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It’s that time again to begin thinking Spring. I just completed my application to be a MASTER GARDENER for the University of NE Extension in Adams County for 2010. This will be my 6th year in the program which includes both a commitment to my education and to volunteerism. Completion of my application will also lead me to the training program provided for Master Gardeners which happens in March. Volunteers are now being sought to enroll in the University of NE Master Gardener Program and plan to attend the annual training program. The program extends the outreach of the University of NE Extension in Adams County by training volunteers with research based horticulture (plant sciences) education. University of NE plant science and related subject staff offer 40 hours of training.

The dates of the training begin Monday, March 8, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. three days a week for two weeks. Training will be held at the Hall County Extension located at College Park in Grand Island. The training is offered as a multi-county effort which enables UNL Specialists to attend in person. Squeezed into these 6 days, one gets a mini college education in the plant sciences and plant pest control (that includes diseases, insects, pesticides and wildlife). The program is tailored for adult learners. Upon completion of the training, participants make a commitment to give 20 hours of horticulture related community service to the community.

Volunteers attending the training have an opportunity to dramatically increase their horticultural knowledge at a minimal financial cost of $50.00. Participants will find themselves exposed to horticultural subjects including turf care, tree and shrub care, fruit tree, vegetable gardening and flower culture, disease and insect control, pesticide and chemical use and other topics. Knowledge in these areas takes the fear away from such happenings such as brown spot in the lawn, lilac borer damage and contol, garter snake control and dozens of other yard problems.

This training prepares Master Gardeners to share their knowledge with other citizens of the area. Involvement in the program can have a very positive impact on the community goal to “GO GREEN”. Not only will those who attend the training better understand the plant sciences and anything growing in their own yard, but as part of the Master Gardeners, there are collective benefits of working together to improve the aesthetics of the community.

A great example of better understanding the plant sciences in my own yard is being able to identify insects attacking my evergreen trees, such as bagworm, and knowing how and when to control. Or, being able to identify what plants grow best in full sun, others partial sun, still others, shaded areas. The more I can take guesswork out of gardening, the greater the enjoyment of keeping up the yard.

If I look back the past 2 years at the collective benefit of being part of the Master Gardener program in Adams County, I have great satisfaction in being part of the Highland Park Arboretum that is developing around the Hastings Museum and the Historic cemetery to the south of the Museum. This effort has brought the resources of numerous agencies and organizations together with the Master Gardeners. The once rather bleak historic pioneer cemetery at 12th and Burlington in Hastings is rapidly becoming a vibrant living site of unique trees identified for education and enjoyment. That’s what an Arboretum is all about, and it just happens that dream has become a reality because of the Master Gardeners in Adams County. I just can’t help but think that a doubling of the numbers working as active Master Gardeners would let us accept “green” challenges in other areas of the community.

Applications to become a Master Gardener with UNL Extension in Adams County are available at the Extension Office or by calling 461-7209. Persons from surrounding counties are invited to be a part of the Adams County groups. Currently, folks from Webster and Clay Counties participate. The Office will enroll you in the Master Gardener training program with your enrollment fee.

I’ll ask Jo Seiler, the first visionary to the Highland Park project to share her thoughts about the Arboretum next month.

About the author: Don Siffring

Don Siffring is a 6 year Master Gardener with the University of Nebraska Extension in Adams County. He is a professor emeritus with the University of NE, Institute of Agriculture. Don works part-time as a Horticulture Aide with UNL Extension in Adams County. Don and his wife, Bev, retired to the Hastings Community in in 2003 to be closer to their married daughter and husband, Christi and Brian Berns of Bladen.