at the County Extension office, (360) 676-6736 or beginning in March on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Hovander Park, working in the demonstration plot and offering Plant Clinics from 9 a.m. until noon. We also staff a booth at the Farmer’s Market, the Northwest Washington Fair and the Everson & Bellingham public librarys, so watch for us there.

We'll most likely ask you to bring samples of that pesky bug, mystery weed, diseased branch or flower into the office at 1000 N. Forest Street. Pack up your questions in a zip-lock bag, and bring them to us!! If we don't have an answer, we have the resources of Washington State University and the USDA to help us find out exactly what's bothering that prized plant of yours. Call us for assistance before you have a problem, too. We'll tell you when to plant your bulbs and prune your fruit trees and clip those perennials. Contact us today.

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