Who becomes a Master Gardener ?  

• Local residents of all backgrounds who are over age 18
• People with some degree of experience and/or knowledge of plants and gardening
• People with enthusiasm and desire to learn and help others
• People with ability to communicate with diverse groups and individuals

Volunteer Training occurs once each year, usually beginning in January, and consists of 50 hours of classes in:

• Plant science
• Horticulture
• Soils and water
• Fertilization
• Diseases and pest diagnosis
• Integrated pest management
• Fruit and landscape trees
• Native plants
• Vegetables and grapes

Training Classes

Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador Counties coordinate training classes. The training site was in Calaveras County in 2004, Amador County in 2005 and will be in Tuolumne County in 2006. There is a fee to cover books and course materials for the class.

If you would like to be notified when details of the next class are available (usually in November), call the Tuolumne UCCE Office at 209-533-5696 and ask to be included on the Interest List for the Master Gardener training class.

The 2006 Master Gardener Candidate Packets is available now.  You may access it by clicking on the file below.