Becoming a Master Gardener

SENECA COUNTY --- For 25 years Seneca County Master Gardeners have been providing their expertise and volunteerism to the local community. The local non-profit organization stems from the original program that began in Seattle, Washington, in 1972. The Seneca County program started in 1998 and is one of the 62 Ohio counties that participate. Master Gardeners has the mission of providing educational services to the community such as answering the public's gardening questions, conducting plant clinics, gardening activities with children, senior citizens, or disabled persons, beautifying the community, developing community or demonstration gardens and other similar activities. "Master Gardeners is a program for people who are not only gardeners in their own personal lives, but it can literally be anyone, if you want to learn how to garden, if you garden yourself, or even if you're just someone who likes learning new things and helping people," said Seneca County ANR Educator Pressley Buurma. To become a Master Gardener in Seneca County, you can contact Buurman at burma.20@osu.edu, call the office at 419-447-9722. Classes are done once a year with the next class being in 2024 from Jan. - June. The cost is $125 for the entire class which includes a manual, access to the online course, t-shirt, name badge, and any other Master Gardener perks. "A lot of the duties and responsibilities of a master gardener is to be the resource or contact person for someone who has a question," she explained. "If you have a garden at home or you want to start a garden at home and you don't know how to even start, a master gardener would be the person you reach out to because all of our information is going to come from a research-based context." Buurma explained much of the research comes from The Ohio State University from research that it has done on horticulture to invasive species to backyard food, local foods, pest management and wildlife. While Master Gardeners is a great resource for many gardening topics, the organization does not assist with legal issues or food preparations. The course is a hybrid with classwork online based on the manual provided and in-person labs. There will be 10 in-person labs that are open to all members. Programs, trips and any other activities done by the organization are also open to all members. Some of the activities the Seneca County Master Gardeners participate in are an annual plant sale, flea market, giving talks, visiting nurseries, botanical gardens, and arboretum. The annual plant sale is the organization's main source of income. Buurma said all workshops are free to master gardeners as they are members, however, events that are open to the public may come at a small cost for those who wish to attend. Master Gardeners is both a national and international program with regional and international meetings. Seneca County Master Gardeners is celebrating its 25th anniversary from 1 – 4 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Seneca County Fairgrounds, 100 Hopewell Ave., Tiffin in the food court building. Snacks will be provided at the event. There will also be a chance to win a door prize or free tuition for the 2024 Master Gardener training class. The anniversary celebration will have tables featuring the program's history and new topics. The event is free and open to the public. Those who join can also ask a Master Gardener their burning horticultural questions.