Information to become a Texas Master Gardener and Wood County Master Gardener Association:
The Texas Master Gardener program is an educational volunteer program to expand horticultural information through the state, town by town conducted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service of the Texas A&M University System. Master Gardeners are members of the local community who take an active interest in their lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers and gardens. They are enthusiastic, willing to learn and help others and able to communicate with diverse groups of people. What really sets Master Gardeners apart from other home gardeners is their special training in horticulture. In exchange for their training, persons who become Texas Master Gardeners contribute service time as volunteers, working through their county’s Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office to provide horticultural-related information to their communities.
The touch of Texas Master Gardeners’ service can be found across the state – in school garden projects, horticultural therapy projects, community gardens and demonstration gardens; by volunteers who also conduct gardening programs and answer gardening questions. Master Gardeners use their service in all kinds of ways: teaching, giving presentations, writing newsletters and articles and maybe even designing and maintaining Association web sites.
To become a Texas Master Gardener in Wood County, a participant attends 50 hours of instruction, then shares this knowledge by donating 50 hours of volunteer service back to the community during the 1st year.
Each year to maintain certification as a Texas Master Gardener, you will be required to donate a minimum of 12 hours of volunteer service and attend 6 hours of continuing education.
The training will include classes on: plant growth and development; how to determine soil, water and fertilizer needs; entomology; environmental horticulture; vegetable and herb gardening; lawn care; home fruit and nut production; propagation and hands on work shops; botany; rainwater harvesting; and field trips. Many of the classes are conducted by guest speakers that are experts in their field.
You will be surrounded by folks with interests similar to yours! You can learn from their experiences, successes, and failures!
If you would like to join Wood County Master Gardener training classes:
- Classes start in January and are held weekly through April.
- Applications to participate in the training are accepted from July – December.
- Call the Wood County Extension office, 903-763-2924, 8-5 Monday thru Friday.
Note: Master Gardeners are representatives of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. In all volunteer work related to the program, Master Gardeners follow the research-based recommendations of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. The title “Texas Master Gardener” can be used by volunteers only when engaged in Extension-sponsored activities.