Master Gardener Level 3
Last
weekend, Toole County had two Master Gardeners attend the Master Gardener Level
3 training in Bozeman. Lisa Hurley and Sue Smith were the attendees from
Shelby. Sue and Lisa had taken the Level 1 Master Gardener course before I was
hired as an agent, but I was lucky enough to have them both in Level 2 this
past year! Sue and Lisa both show a great passion for gardening. Sue is the
Treasurer of the Shelby Community Garden and she helped in getting the
Community Garden started in Shelby. Lisa is such a dedicated Master Gardener
that she took Level 2 a second time for a refresher and she has been watering
the flowers down Shelby’s Main Street this summer for her volunteer hours.
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| Lisa Hurley - Master Gardener Level 3 |
The Level 3
Training in Bozeman is a three day hands-on intensive training. The attendees
get a crash course in Plant Diagnosis, Insect Identification, Disease
Identification, and Sustainable Food Production. Friday morning, the Master Gardeners were led
around campus by Toby Day, former Master Gardener Coordinator and movie star of
the Master Gardener videos. He gave them an interactive, hands-on tour of the different
diseases and species of trees on campus. The Master Gardeners then toured the
MSU Horticulture Farm where they were given a catered dinner and opportunity to
ask questions. Sue explained, “The Hort farm is big and they have many
projects going on. They have a fruit
orchard, including experimental pears, apples, plums, flowers, lots of veggies
and of course weeds!” Saturday, the
gardeners attended the Farmers Market at the fairgrounds and were bussed to
Livingston to see the Livingston Food Resource Center. Lisa shared, “The
Livingston Food Resource Center is a wonderful example of how a food bank can
be operated if funding is available.”
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| Sue Smith Master Gardener Level 3 |
It wasn’t
just fun and games in Bozeman for three days though, these ladies had to do
their homework! They were each given an insect or a plant and had to give a
short three minute presentation. Lisa presented on Western Salsify and Sue had
Hoary Cress. Now, these ladies have to gain 40 more hours of volunteer
community service to be certified Level 3 Master Gardeners. Sue wanted to share that it was a very
interesting trip and, “I would strongly encourage everyone to check out and
sign up for the next Mater Gardener class as soon as you can.”
If you are
interested in the Master Gardener program, I recommend visiting with your local
Extension Agent or going online to www.mtmastergardener.org
to see if this program is offered in your area. Toole County will be starting
Level 1 again in the winter.
Toole County Extension
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